MSU Visit Reactions: Addison Makes Surprise Cuts

While Michigan's first big fall visit weekend didn't go as planned, the coaching staff still managed to make inroads with some of their top targets.

The highest-ranked uncommitted official visitors were a trio of California prospects, and in at least one case it looks like the Wolverines made a move. Not long after returning from his trip, top-100 CA ATH Bryan Addison trimmed his list to five schools: Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan, Nebraska, and UCLA. Two of the three schools thought to be in best position to land him were omitted, per Scout's Greg Biggins:

Two schools that Addison always mentioned previously were USC and Washington but neither made his final cut.

"I liked USC but I had to look at this as a business decision and I just felt like the other schools were better fits for me," Addison said. "With Washington, we kind of lost communication there and I haven't been hearing as much from them as the other schools."

The third school is UCLA, who Biggins says Addison nearly committed to eariler in the process. He thinks Arizona is the wild card. Meanwhile, 247's Steve Lorenz is hearing this is a Michigan-UCLA battle with the Bruins currently holding the lead. Michigan may gain an edge, however, because they're pitching Addison as a two-way player. At 6'5", 180, he's built for wide receiver, but he's also a high-level safety prospect. With USC out of the picture, at least for the moment, his recruitment just got really interesting.

Four-star CA S Julius Irvin spoke very highly of his visit to Scout's Blair Angulo:

"I had a lot of expectations for the visit since it was my first time out there and it was just an amazing atmosphere at the game. I was surprised seeing everything in person -- it's a whole different deal than just hearing about it or seeing that on TV. What they have to offer -- the education, the coaches and their willingness to put a lot of defensive backs on the field -- all stood out to me. It impressed me a lot. Getting to know the coaches and some players on the team was awesome."

Notre Dame and Washington are the two schools holding picks on his Crystal Ball, and he has tentative plans to visit Utah and USC. Michigan did their best to make him feel at home; in addition to hanging with Addison and the next recruit in this section, he spent time with California natives Kekoa Crawford and David Long.

Five-star CA WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was considered a longshot heading into the visit, and his post-visit quotes don't give the impression that's changed. Via Rivals's Adam Gorney:

“It was fun,” St. Brown said. “Finally going to see coach (Jim) Harbaugh was cool. I wasn’t up there since my freshman year when I went up there with B2G, the whole team. To finally go up there and to have the focus be more on me now and the understanding of Michigan and what they’re about, it was a fun experience.

This is probably still a Notre Dame-USC battle.

Michigan still made progress towards landing a receiver commit, as three-star Florida native Shocky Jacques-Louis, a Tennessee verbal, told TMI's Brice Marich he's "close" with grad assistant Joe Hastings, the closest thing Michigan has to a dedicated WRs coach. His UT pledge doesn't sound particularly strong:

With his official visit to Michigan now in the books, the Maize and Blue left quite an impression on Jacques-Louis and his recruitment.

“They are definitely a factor in my decision to come,” Jacques-Louis said.

As a general rule, a "decision to come" is bad news for the program currently holding the commitment. Jacques-Louis was also a Kentucky verbal at one point, and it looks distinctly possible he continues to climb the ladder with another change in destination.

[Hit THE JUMP for visit reactions from underclassmen, notable new offers, and more.]

More Visit Reactions: Coaches Show Dobbs The Love

If Michigan doesn't land five-star 2019 Belleville OT Devontae Dobbs, it won't be because they didn't make him feel wanted, per TMI's Evan Petzold:

"It went pretty good," Dobbs told The Michigan Insider. "When I got there I talked to coach (Jim) Harbaugh, coach (Tim) Drevno, some of the other guys, and a few of the players. Then, I went to the game."

While speaking with the coaches, Dobbs received encouraging words.

"They were just saying they love me, my courage, and my athletic ability," he stated. "They said I'm the type of guy they want on campus playing for their team."

While Dobbs still sounds lukewarm on Michigan, the Wolverines have a new voice in his ear now that former lineman Dave Dawson found work close to home after leaving Iowa State:

Dobbs didn't talk to many recruits at the game. Instead, he spent time with Dave Dawson, who is a former player for the Wolverines. Dawson is also the offensive line coach at Belleville.

"He said Michigan is a good place," Dobbs said. "They academics are what he really loved." 

Michigan State and Ohio State are still the teams to beat here, but I think we can dismiss the notion that Michigan won't land him because of a lack of effort. Meanwhile, Dawson's presence on Belleville's coaching staff hopefully will pay dividends in the future, whether with Dobbs or other prospects from one of the state's most talented programs.

Michigan has another pair of Georgia prospects seriously considering spending their college days in Big Ten country. The heavy usage of young tight ends Sean McKeon, Zach Gentry, and Tyrone Wheatley Jr. wasn't lost on top-100 TE Ryland Goede, per Steve Lorenz:

"I think the obvious takeaway is that at Michigan you're going to play early and often if you play tight end," Goede told Wolverine247 on Monday. "They play a lot of different players there and they put them in a lot of different situations. That's really important to me in my recruitment and I'd have to say that Michigan is second to none in how they use and develop guys at the position."

While Goede's Crystal Ball reads 100% for Georgia, there haven't been any new picks since July, and it looks like Michigan made a move over the weekend. Meanwhile, coveted GA OT Harry Miller called the Big House atmosphere "one of the best in the country," and emerged from his visit with Michigan in a top four alongside Clemson, Georgia, and Ohio State, according to Brice Marich. 

2018 Offers: New Targets at RB, DE

Four-star NJ DE Jayson Oweh, a relative latecomer to football, had seemingly narrowed his focus to Ohio State and Penn State. That changed this week when Michigan came forth with an offer, per 247's Steve Wiltfong:

"This is a huge offer for me because they’re both academically and athletically strong," Oweh told 247Sports. "This is definitely a game changer. My parents are excited about the offer as well.

"We will definitely be utilizing one of our official visits on Michigan."

The "we" indicates his parents would accompany him on his official visit, which is a signal of serious interest in case that quote wasn't enough on its own. The late-cycle offer doesn't seem to bother Oweh, which makes sense, as his highlight video indicates he's only in his second year playing the sport. Given that context, he shows quite a bit of potential.

Note: single-game reel from this year, not full-season highlights

Michigan also made a push to get a running back in the class, immediately becoming the favorite for three-star MO RB Hassan Haskins's after offering, per Wiltfong:

He tells 247Sports he'll take an official the weekend of Oct. 28.

"I'm really excited," Haskins said. "This is a big offer, this is one of my favorite colleges."

While Michigan is easily Haskins's best offer, Scout's Allen Trieu called him a sleeper and threw out an enticing player comp:

Legit size and a between the tackles runner with power and toughness. He’s drawn some Le’veon Bell comparisons.

Sam Webb believes a commitment could be in the offing when Haskins takes his visit.

The Wolverine's Brandon Brown reports that Michigan also made a significant jump up the list of three-star GA TE Tommy Tremble, who appreciated that Michigan offered despite him suffering a broken ankle in week two. The Wolverines are now in his top group:

"Michigan definitely moved into my top three with the offer," he said. "I’ve cut things down a little more but I just haven’t posted anything about it. Michigan is definitely a big contender.

"I actually liked Michigan since I was little. My dad and his best friend are big fans of Michigan and were actually born in Michigan so it’s always kind of been around me. I’m a really big fan of Coach [Jim] Harbaugh too so it’s just a big deal to have them as an option."

Georgia, where his dad played, is a major player, and he's planning to take trips to Notre Dame and UCLA. He's looking to visit Michigan for the Ohio State game.

Michigan also recently offered four-star 2019 CA TE Jude Wolfe, who told Scout's Greg Biggins it was "huge to get that offer."  He's a national recruit; offers also came in from Notre Dame and Texas A&M last week.

Etc.

According to Rivals's Adam Friedman, four-star NC DT Alim McNeill will take an official visit for the Ohio State game. He also has one lined up to Virginia Tech in December and plans to use his other three OVs.

Four-star CA WR/TE Michael Ezeike will also take an official for The Game, per Scout's Brandon Huffman.

Sam Webb posted a board thread in which a source close to Otis Reese's recruitment told him he believes Michigan "has a really good chance" of keeping Reese's commitment despite the recent rumblings he could flip to Georgia.