I'm not usually your recruiting guy, and there are many on our message board who follow this stuff more closely than I. But since we're down our football recruiting guy during all of this, I found myself trying to play catch-up in the process of writing various Hello posts. While I'm at it, I figured I might as well try to catch you up too. If you're a heavy recruitnik, I recommend you subscribe to one of the paid networks. If you're like me and just want an idea of what they're talking about, this post is for you. If you see something or someone I left out, please say so in the comments.

The Board:

I might as well get this old thing out of the garage.

Icon	Name	Meaning
	Sad Josh	The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something.
	Nefarious Eduardo	Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school.
	Data	Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet.
	Happy Teeth	Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk.
	Mr. Blue	Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits.

The order is my interpretation of how likely they are to commit and how many recruiting points are being expended.

A Note on "Stars": These are a general (not exact) average of a player's status among the recruiting services.

A Note on Premium Info: No illicit sharing of said material will appear on this site. Players are listed with interested schools in their profiles; this information is public. Commitments are by definition public. Any assertions as to schools in the mix, decision dates, or leaders I will back up with links to the source of the information.

Quarterback

Commit
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
JJ McCarthy	IL	****.5	Michigan		Hello.

Needs: High. Michigan took just Cade McNamara and Dan Villari in the last two classes after longtime 2020 commit JD Johnson had to give up football for health reasons. The way quarterbacks transfer these days they could lose whoever loses the McCaffrey/Milton battle.

Commit: Michigan locked up blue-chip J.J. McCarthy before the end of his sophomore season. The news today is he'll play his senior season (if there is one) at IMG.

Sometimes a move to IMG is a worrying thing, but not with McCarthy, a 100% locked commit who's been "one of the most passionate commitments the staff has reeled in within the same time frame," according to 247's Steve Lorenz. McCarthy now gets to whisper sweet maize and blue nothings to some of the most talented players in the country all fall. It's a good thing for him as a prospect too: he'll arrive with an extra year of college-level coaching, and enroll early, according to Orion Sang.

Other McCarthy things of more recent vintage include a practice video Rivals's EJ Holland put out($) in a series of embedded tweets on May 4—if you're not a subscriber you get to scroll through his timeline. Rivals's Austin Fox says McCarthy could be a 5-star if there's a senior year. Lorenz recently profiled McCarthy in his new commitment overview series.

Prospects. As far as I can tell they are not pursuing another at this time.

[After THE JUMP: Chipping away]

Running Back / Fullback

Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Donovan Edwards	MI	****.5	Michigan, UGA, others		Presumed leader. Went to SMSB to be with Jay. Would play early.
Prophet Brown	CA	****	Michigan, Okla, ND, Neb, Oregon
AJ Green	OK	****	Okla, Michigan, OKSt, Ark
Eric McDaniels	VA	***	PSU, UNC, M, others
Tavierre Dunlap	TX	****	ASU, many others

Needs: Moderate-high. Haskins, Charbonnet, and Turner will be juniors in 2021, and Michigan got Blake Corum last year, so they'll be looking for one dynamic athlete to replace Chris Evans, and maybe another guy to have around for 2023. Michigan will probably take two, maybe more if they can pack in the athletes.

Fullback seems to be getting phased out of the offense, though ILB commit Casey Phinney, who plays RB for his school, might have been recruited to play it. For now we're treating him as a linebacker.

Commits: none.

Prospects: Let's have the Edwards talk.

Allen Trieu/247Sports

Donovan Edwards , currently 24/7's #38 overall player and #3 RB, who couldn't be more perfect for Michigan if he was made in a create-a-player mode, is the #1 recruit on the board, unless Rocco Spindler is. Donovan plays for West Bloomfield, the new metro-Detroit public power now that Farmington Hills Harrison is closed, and is coached by Michigan alum Ronald Bellamy. He's an insta-Chris Evans, and an especially big deal because all of this means he's Michigan's to lose.

Of course Michigan's been in it forever, but Ohio State apparently led until they took another RB, and was still in it until they got a second. UGA has been a major threat since a Southern swing. Edwards also saw LSU, visited MSU, took a recent virtual tour of Oklahoma, respects Alabama, and is a routine Nefarious Eduardo (longshot) in PSU and ND articles.

Every Michigan hater on the planet is giving their reason why Edwards won't play in Ann Arbor, with now-former LB target Jamari Buddin the latest, via Sam Webb's recent WTKA Recruiting Roundup which I'll get into when we do Buddin. A couple months ago 247 recruiting director Steve Wiltfong went on Allen Trieu's podcast to trash Harbaugh for not being involved enough in recruiting* (at ~2 mins). Important crystal balls went cloudy/OSU/Georgia. Since then OSU took a second RB in the class, and UGA took one.

Sam posted a thing a few weeks about about how Edwards doesn't appreciate being forced to move up his timeline($-info in title) that was contextually aimed at both Ohio State and impatient Michigan fans. Webb's latest report($), which details Harbaugh's latest phone call with Edwards**, further suggests Donovan loves Michigan and the coaches, but also wants to be in a class "with some ballers in it."

Michigan is after two more athletes here. Sam thinks Michigan might now lead for CA 4* Prophet Brown, a speedster who grew up an Oregon fan($), though this a recruitment where the inability to get anyone on campus might hurt. Michigan also started the month in great shape($) for Tulsa 4* AJ Green but that may have just induced Oklahoma to stop calling him a cornerback.

I can't get a read on how much recent offer VA 3* Eric McDaniels is being recruited. Michigan also offered 4* Tavierre Dunlap, a Hassan Haskins-like who's wide open. Various 3* targets pop up and disappear too fast for me to have a handle on it.

*[Certainly one of the oddest Harbaw takes]

**[I mean,]

Happy trails: OH 4* Corey Kiner was a Louisville-Michigan battle that looked in very good shape until Kiner picked up an offer from, and quickly went off the board to LSU. Michigan isn't chasing.

Way Too Early Projection: My take on the Edwards situation is I think he wants to go to Michigan so long as Michigan looks like a competitor in December, but UGA is going to offer what they offer. If they get Brown on campus they have a good shot. If they only get one, I wouldn't be surprised by a late fall offer to some Higdon type they found in their scouting.

Wide Receiver

This is why I got the old recruiting board out if you must know.

Commit
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Markus Allen	OH	***.5	Michigan		Commit.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Cristian Dixon	CA	****	Michigan, Cal
Xavier Worthy	CA	****	Michigan, Bama, ASU, Ore, Tenn, USC
Andrel Anthony	MI	***	PSU, Michigan, Minnesota, MSU, others
Lorenzo Styles	OH	****	ND Commit
Jayden Thomas	GA	****	Michigan, ND, VT

Needs: Major outside, minor at slot. The 2017s are down to just Collins, Ronnie Bell is going to be in the NFL in 2022 if not 2021, and the only other outside type is Cornelius Johnson, though some of the many slots could play that too.

Commit: OH 3.5* Markus Allen (commitment post). Since the hello we got an opposing coach quote:

“He’s bigger in person than on film,” Pickerington North head coach Nathan Hillerich recalled, whose Panthers squad fell to Northmont last year, 37-17. “We realized it was a little more of a mismatch once we actually got out there. When Allen is around 5-9, 5-10 defensive backs, he looks significantly taller….

“Our DBs were oftentimes in great position, but Allen was able to go up and make contested catches over the top of some of our better players. He’s strong too, so we could tell even in warmups that he’d been in the weight room.

Brraarrgggh.

Prospects: A few crystal balls came in recently for CA 4* Cristian Dixon, who's listed as 6'2/187 and considered a physical deep threat with raw technique. Michigan and Notre Dame both wanted him, but this only started trending Michigan's way recently. Sam mentioned on his latest recruiting roundup that Dixon was a guy Michigan's scouting identified early, and Cal is the top team in the way.

Top target Xavier Worthy reminds Sam Webb of DeSean Jackson (thanks, I hate it), has family in Detroit and Gattis and Harbaugh have tag-teaming to make this happen. East Lansing route artisan Andrel Anthony has been a cipher; Michigan seemed a natural spot early when they made it clear he was a priority, but Minnesota and Penn State($) are reportedly pushing very hard, State's still right there, and Anthony seems to want to take visits before narrowing things down.

Lorenzo Styles is a prospect the coaching staff identified early as a top priority, and a small thing like a commitment to Notre Dame isn't going to stop them. Allen and teammate/safety commit Rod Moore have been drafted into this assault as well($) according to Rivals' EJ Holland. Typically when you read "this school is really trying hard" in a recruiting article it means the school likes the player but maybe not vice versa, but Holland thinks Styles is open.

GA 4* Jayden Thomas is a relatively new addition to the board($) this month—he's basically Markus Allen except rated like he's from SEC country, although oddly the SEC powers don't seem to be that into him; Notre Dame is the other serious contender.

Note: FL 3* ATH Kamonte Grimes is being recruited as a defensive back so he'll go in the next post.

Way Too Early Projection: Allen, Dixon, and one of Worthy or Anthony.

Tight End

Commit
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Louis Hansen	MA	****	Michigan		Hello.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Thomas Fidone	IA	****.5	Michigan & LSU lead Neb & Iowa		M offered 2nd grader cousin
Michael Trigg	FL	****	FSU, MSU, many others
Erin Outley	AR	***	Ark, FSU, MSU
Bryson Nesbit	SC	***	SC, UNC, Aub

Needs: High. Michigan loses Eubanks this year and Erick All burned his redshirt. Luke Schoonmaker and 2020 recruit Matthew Hibner are the only other TEs on the roster. Michigan would like two here.

Commit: Your annual 3-star who shouldn't be one from the Northeast this year is MA 4* Louis Hansen (commit post), and at this point Rivals has just thrown up their hands and made Hansen a top-100 dude. Rivals' EJ Holland got out there recently (yes during Covid) and decided that ranking is legit($):

First of all, I love Hansen's build. He's thick in both his upper and lower halves and is a legit 6-foot-5. He's a great in-line blocker in pads and is a true threat as a pass catcher. ….Hansen has been working hard on his speed this offseason, and it showed on the field today. He really flew down the field on go routes and deep posts. I also thought he polished up his route running.

There's a new opponent coach quote for Hansen too:

“We game planned for Hansen and felt we had a schematic advantage defensively against him at times, but it didn’t matter because he’s such a great athlete. We’d double-cover him with a guy underneath and one over the top, and there was still nothing we could do to stop him.

That article also describes Hansen being used as a Wildcat QB, because Massachusetts football.

Prospects: Michigan is one of many after IA 4* TE Thomas Fidone, who's now the top TE and a top-50 player to 247. He was set to visit Michigan last week had recruiting not been shut down, and as of May 11 it was a Nebraska/Michigan/Iowa($) battle according to Lorenz. LSU writers now think getting Fidone on campus gets them a good shot, and Iowa's 247 guy keeps hearing($) "a lot more buzz for LSU and Michigan as of late."

They're not leaving it at that. FL 4* Michael Trigg is a grow-a-TE-from-a-WR in the Eubanks mold who's got an offer list a mile wide. (Wasn't a Michael Trigg the quarterback of the Detroit Drive when our arena football team won back to back ArenaBowls?) Upwardly mobile AR 3* Erin Outley was extended an offer in April, and recently SC 3* Bryson Nesbit, a 6'6" grow-a-Kaiju, got one too.

Happy trails: I believe Michigan has backed off OH 4* Jack Pugh, who has three crystal balls to Wisconsin.

Way Too Early Projection: Until the top ranking and the LSU offer it looked like Michigan was alone in the Fidone driver's seat. Are the other offers because they're hedging? They'll take at least two in this class; the LSU thing is too new to judge whether they're a fleeting part of his recruitment or throw everything they have at him.

Offensive Line

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Giovanni El-Hadi	MI	****.5	Michigan		Hello. Big-time potential. Winter camp star.
Greg Crippen	IMG(MA)	****	Michigan		Hello.
Raheem Anderson	MI	****	Michigan		Hello.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
OG Rocco Spindler	MI	****.5	ND, Michigan, PSU		Visit for Army. JJ wants to be friends. Interview w Marich.
OT Garrett Dellinger	MI	****.5	LSU, Michigan, OSU, PSU		Glowing review
OG Drew Kendall	MA	****	Michigan, BC, Duke, PSU		Phinney's hello.
OT Thomas Cole	CA	***	UCLA, Michigan, Zona, Cal, Oreg St, NW
OT Tristan Bounds	CT	***	VT, Virginia, ND, Michigan
OG Ross Maseuli	CA	***	open

Needs: High. Building the good ol' rows of shark teeth takes a steady diet of top-notch OL you can pack away for awhile. Michigan would like to get five or six again this round to replace the five they lost. Tackle is the priority because a lot of the guys they've gotten lately either project to guard or were light Frey-types who may or may not grow into Ts. They also want centers since Ruiz left early and Carpenter is the only scholarship one on the roster.

Commits: Elite in-state OT Giovanni El-Hadi has been in the class so long everybody's forgetting there's a 4.5* in it. IMG by way of MA 4* Greg Crippen (commit post), a brainiac center, joined in late March to much rejoicing. If Crippen is Ruiz 2.0, Cass Tech 4* Raheem Anderson (commit post), is the Onwenu, a burly ball of hate on the field and the non-legacy Michigan commit most likely to know who Dr. Sap is.

Rivals' Clayton Safie recently looked at Anderson and got some quotes from Josh Helmholdt. Some of the points therein: Anderson is one of the smartest kids in the 2021 class, had a bad five-star challenge last summer, and oh please say "pad level":

"He’s a guy who is very patient. He doesn’t overextend himself very often and he bends and gains leverage really well."

Prospects: The state of Michigan is loaded with offensive line talent this year, and it would be a shame to see either of the Clarkston pair go out of state. Michigan has been after G Rocco Spindler (who could also be an elite DT prospect) as long as Donovan Edwards, or longer: Spindler's dad played for Jack Harbaugh. Michigan was looking good a year ago, but where they've been constantly chipping away at Edwards until he's blue, Notre Dame's been at work on Spindler. Holland says Michigan's been working twice as hard($) and four OL going in the draft helped, but ND has Spindler's Fortnite team (McCarthy, step it up man).

Isaiah Hole talked to Spindler a month ago.

We get the perception that this is Michigan vs. Notre Dame battle. How true is that?

“Yeah, it’s very accurate. Those schools have been around me since my freshman year. They’re great academic schools, great football teams and they put a lot of guys in the NFL. The networking at both of those schools are unbelievable. You can’t get that anywhere else. Of course they would be at the top of my picks.”

Spindler originally had a commitment date set for last Friday but now plans to wait out the lockdown, take his five visits, and decide after. Those top five will be announced imminently; Steve's guess at the other three($) are PSU, OSU, and Bama. Two crystal balls for ND went in on April 25, both from pretty accurate sources.

Holland also dropped a bombshell in the afore mentioned article, saying whoever gets Spindler probably won't get Clarkston teammate Garrett Dellinger. Dellinger is a Bredeson-level athlete and LSU has been working on him for a long time but Warinner has been making up ground. He's going to visit whenever the state reopens says 247's Brice Marich.

Massachusetts might as well be in-state these days, and the state's #1 player Drew Kendall has been a Michigan lead for a long time. Teammate Casey Phinney is in the class, and Holland says Hansen has been helping too. A commitment could be on the horizon.

After the top prospects are a few guys Michigan really likes if they have room at all. The one I like best is TE convert Thomas Cole, who's so much a Frey type he draws direct comparisons to last year's type specimen Jeff Persi($). Northwestern, which yoinked Caleb Tiernan (/shakes fist) recently offered Cole as well. Michigan is absolutely still after Oak Park's Rayshaun Benny, but as a defensive lineman.

The staff have never been out of touch with CT 3* Tristan Bounds, a 6'8 prospect ND recently offered and whom 247 likes much more than the composite does. Michigan might too; Lorenz said he believes Bounds is a guy Michigan would take a commitment from($) right now, and Ole Miss and Notre Dame are involved. Ross Maseuli is another Mater Dei prospect who was planning an official to Michigan($) right when the curtains came down. Bama recently offered.

Happy trails: Universal 5* Ts Nolan Rucci (a Wis-PSU-Clemson battle) and Good Cousel's Langon Tengwall (PSU), and their #1 center prospect Ryan Linthicum (Clemson) went off the board a few months ago. More recently Michigan lost two OT battles they led: Detroit Country Day 4* OT Caleb Tiernan seemed like Michigan's to lose all the way—the dude even shrugged off legit Ohio State interest—to commit to former Michigan OL Kurt Anderson and Northwestern. IL 4* OT David Davidkov had Michigan in the lead until a few weeks back, when he committed to Iowa.

Prediction Based on Flimsy Evidence: El-Hadi, Crippen, Anderson, Spindler, Kendall, and Cole or Bounds. A class of 4.5*, 4.5*, 4*, 4*, 4* and a 3.5* Frey type is only disappointing in the context of how many elite guys they were in on.