chace biddle

This feels especially dumb now that literally having a guy signed and on campus isn’t enough to stop him from getting recruited anymore, but hey, here’s the defensive half of recruiting update. Recruiting board is here, or find it under ‘Useful Stuff’.

Offense is here, including a list of visits. Some quick updates on that: the June 18-20 visit weekend is being dubbed “Victors Weekend” and the BBQ is that one week in July when recruiting briefly reopens (thanks reader).

Welcome Home Courtney Morgan

Years ago I was at the Bentley Library texting late-’90s photos I was finding to late-’90s players, and at that moment some recruit Hoke was after chose UCLA. I asked Cato June what’s up with losing guys to frikkin Jim *L* Mora and, Cato was like “You know who’s out there: Courtney Morgan!” So last week when I heard from someone that Mississippi State was going to hire Morgan I said “Man, we should get him.”

This totally means you have me to thank (you really do not) for Harbaugh bringing home a beloved Lloyd-era lineman who’s been killing it (and sometimes us) on the West Coast, to modernize Michigan’s recruiting efforts. Sitting recruiting director Matt Dudek, was welcome to stay but understandably wasn’t thrilled that Michigan had hired a high-profile alum to share his job, and gracefully resigned to take the opening under Mike Leach in Starkville.

For what it’s worth I was told “That wasn’t it” when I suggested the timing of this shakeup coincided with losing Xavier Worthy, that this was just a case of jumping on a true blue hot commodity who was in the process of moving up. Dudek critics have always been way off base—the I still don’t think I’m going out on a limb in believing Worthy’s botched enrollment played a role in making Dudek expendable.

Anyway: great move. Everyone from his former teammates to the OL coach of Pittsburgh Steelers have been handing out unsolicited praise about Courtney Morgan, and his track record at UCLA, Fresno State and San Jose State speaks for itself. Sam noted on their podcast (38:00) that Morgan adds a guy with Ohio ties (his parents are from there), which was previously a blind spot for this staff, and Lorenz added that Courtney has experience in marketing for when NIL comes into play. Like Hart and Bellamy, and very much unlike Dudek, this is the kind of program hire that should survive a rough season if Harbaugh doesn’t, which means the recruiting class could too.

Defensive Tackle

Quick summary: Need bodies. They have have a 3*, plus a good shot at Cass Tech’s next big guy, and the kind of Alabama 4-star Michigan can get. Very much in it for a #1 overall elite but you know how those go down.

The latest: All hands are on deck in the recruitment of elite TN 5* Walter Nolen, who will be visiting during the big June weekend. Via Sam Webb, the Allied forces include lead recruiter Ron Bellamy and position coach Shaun Nua, the parents of CB commit Kody Jones, 5-star commit Will Johnson, and Mom’s entire extended family($):

“Man, my wife's uncles and cousins... we went out to her grandmother's house and they came in with their Michigan paraphernalia on,” Mr. Nolen recalled laughingly. “They were like, 'cuz... nephew... you gotta go to Michigan!'”

“She's got an aunt that's in Phoenix and they were FaceTiming. She was like, 'nephew, you gotta to Michigan.' They were cracking jokes and one her uncles said, ‘tell her Ohio State is one of the (schools) on the list and watch what she says.’ She pitched a fit! Man, it was hilarious. (Laughter)”

Of course camp friend Kody Jones is in Nolen’s ear all the time.($, info in title)

EJ Holland used the bulk of his Into the Blue (free) column this week to address Michigan’s pitch after Nolen came up for an unofficial visit:

Michigan always preaches family to recruits. Nolen will get a better feel for the staff's genuine approach to this on his official visit, but I know Michigan is virtually moving the needle in this area. Nolen's grandparents live in Detroit, so he would have family close by if he were to pick Michigan. The Wolverines also offered Nolen's younger sibling, which meant a lot to the family. And I'm told his parents and other relatives that made the trip really loved their time at Michigan and around Ann Arbor. Continuing to pitch family will be key in this recruitment.

Holland thinks OSU and Alabama are the other teams ahead, while Wiltfong includes Florida, Nolen’s dad lists Michigan, OSU, and Georgia as his most likely visits to MLive’s Ryan Zuke, and OSU writer Bill Kurelic would take the field over OSU($). Mom says “academics, academic support, good strong academic support and a coach that’s going to challenge him,” are what she’s looking for. 24/7’s staff has analyzed the attack plan($) and agrees the Nolen Alliance presents a real danger. SEC writers warn not to overestimate our chances.

[After the JUMP: Michigan leads for some guys but shhhhhhh]

Some things have happened since we last checked in. Starting with…

Quarterback

The dominoes fell($) and Michigan’s top pro-style targets went off the board to Clemson (Cade Klubnik) and Penn State (Drew Allar). Oregon’s commitment from Tanner Bailey ruled out the Ducks for Trayce Jackson-Davis’s brother Tayven, the younger Jackson just put out a top eight that excluded Michigan.

Michigan’s now forging ahead with some dual-threats, notably CA 3* Nate Johnson who sounds like($) the closest thing to a Denard Michigan has recruited since the smiling one. The new offer is 3* TX dual-threat Alex Orji, who expressed “tons of excitement” after getting that offer from Harbaugh directly. Orji is a Linguist idea with a lot of regional offers and a highlight reel of leaving a lot of grasping defenders rolling on the ground.

What?

Running Back

Mike Hart seems focused on 5* Gavin Sawchuk, whom Michigan was first to offer, though Oklahoma has five crystal balls there. They’re also looking at a big fella in AL 3* Quinshon Judkins, who impressed Rivals’ EJ Holland($) at the Panama Beach 7v7 Tournament.

[After THE JUMP we finally name our Tennessee operation]

We’re past Signing Day for 2021, so it’s time to go through the 2022 board. Since CORNERBACKKKKAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH we’ll start with defense.

Operation Coverage

In case the one-off exploits of Ricky White didn’t make it abundantly clear, Michigan needs defensive backs, particularly corners. Mo Linguist was brought in to fix cornerback recruiting, and has already been instrumental in securing commitments from two Tennessee athletes, Brad Hawkin-ish safety Taylor Groves (Hello!), and Jourdan Lewis-ian CB/nickel Kody Jones (Hello!).

Touch the Banner got his scout in too late for the latter so here's his take on Jones:

To me he looks like a nickel corner in the mold of former Michigan cornerback Blake Countess (who played well at Michigan before transferring and playing safety at Auburn and then in the NFL). He’s compact and packs a punch, with very good change-of-direction skills and good top-end speed.

On the negative side, Jones is perhaps a little lacking in ball skills. He’s great with the ball in his hands, but his hand-eye coordination is sometimes a little lacking. He also needs to improve his tracking of the ball in the air. 

Magnus admits a lot of guys look like Blake Countess when they're 15 years old and playing low-level competition. Rivals’s EJ Holland knows Groves’s mentor from the Junior Colson recruitment, and got some exciting (and FAKE) scouting($):

"He's as elite as it gets as far as a safety prospect. He has everything you're looking for. He's 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and runs a low 4.4. He has amazing ball skills because he's a damn good wide receiver. He's physical. He's smart. He's the type of guy and DNA to be a very high draft pick one day if he stays healthy and everything goes well. His ceiling is wide open. He can literally play anywhere in America, but he's raw because he's been a wide receiver. His upside is unlimited. He checks the boxes as an elite defensive back."

Woooo!

Michigan’s #1 target all last cycle was in-state RB Donovan Edwards, who did, to our horror, lead West Bloomfield to a state title and become a 5-star (the new MGoBlog tagline is a reference to our own uncertainty if the 5-star curse is a joke or real). For 2022 that guy is Grosse Pointe South’s Will Johnson, son of Moeller-era safety Deon. As with Edwards, there was a concern at one point that Ohio State was going to yoink this guy then murder our loved ones and make us eat them in front of Radiohead. According to Sam Webb on their recent Michigan Insider podcast, everybody can breathe a tiny sigh of relief about the Johnson part:

“I think Michigan has taken a lead... maybe a slight one... but a lead. […] Was it the cornerback coaching change? He actually told me that was not the issue. He said that, frankly, it helps Michigan in his eyes. […] But when things just seemed to get worse, and they just couldn't find any rudder after that... when all the uncertainty about the coaching staff hit, and just really feeling like this wasn't going to improve. That's when his eyes really started opening to other possibilities that he did legitimately like. Like Ohio State.”

It’s a long way to go, but this is very good news. Keep sharing stories about how Coombs-coached kids show up in the league with no skills, everybody. Also call your mother.

If anybody’s happier about the Linguist hire than President for Life of the Michigan Fans Panicking About Cornerback Depth Club Seth Fisher, it’s Rivals’s EJ Holland, who comes from Linguist’s stomping grounds and has many of the same relationships in the 7v7 world:

If you are a top defensive back in Texas, chances are you train with Christian White aka Coach Flight. White worked with Michigan defensive backs Gemon Green and German Green as well as the aforementioned Jones, Richardson and Brian Williams, yet another big 2019 signee for Linguist and A&M.

It’s a free article and a good way to familiarize yourself with a scene that could be key to a key recruiting role. Jones is the first commit from that world—his Texas-based 7v7 coach runs a satellite in Memphis—the first Texan who could follow Linguist is 4* S Chace Biddle, who sounds like a Daxton-ian:

He’s going to hate me when I say, but I think he can play corner at the next level. If you’re talking about guys that go to the league, they’re big and long like he is. He’s a finesse player. He’s fast and athletic. He’s a cover guy more so than a physical guy. Anything you want him to do in coverage, Chace Biddle can do.”

[After THE JUMP: Hey attorneys, can we sue Stanford?]