joseph adedire
And now we wait. Visitors are still trickling through but Michigan got most of their top targets up for official visits, and those targets got to see some other schools, and some have commitment dates that are more or less exciting than others. Touch the Banner made a list of last weekend’s visitors. Will Johnson said he thinks July will be a big month($, title) for commitment. Let’s run the Board.
Quarterback
MSU flipped that Boise State commit; I still think Michigan should kick the tires. They had AL 3* Conner Harrell ⬇⬇⬇ up here last week($, info in title) but the Denegal commitment probably ends that.
Running Back
The only change here is confirmation from most parties that Michigan’s not getting top-100 VA 4* George Pettaway ⬇⬇⬇ over North Carolina because commit CJ Stokes and an impending commit($, title) from TX 3* Dillon Bell ➡ is a class.
Receiver
The board is frighteningly open here after the two commits. The Wolverines made a final five for TX 3* slot Che Nwabuko ⬆, who’s looking to take his official this fall($), said Holland. IL 3* Jacob Bostick ⬇ was one of their recent visitors, but was crystal balled to Iowa($) a few days after.
Harbaugh has been on the phone with($, info in title) WA 3* Tobias Merriweather ⬆ and EJ Holland learned there’s a very strong Michigan connection($), though the recruitment is in its infancy. Notre Dame has been in there a long time and picked up a few homer crystal balls two weeks ago however.
Michigan was also supposed to host AL 3* slot squirrel Marquarius White ⬇ from Nico’s high school, and lanky speedster FL 4* Chandler C.J. Smith ⬇, but it seems the former visited Tennessee instead($, title) and the latter committed to Florida instead.
Tight End
GA 4* Oscar Delp ⬆, probably the nation’s #1 TE, went home from his visit and Dad said regardless of how the recruitment goes, Delp is going to be a better player as a senior because of Jay Harbaugh($, title)—they spent hours breaking down film. Sam and crew are adamant that this is a Michigan-Georgia battle($) while national pundits name South Carolina and Clemson as the non-Georgia suitors. I believe them that Michigan is in this($), and if it was up to the parents maybe in the lead, but I still have a hard time believing Georgia lets Delp out of the state. He’ll escape at least once more—to see a Michigan game in person—so we get to still have some months to find our maid of honor dress. Weirdly he moved down on Rivals after he was the #3 finisher at their camp.
ID 3* Colston Loveland ⬆⬆⬆ came up for a visit and is getting ready to pull the trigger($, title) via all the sites, despite lots of other big-name programs, including Bama, jumping into this one. I’ve got the hello tabs open and…uh…dang…this is not a 3-star you guys.
Sam also made it clear Michigan can take three tight ends this cycle and I wholeheartedly agree, especially since they like to play two and keep going 1/2. Commit Marlin Klein is a Eubanks who needs some development time, and while Loveland has the size to play immediately it’s a big leap from Idaho football to playing in the potato capital of the college football world. Delp would be more like getting Thomas Fidone a year late, or Theo Johnson two years late, or Luke Ford four years late, or Isaac Nauta six years late, or…why does this happen so much?
[After THE JUMP: Buckle up this afternoon]
We have a lot to get to, with a brewing war on the horizon with USC (don’t panic), some major changes on the board at quarterback and cornerback, and the NCAA finally allowing on-campus visits and camps again after a pandemic’s worth of naught.
But first, we’ve got to talk about The D (NNTTD), for Michigan declared yesterday Detroit Day. This was the scene in Ann Arbor:
Not pictured: an unkindness of Ravens
For one day in Ann Arbor, all T’s were pronounced as D’s* all soft TH’s became Z’s, company names were given apostrophized possessives and pizzas were served square and bubbly. Coneys and looseburgers were piled onto the serving staff’s arms and washed down with pop, followed by Sanders on Stroh’s. Harbaugh shared his powerpoint Hall of Fame case for Lou Whitaker, traded gear for jars McClures from Eastern Market, and everyone went home with Pewabic tiles, most of which survived the potholed ride home on 94, which still nobody calls the Ford. I made an all-Motown team for the occasion. Also 30 area recruits for 2022-‘24 were on hand (free), which hand doubled as a map for a spirited, three-hour debate about which route everyone should have taken to get there. That list also turned out to be incomplete($). Rivals’ EJ Holland got reactions($), with Cass Tech OL Jackson Pruitt’s ⬆ the most interesting.
Whom they met along the way is best detailed by the 24/7 crew, who broke down who’s who on the remade recruiting staff on their latest podcast. Lorenz also broke down Michigan’s greatest positions of need which became a high-view state of the class and hosted a VIP chat($) for those looking for the gritty—it’s a few weeks old but has some good bits on Deone Walker and tight end recruiting. Steve is also keeping the visitors list as updated as he can.
The board is also shifting daily. This was expected—after a year and a half of no visits, few camps, and scattered football we knew the late-rising 2022s and all of the 2023s were going to be left unevaluated, both in terms of their football projections and their real interests in schools, until way deeper in the cycle than usual. We’re now starting to see all sorts of guys show up to camps and earn serious offers, and it’s only been a few days since they’ve been able to officially interact in person with these schools and gauge how serious they are.
⬆⬆⬇⬇⬅➡⬅➡BA
People liked the NCAA Football game-inspired arrows last time so I’m going to use them some more. Ups and downs mean trends based on where they were last writeup. Lock means commit or near to it. Peepers is we’re watching for something to happen soon. Right arrow is steady on, or no change despite news, or Connor Jones’s coach is giving quotes again. Left arrow is just there so I could reference a videogame code that’s twice as old as the players we’re talking about.
* [I once seriously confused my bud from from France when I told him to find us a restaurant in a specific New York neighborhood and he spent a half hour searching for somewhere called Liddliddle Lee.]
[Hit THE JUMP for the position-by-position breakdown]
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]
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