jordan morant

The writing appeared to be on the wall for this one when people started penciling in the blue-chip freshmen over him, but we're still going to let out a sigh for the talented quasi-Peppers who was working back from a bad injury most of his time at Michigan.

#Michigan S Jordan Morant is reportedly in the NCAA transfer portal. https://t.co/LgxUd1ef9o

— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) April 15, 2022

Morant, the nation's highest-ranked safety when he committed, got in 8 games in two seasons, preserving all of his eligibility with the COVID season and a redshirt last year. A late high school injury and a screw in his leg held Morant out while classmates RJ Moten and Makari Paige—both 4-stars in their own rights—settled in as the next wave behind Dax and Hawkins. Morant was also a raw, if talented, prospect, and projected to a role closer to 2016 Peppers on the linebacker scale than 2021 Dax Hill.

With freshman eligibility and all that time to make up, he was going to be battling the next wave of well-regarded safeties, and with his recruiters Chris Partridge and Anthony Campanile (brother of Morant's high school coach Vito) long gone, it makes sense for Morant to seek out more surmountable depth charts. He'll have Michigan fans still rooting for him wherever that may be.

Michigan has Rod Moore, Keon Sabb, Zeke Berry, and Damani Dent from the last two classes to go with Moten, Paige, and Quinten Johnson so depth at safety is still strong, while Michael Barrett and Caden Kolesar are both more than serviceable in the more hybrid LB/S role. Counting the return of DT Donovan Jeter they're at 88 scholarships for 2022.

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Previously: The Story. Podcast 12.4A, 12.4B, 12.4C. Quarterback. Running Back. Wide Receiver. Tight End. Interior OL. Offensive Tackle. Defensive End. Defensive Tackle. Linebacker. Cornerback.

Depth Chart

I could write anything here and you would read DAX HILL! I could tell you that a meteor was going to hit your house and only your house because you are a big jerko and you would only think "I bet DAX HILL! can deal with slot fades." Well, buddy: you're gonna get meteor'd. That's right.

You're not paying attention at all. Jerko.

SAFETIES: DAX TIME!

RATING: 4

It's blowup year for DAX HILL [recruiting profile], the first five-star safety at Michigan since… uh… Ernest Shazor. Nevermind.

Anyway, Hill is still the guy who did this:

That is an electronically timed 4.3 flat 40, yessir, along with the best vert amongst safeties nationally; he would later improve that shuttle time to a 4.13, per ESPN. This is on another level from Donovan Peoples-Jones. It's on another level from Jabrill Peppers, who put up a 4.46 40 and 36 inch vert at the NFL combine. To be fair, Peppers did that about 25 pounds heavier than Dax was at his Opening regional. Even so, as soon as Dax Hill walks on campus he will take his place amongst the most absurdly athletic persons to ever don the Maize and Blue.

Everyone expected Hill to start immediately, which did not transpire because Brad Hawkins emerged into a quality player.

[After THE JUMP: an amuse bouche]

Last year I did a What I Learned post about the 2019 class after that set of recruiting profiles was completed; now that 2020 is done let's reprise. I've gone over every scrap of information and highlight video; I've even scouted a couple full games when information on a prospect was frustratingly thin, or used Adam and Dave's Future Blue Originals/Derivatives.

These are my takeaways.

It's a B+ class

There's a lot of consternation about the lack of truly top-end prospects in this class, and it's understandable. It's nice to have guys like Rashan Gary and Jabrill Peppers around. This class does not have a single composite top 100 prospect. 2019 had 3, including two five stars; 2021 has 3, including a five star. I don't think it says a whole lot other than it was a weird year.

On the other hand, there are almost literally no fliers. If JD Johnson had not been forced to retire, thus paving the way for Dan Villari to get a Signing Day offer, the lowest-ranked guy in the class would be #513 Kris Jenkins. That's just outside the 3.5* range we use to designate players who are high three stars pursued by a large number of mid-to-upper-level P5 teams.

The previous class, which ranked first amongst Big Ten teams, had seven guys ranked lower than Jenkins. Five of them were below 750th. The 2021 class also has some deep cuts. So while the 2020 class doesn't have much of a top end it is uncommonly deep.

This is something I said on Signing Day. Doing the profiles reinforced that take because various guys in the back half of the class jumped out as good bets. Jeffrey Persi is a Greg Frey tackle. Cornell Wheeler has Ron Bellamy travelling the state to yell at people about how good he is. Matt Hibner's composite ranking is held back by ESPN and Rivals, who missed his incredible fitness montage. Roman Wilson… yes, he is in the back half of this class. I know.

This isn't a class that's going to shift the paradigm against Ohio State but what does that even look like? If we judge it by the standards of other recent Michigan classes it's solid.

[After the JUMP: stocks up, down, and shruggie sections]