Michigan’s closing in on prospects at some positions of need, and adding guys to the board at a lot of spots where they’re less sure of their top options. So let’s check in on recruiting before this post gets pushed down by another Hello or Goodbye. The 2022 recruiting board lives here.

Quarterback

CA 3* Nate Johnson got a crystal ball from 24/7’s Sam Webb and a FutureCast from Rivals’s EJ Holland recently. Johnson ran a 10.49 100-meter-dash at a meet last weekend per his coach. For reference, Tyrone Wheatley put up a 10.46 at Michigan, Denard’s personal best was 10.44, and the mathematics of the Universal Standard Model of Quarterback Physics breaks down at around 10.42.

Holland said as long as Michigan overcomes the distance hurdle, Johnson will be in the class. Matt Weiss working with Lamar Jackson (and Harbaugh’s history with Kaepernick) is helping convince the dual-threat Michigan would know what to do with him, a comp also shared by 24/7’s Brice Marich($). Utah and Oregon State will get their visits, and then I am guessing we’re on commit watch when Johnson visits in June. Holland also said Johnson ran a laser-timed 4.45, and gave a player comp to Marcus Vick, noting the elite athlete could play safety or wide receiver if quarterback doesn’t work out.

Johnson might not be the only QB on the board however. Marich reports they’ve made contact($, info in title) with Cal commit/CA 4* Justyn Martin, who just had a pretty nice delayed junior season.

Happy Trails: IN 4* Tayven Jackson committed to Tennessee.

Best Guess: Nate Johnson and thoughts turn to Dante Moore in 2023.

Running Back

Lorenz reports that recent offeree LA 4* Trevonte’ Citizen is a longshot($), despite Michigan making a top ten cut. I’m not adding him to the board.

Best Guess: Pursuit of Sawchuk goes to the moment Sawchuk signs with Oklahoma, add a Karan Higdon or Tavierre Dunlap type along the way.

[After THE JUMP: Dashes]

Wide Receiver

We’ve got some takes since the commitment of IL 4* Tyler Morris. Sam Webb, in true Flintian fashion, calls Morris Ronnie Bell but fast, and agrees Michigan was probably going to get that commitment eventually but the timeline moved up due to the ACL injury. EJ Holland spoke at length to Morris’s mom and dad, if you’re a subscriber($). We also got Touch the Banner. As usual, I disagree with Magnus, but appreciate his takes because they’re not all flowers.

Morris is a slightly built receiver who looks like a slot guy. When he's lined up on defense, I'm impressed by his ability to change direction and come out of his breaks. For whatever reason, he does not look as shifty when he has the ball in his hands. However, he does have good quickness and sneaky acceleration. He has the ability to be a good route runner, and he covers up the ball in traffic.

My mantra over the past few years has been this: _______ looks like a good receiver who will not be a dynamic part of Michigan's offense under Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis. He looks like a Ronnie Bell-type receiver, a guy who can get open but won't take the top off a defense. And Morris does not have quite the same ability to run after the catch

I bolded the part that I just think is wrong, but Magnus isn’t the only one who has it. I agree that Morris’s moves are subtle, but who can argue they're not effective?

As fast as Nate Johnson was in the 100M, recent Michigan offeree($, info in title) FL 3* WR target Chandler “CJ” Smith was ludicrous—a 10.28. Since Smith is 6-3, there’s a good chance his his profile is going to blow up. This was cited as the reason Smith recently jumped from an 85 to an 88 on 24/7. According to the Orlando Sentinel the only reason Smith was ranked so low to begin with was his high school career’s been marred by injuries (he played just five games last year).

Michigan recently secured the all-important fourth and final visit($, info in title); they will have him on campus the weekend of June 25. Arkansas, which has been on Smith the longest thanks to their former WR coach, will play host June 4, and South Carolina, where former Razorbacks WR coach Justin Stepp now resides, gets Smith the following week. Hometown Florida has the June 18 weekend, so Gattis securing that last June visit could be huge since he plans a decision by August($). While he grew up rooting for the Gators, their offer is only a month old, and the military brat has only lived there seven years, his parents having been stationed in North Carolina and Hawaii over his lifetime. Smith has made it clear he wants to continue to run track($) at the next level.

In slot targets, Gattis recently offered TX 3* RB/Slot Che Nwabuko, right after Nwabuko ran($) a 10.47 100-yard dash and 21.44 200-yard dash to make the Texas 5A state finals. Nwabuko also jumped to an 87 on 24/7. Pitt has a visit set up in late June, and was the only other Power 5 school involved until Michigan and Purdue came in last week. Nwabuko’s brother is a Texas Tech receiver.

Recent offeree, GA ATH 3* Isaiah Bond ran a 10.6 recently($), and set up visits to Florida, Miami (yes that Miami), and Texas.

Happy trails: Michigan kicked the tires on Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams, but Williams is going to Bama.

Best guess: Pursuit of these other slots ends when Kaleb Brown commits, Darrius Clemons hat ceremony goes as the season does.

Tight End

Finally there’s a new offer besides the three Georgia guys, as rising ID 3* Colston Loveland has been added to the board. Loveland recently received offers from Bama, and most of the Pac 12, but told 24/7’s Brice Marich he likes that Michigan runs a lot of 12-13 personnel (two or three tight ends) and plans to make it out for an official($).

Best guess: Klein signs but they lose Delp to Georgia and got in too late for Loveland.

Offensive Line

A month ago we noticed MN 4* OT Lucas Heyer only had one official visit set up, and confidence seems to be growing that he’ll end up at Michigan, but first we’ll have to sweat out a trip to Northwestern a week earlier. Via Holland, an injury’s been hampering Heyer($) this offseason. That link also has an update on Michigan’s other top shot at a top OL prospect, CO 4* George Fitzpatrick, and CO 3* OL Braden Miller. Steve Lorenz said Michigan’s working to get Miller up for a visit($). That one could move quickly if Michigan offers.

If the addition of Courtney Morgan will open the door with any 2022 recruits, Sam Webb thinks($) WA 5* Josh Conerly Jr., a Washington commit and the #15 overall prospect on the composite, is the one. It sounds like Michigan will get a visit, as will Oklahoma and Alabama. I will re-add Conerly to my 2022 recruiting board, but I’m putting a big red Nefarious Eduardo on his line because I’ll believe that when I see it.

Speaking of mustached red faces we talk about anyway, Michigan is in the running for one of 4* OL Malik Agbo’s last two visits, though after seeing him Nevada, and hearing Sherrone Moore is in contact every day, Holland thinks Oklahoma, LSU and Miami are out ahead. Bama and Texas are the other schools trying to get one of the last two spots, via national 24/7 analyst Brandon Huffman, who gives Michigan “a shot.” Rivals reports Agbo was at the Las Vegas 7v7 camp (the one that got us all believing there’s a chance with Domani Jackson), showing off his tight end skills. At 6-6/320. Dude.

Sam said on their podcast that Michigan’s coming hard but Bama and Texas are “coming really hard” which I interpret to mean there’s gambling at Rick’s Café Americain.

While in Nashville Holland saw recent offeree, TN 3* OT Jacob Hood, who’s 6-8/342. Sounds like things are still emerging($).

Michigan made a final four for WI 4* OL Billy Schrauth, but I think that’s just a prelude to a ND commitment. ND 24/7 guy Kevin Sinclair sees Schrauth as a guard($) for what it’s worth.

Best guess: Sign Connor Jones, George Fitzpatrick, Lucas Heyer, and one or two Miller-level types, then shift focus to big OL class in 2023.

Defensive Tackle

Last Thursday Sam Webb made us watch the film on FL 3* DT Jordan Phillips live in the middle of airing the WTKA Roundtable, as Phillips was visiting over the weekend and Webb thought it insane this guy didn’t have offers from the SEC. That visit, which included mom, dad, his coach (who’s Jaydon Hood’s uncle) and his coach’s kid, “surpassed expectations.” Crystal balls and Futurecasts($) flew in, or were upgraded. As of Monday morning when I’m writing this there’s an unpublished article in the content hopper. This is the tape:

What happens with Phillips probably doesn’t affect DT recruiting that much since Michigan needs a lot of them. One of the guys they like a lot is FL 3* Hayden Schwartz of the Bolles School. That recruitment got a boost lately($) because Courtney Morgan knows Bolles’s recruiting coordinator, Deshawn Brown, who went on The Michigan Insider. Marich said that Helow has been the primary, which could mean Morgan’s had more success than his predecessor in switching Michigan’s assistants back to area recruiting. The son of NFL linebacker Bryan Schwartz, Hayden is a Kris Jenkins-like build-a-bear—he’s currently listed at 6-4/244, but can move like his dad and can probably put on another 50 pounds before he’s playing in college.

The other guy I was considering a secondary target is the very large WA 3* NT Peter Taoipu—24/7’s national (mostly Western) analyst Brandon Huffman told Sam Webb that Taoipu didn’t have a great senior year, but “if Michigan really pushed for him I think they’d have a very good chance.” In the same article Huffman said AZ 4* Anthony Lucas, whom Nua’s been on forever, is probably headed out of the region, but Miami (YTM) was Lucas’s dream school and finally offered.

Nua is still regularly talking($, info in title) to NV 3* Sir Mells, who remains not a cat. Mells will visit for Victors Weekend.

Best guess: At some point Michigan leads for Walter Nolan but falls behind when the season goes South in November. Still a huge haul, with Phillips rising to top-150, Deone Walker, Justice Finkley, and one of Kenneth Grant or Hayden Schwartz, plus Davonte Miles, though he may drift out of the class over the fall.

Defensive End/Outside Linebacker

Michigan’s still adding to their board here. FL 4* DE Nyjalik Kelly, who’s just outside the top-100 to 24/7, recently decommitted from Florida State and immediately picked up a Michigan offer($, info in title).

Michigan also extended an offer to IN 2* DE Demetrious “DJ” Allen, not to be confused with the DJ Allen who’s a tiny slot receiver they offered from Texas. If you saw them together you wouldn’t have trouble guessing which is which—DE DJ Allen is 6-7/225 and has offers from much of the Big Ten West.

Michigan is one of several schools, including Stanford, to recently offer CA 3* SDE type Zach Rowell, who’s listed at 6-5/260. Brice Marich reports Rowell has quickly developed a strong bond($, info in title) with Nua, and plans on visiting this fall. Rowell was close to committing to Oregon in February (two very high confidence balls to the Ducks remain) but apparently slowed his recruitment down to let other schools see his junior tape, and schools are biting.

Holland addressed recent offeree DE 3* Tomiwa Durojaiye, who sounds like he’s still growing($) and still early in his recruitment. Might be more of a sleeper than we realized.

At OLB/Edge, Marich said Michigan’s looking to get two or three edge rushers this cycle($) out of Mario Eugenio, Micah Pollard, Anto Saka, Joseph Adedire, and Beau Atkinson, or perhaps someone who hasn’t set up a visit yet. NC 3* DE Beau Atkinson told 24/7’s East analyst Brian Dohn that Virginia talks to him the most, and neglected to mention that he’ll be visiting Michigan on June 11($, info in title). Atkinson did say Miami (YTM), Clemson, Cal, and Stanford are the other schools in line for visits. Michigan will get a visit($, info in title) from NC 4* OLB Torren Wright, who’s originally from Ypsi. They’ve been monitoring($, info in title) 6-1/205 TX 3* Vincent Paige, who’s currently committed to North Texas.

Best guess: Michigan wins a tight battle for Joe Strickland, gets Mario Eugenio and one of Joshua Josephs or Torren Wright.

Linebacker

Holland got to see top target IL 4* Sebastian Cheeks recently in Chicago last Friday, and said on their podcast that Cheeks has been playing mostly edge rusher, though Michigan sees him as an inside guy, and opponents are just running away from him. This is still a Michigan-ND battle with a couple other schools getting in the mix, but Holland thinks Michigan is trending up with Cheeks since his friend Tyler Morris came onboard. Cheeks still hasn’t been to Michigan so a visit could put the Wolverines ahead.

I have to think Notre Dame’s ILB recruiting is playing a role in that as well. The Irish nabbed Michiganders Joshua Burnham (a longtime Michigan lean) and Nolan Ziegler, and are in very good shape with 4-stars Jaylen Sneed and Niuafe Tuihalamaka.

Another top target, FL 3* Omar Graham Jr., just moved the date of his official visit away from the June 18-20 “Victors Weekend” and hasn’t yet rescheduled Michigan. Penn State will take over Michigan’s old spot, Auburn has him the week after, and FSU has him the week before. FSU also just received a bunch of crystal balls to FSU, including from Josh Newberg($).

Huffman notes there’s a Harbaugh connection to NV 4* ILB prospect Robbie Snelling, the two-sport athlete who’s currently committed to Stanford for baseball, but agrees with me that left-handers who can throw 95 mph belong on the mound.

Michigan offered and immediately made a final five for TX 4* LB/thunderback Ish Harris, who’s being recruited by George Helow according to Magnus. Texas A&M has led for awhile.

It’s still probably a longshot to pull UT 4* Lander Barton away from the hometown favorite, but he’s talking about a visit($, info in title). The good news is Michigan’s still in strong position ($, info in title) for FL 3* Micah Pollard, who’s Braylon’s nephew, and one of the new staff’s favorite targets.

Happy trails: Michigan didn’t make a top five for SC 4* Jaylen Sneed—Sam Webb put in a ball to Notre Dame. Marich was told by AL 4* hybrid Shemar James that Michigan’s no longer a factor($); the consensus seems to be he’ll go to Bama.

Best guess: Micah Pollard and Sebastian Cheeks and one more from the field, and Michigan’s heavily involved in the grad transfer market all year.

Safety

Lorenz moved a handful of guys out of the “top targets” list. The only one that changed our board was top-100 TX S Bryce Anderson. I get the sense this was a recruitment that Linguist tried to get Michigan into, but Texas is throwing around some incredible money this cycle.

He also moved 5-star Keon Sabb out but I didn’t even have Sabb on our board because that was such a longshot.

In return GA 4* Jake Pope has “become more of a priority”($) though it may be too late to make a run at a prospect who’s blowing everyone’s boards. The link has more info on what Michigan’s up against. OSU writer Bill Kurelic thinks Oklahoma holds the edge. Lorenz said Michigan’s recruiting “with vigor” to get a visit, be it one of his five officials or an unofficial later this summer($).

Michigan is also jumping in($, info in title) for rising TN 3* D’Arco Perkins-McAllister, who just hit four stars on 24/7. South Carolina will get a visit June 25; Texas also recently offered.

Another late riser, IL 3* hybrid safety Austin Brown, will be there for Victor’s Weekend.

VA 4* Sherrod Covil remains a top target, and won a state championship last week in their delayed season, but Michigan might be falling out of things since Ohio State offered. Covil told 24/7’s Brian Dohn at their Baltimore camp that Clemson, ND, USC, Penn State, and Virginia have been on him the most, but VT has led most of the way.

Best guess: We merge safety recruiting with cornerbacks.

Between Safety and Cornerback

The cooling on Covil might mean good things for two very long-term targets, West Bloomfield 4* ATH Dillon Tatum, and NJ 4* CB/S Jaeden Gould, whom CB commit Will Johnson has been working on:

“Jaeden is really high on Michigan,” Johnson said. “We’re recruiting him at corner and safety. I feel like he’s a person we might get. Dillon really likes Michigan State, too, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. He’s not giving me too much info, but I’m working on him.”

Tatum was originally planning to commit in April but attended MSU’s spring game a few weekends ago, and has been keeping things quiet since. The 24/7 guys discussed the wait on their podcast on April 28th:

Sam Webb: “Brice, have you seen anything about a (commit) date for Dillon Tatum yet?”

Brice Marich: “So, he mentioned he wants to make a commitment meant by (the end of) April? I don't know if he's going to stick to that, but if that's the case, we should expect one fairly soon. Right now that's between Michigan and Michigan State. I'm still leaning Michigan. But he wants to make it probably towards the end of the month.”

Sam Webb: “I just upped my confidence level on Dillon Tatum to show you how I'm feeling about it.”

Tatum did recently get re-offered by Ohio State.

As for Gould, Holland shared the reasoning in a recent Blue Chips($)—the upshot is Michigan really wants him.

Michigan also quietly has jumped deep into the battle for GA 3* S/CB Mumu Bin-Wahad, who said he talks to Will Johnson all the time($). Bin-Wahad has a high-confidence crystal ball to MSU from January and a more recent low-confidence one to Nebraska after they offered. He has visits set up to West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Michigan (Victor’s Weekend) and Nebraska for the four June weekends. No word on whether he’ll get up to East Lansing. Bin-Wahad is friends with onetime Michigan target S/CB James Monds III, who grew up with the Zinters but didn’t get much interest from Michigan after Don Brown left. Monds picked up a couple of Nebraska crystal balls recently, which probably makes them the chief competition for Bin-Wahad.

Best guess: Stay home with Dillon Tatum and one or both of Jaden Mangham and Bin-Wahad, and later one of the tall corners expected to move to safety.

Cornerback

At the same moment last week Michigan fans all of a sudden started wondering aloud all if there really still is a chance to pull in Peppers-level elite CA DB Domani Jackson, a USC commit I gave up home for when friends Xavier Worthy and Giles Jackson bitterly left the program. I quickly traced the source: EJ Holland was with Domani and very good friend Will Johnson (free), who were teamed at the Las Vegas 7v7 tournament, and tearing it up on offense:

Them boys look good, together.@johnsD28 just saying ‍♂️ https://t.co/aq21teAUCX

— Randy_Lee23 (@Domani_Dad_MD22) April 25, 2021

and defense:

Despite Jackson's commitment, the two friends haven't stopped communicating with each other. So is there still a possibility that they do team up at the next level? Definitely. I won't say I'm confident or optimistic, but there is certainly a chance. … As of right now, Jackson doesn't have anything scheduled to make a return trip to Ann Arbor, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him low key come in on June 18 with Johnson or come in for a game in fall. Jackson's father has always wanted to see a game at The Big House, and I know he would be completely comfortable with Jackson siding with U-M. He's a lifelong fan and still has family in the Midwest.

EJ also got Will Johnson to talk about his friend’s recruitment:

“It’s a little hard to recruit him to Michigan just because he was close to the old coaching staff,” Johnson said. “He’s committed now, so he’s not looking to talk too much. But I’m still pushing for him because he’s a Michigan Wolverine at heart. I’m going to stay on him about it.”

Also from that article is a new offer, top-100 GA CB Marquis Groves-Killebrew, who’ll visit for the Victors Weekend. MGK has been committed to Georgia for almost a year, but Johnson apparently helped Linguist talk the Dawg verbal into seeing what Michigan has to offer.

Aside from being an ace recruiter, 5* MI commit Will Johnson is a pretty good football prospect, as you can glean from another round of 7v7 clips.

EJ Holland shared more of this plus his interactions top 2023 target Dante Moore and TN 4* CB commit Kody Jones) behind the paywall($). He also appeared to suggest on their recent podcast that a surprisingly good year on the football field could be key. Michigan would still have to win a recruiting battle with Alabama, which will get a visit.

Holland also got out to Nashville to see TN 4* Myles Pollard, who seemed close to a Michigan commitment but held off until he sees Oklahoma this summer. Sounds like Michigan’s still in the driver’s seat($), and not just because he’s sending messages to Michigan recruits via a Michigan recruiting reporter’s twitter. Holland shared his assessment of Oklahoma’s threat in a Blue Chips($), and his timeline in another($).

Sam Webb addressed the question of whether recently minted 4* Benjamin Morrison of Arizona has a favorite, or maybe some usual suspects at Washington (David Long is still in play!) and Notre Dame (Braiden McGregor to South Bend—book it!) are a tad bit overly optimistic for the schools they cover. Here’s a 24/7 national analyst on Sam’s recruiting show:

Sam Webb: “… a kid you went to see recently and whose sister is on the (Michigan women’s) gymnastics team that just won the championship, Ben Morrison; what are you hearing? Are you buying the Notre Dame smoke with him?

Brandon Huffman: “No, not at all. So, you remember (former Scout.com Arizona high school analyst) Jason Jewell, right? Jason is his head coach. The day that Crystal Ball went in (for the Irish) I got a text from Jason. He's like, ‘bro, Notre Dame is like one of six schools he's really considering. Michigan, Oklahoma, Washington, Oregon and UCLA because the DB coach at UCLA (are legitimately in it).’ But he thinks it's kind of a tiered system. He doesn't think UCLA and Oregon are in (the top tier). He thinks it's going to be one of those national programs; Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, or Washington.”

“He should be announcing his official visits here soon, too.”

No word yet if Huffman was forced to watch the Jordan Phillips highlights as well, but we’ll keep an eye on those visits before telling you to watch Morrison’s tape.

Courtney Morgan’s addition has Michigan among a bunch of Pac 12 offers that are pouring in for CA 3* Jahlil Florence, a 6-2/180 ATH whom Morgan was recruiting at Fresno State. 24/7’s Greg Biggens reports talked to Florence, mostly about Oregon and Michigan:

"Things all started when Courtney Morgan got to Michigan. He had offered me when he was at Fresno State and just hit me up a couple of weeks ago. We've been staying in contact and he told me they were interested. On Tuesday, I got the offer from him and coach Linguist and was blown away and I'm definitely going to get out there for an official visit."

Florence shared that Oregon and A&M were his childhood favorites, however, and it sounds like the Ducks had this one on a slow burn until word got out. Washington, Oregon State, and Boise State also recently jumped in. Biggens notes Florence took home defensive back MVP and fastest man (4.50 electronic forty) at the National Preps Showcase in San Diego. 24/7 recently bumped Florence to an 88.

Finally Michigan could be on the verge of offering($) FL 3* ATH Chris Graves, a young-for-his-grade athlete transitioning from WR to CB this year.

Best guess: Will Johnson, Myles Pollard, Kody Jones, and a few hat dances with Morrison, Jackson, and others that don’t go our way before adding one of the secondary options at the end.

Quickly, 2023

Holland got to spend some time on the sideline($) with MI 5* QB Dante Moore, who’ll be the Will Johnson-Donovan Edwards #1 target of the cycle. He says the personalities of Michigan’s latest three must-get in-staters are all similar, and the recruiting process will play out over time. QB coach Matt Weiss has not been in contact yet, but that’s really not an issue via Holland and Clayton Sayfie on the Rivals podcast, who say Moore isn’t very interested in recruiting.

Michigan offered FL 5* RB Richard Young, a guy who told Brice Marich he wanted a Michigan offer when Marich was down there looking at Omarion Cooper. CA top-100 WR Makai Lemon also got an offer. TX 4* OT Isaiah Robinson is already hearing from Texas schools, grew up a fan of Denard-era Michigan($), and is trained by Logan Tuley-Tillman. AL 5* DT James Smith is thinking about visiting Ann Arbor($, info in title for all of these). 5* OH S Sonny Styles will visit Michigan over the summer($).  Courtney Morgan knows 4* WA CB Jasiah Wagoner, a top 7v7 performer. Helow is keeping in contact($) with FL 5* ATH Treyaun Webb.

Holland has a (free) rundown of players he saw at the Las Vegas Pylon event and wants Michigan to offer.