Visit Reaction: M Leads For Jackson

While the game itself didn't have the desired outcome, last weekend proved to be a good one for Michigan's recruiting efforts. Four big-time official visitors took in the game and the Wolverines look to have a great shot with at least three of them.

Top-100 CA ATH Lamar Jackson, who could be a corner or safety at Michigan, told 247's Steve Lorenz that the Wolverines now lead after his official ($):

"Yeah, I'd say Michigan leads," he said. "The Michigan experience kind of spoke for itself. The atmosphere at the game was incredible, the academics at Michigan are great and I learned a lot about the program, the players and the leadership of Coach Harbaugh was really impressive to me. I wasn't sure heading into the visit because it's a long ways away and I was not familiar with the weather, but the visit definitely changed my mind on things."

Michigan is clearly in great shape. This was Jackson's fourth official and he hasn't scheduled his fifth; while many considered USC the odds-on favorite, he has no plans to see them on an unofficial before announcing his decision at the Under Armour game.

Five-star GA TE Isaac Nauta is right up there with Rashan Gary as the top overall target on the board, and he told Scout's Chad Simmons he was "very surprised" by how much he liked Michigan ($):

"Coach Harbaugh told me and showed me that there is a both, a need for me, and a want for me at Michigan.  We looked at film, we had a talk, and I saw a lot.  at the end of the visit, I was just surprised more than anything else.  

"I just did not expect it to be that way.  My mind about Michigan has definitely been changed."

Lorenz chatted with us on MGoRadio yesterday and said the visit couldn't have gone much better; that said, he also thinks Nauta still ends up at Georgia, though Michigan has made this a tough decision. Nauta plans to announce at the Army All-American Game.

Top-100 WR Dylan Crawford spoke to Rivals' Adam Gorney after his official visit and discussed his potential role at Michigan ($):

"I really like how it went," Crawford said. "I could see myself fitting in there. I feel like I could play there. I like the coaching staff and obviously the Michigan education is solid and the networking there is unreal. "They don't really have a slot player who could take the fly sweep. They were showing me all the footage about how they have to bring Jabrill (Peppers) on offense to do the bubble screen routes and stuff like that. They said if I was there they wouldn't need to do that."

After talking to a couple sources close to Crawford's recruitment, Lorenz put in a Crystal Ball pick for Michigan ($). One team to watch is Oregon; they haven't offered Crawford yet and could become a major factor if they do.

Finally, after taking officials to both Notre Dame and Michigan, top-100 CB David Long told Scout's Greg Biggins he isn't certain about his Stanford commitment:

"I think there's still some question if they want me more  for receiver or corner," Long said. "Notre Dame and Michigan both are recruiting me 100% for corner but I think that's still in question a little with Stanford.

"I'm still committed but I'm also thinking about maybe opening things up a little to make sure I'm doing the right thing. It's such a huge decision and I want to make sure I'm 100% comfortable with it. You can't go wrong with Stanford and I know that but I just want to be totally sure about this."

Long said he "got a little better vibe and felt more comfortable at Michigan" compared to Notre Dame. He's still a Stanford commit and the other California schools will be in the mix as well.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

More Visit Fallout: M Leading For McCaffrey?

While there hasn't been direct word from top-100 2017 QB Dylan McCaffrey that I've seen, Rivals thinks Michigan has the early edge after he visited campus again last weekend ($):

Michigan would appear to be the early leader. The level of confidence in that projection is very low given that McCaffrey plans to take his time while he gathers as much information as possible, but he thoroughly enjoyed his trip to Ann Arbor over the weekend to see the Wolverines take on rival Michigan State. It was his second visit to Michigan this year and McCaffrey has felt like a priority for the coaching staff since he landed the offer. 

McCaffrey has become the clear top quarterback on the board for Michigan in this class, ahead of fellow four-star Davis Mills.

Michigan hosted three-star 2016 WDE Terrell Lucas for an unoffical visit. This quote he gave to Scout's Corey Bender is telling:

"I loved the game and how involved the fans were. One hundred eleven thousand seven hundred forty people, that's a lot," Lucas said. "It was very cold, but that's something I'm going to have to deal with. I didn't see much of the campus, but the Big House was amazing.

"I didn't get to talk to any of the coaches, though, since it was a big game. I think it's going to be even better on my official visit."

Lucas seems like he'd jump at the opportunity to commit, but I think Michigan has other prospects at WDE/BUCK that they want to give a shot to join the class first.

Three-star 2017 TN RB Chase Hayden told Lorenz that the MSU game was "the best visit I've been on for sure," which is especially notable since he's a Tennessee legacy who's visited Knoxville multiple times ($).

Commit Updates: Attrition Is Happening

Four-star Southfield RB Matt Falcon may still end up at Michigan, but if he does, he'll be on medical scholarship, per Scout's Allen Trieu. Falcon had surgery in June to repair the same torn ACL that cost him his sophomore season of high school; Lorenz posted that Falcon is scheduled to have another surgery on the same knee in December and Michigan's doctors haven't cleared him to play ($).

Falcon, who's clearly broken up about the situation, is now deciding whether to attend Michigan or find a school that will clear him to play; Wisconsin appears to be a distinct possibility. For what it's worth, Trieu posted on the TMI board that this was in the works before the recruitment of Kareem Walker heated up again.

Meanwhile, Rivals quietly removed three-star MD LB Dele' Harding from Michigan's commitment list, which was a long time coming. There's been no official word on Harding's status but it's been expected for a while that he and Michigan would part ways.

Three-star Farmington ILB David Reese now has another mid-year enrollment opportunity after picking up an offer from Nebraska. Reese also recently added a Texas offer and could enroll early there, as well. Michigan still has a spot for him if he's willing to wait to enroll; we'll see how that develops.

Speaking of Nebraska, three-star AL RB Kingston Davis has added them to his visit schedule, per TomVH.

Etc.

After Ohio State added a commitment from four-star RB Antonio Williams, it doesn't look like five-star NJ RB Kareem Walker will stick in their class. Garrett Fishaw is hearing that from his Ohio State source:

“(OSU) does expect Walker to decommit and things will then be over between the two sides. They’ll stick with Williams and McCall in this class and then take two for 2017. Unless there’s some major coaching changes and some elite kid falls into their lap.”

While Michigan should be the favorite if Walker decommits, Fishaw added a note that another, unnamed power program is "in the mix" to flip him, as well.

Four-star CO WDE Carlo Kemp told Rivals' Blair Angulo he plans to make a decision soon ($):

"I really like both [Michigan and Notre Dame]. I don't have any other visits planned. If I do try to get one or two more in they would have to come quick. I don't want to take those in November. I really don't want to drag this out any longer. Hopefully I can make a decision in the next couple weeks coming up or after my season is over. I'm looking at everything. The biggest things are where can I get the best of both worlds, academically and athletically."

Kemp would fill a major need at BUCK; this looks close to a coin-flip.

There's enough happening on the basketball recruiting front, including a potential commitment from four-star WI SG Jordan Poole on Friday, that I'll have a full hoops recruiting roundup tomorrow.