Jim Harbaugh, Picky Shopper

NOPE

Maize n Brew's Brandon Justice penned an article on four-star CA C Brett Neilon for the Detroit News that contains what I believe is the first food-related Harbaughism that isn't about red meat:

A conversation Neilon had with Harbaugh earlier this month may have placed Michigan at the top of Neilon’s list among schools he is considering.

The topic: blueberries.

“He told me, if you buy a pack of 30 blueberries and one is moldy, it will affect the others, and that’s why he doesn’t recruit moldy blueberries,” Neilon said, laughing, recalling his talk with Harbaugh. “(Harbaugh) thinks I will fit perfectly at Michigan.”

While Neilon won't cop to having a leader, he acknowledged Michigan is recruiting him harder than any other school. USC and Washington are M's primary competition. Notably, the California native says distance from home won't play a factor.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

Wouldn't That Make Him Waluigi?

247's Steve Lorenz reports top-100 VA WDE Luigi Vilain, a Canadian transplant, is visiting campus this weekend, and Steve's intel on Vilain led him to put in a Crystal Ball pick for Michigan. Steve Wiltfong followed suit shortly thereafter:

The Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal standout visits Ann Arbor again this weekend but a decision isn't expected till early June, likely June 8 when he returns to his native Canada.

247Sports is told Vilain is really high on Michigan. Rounding out the top three is Virginia Tech and USC.

At 6'4", 240 pounds, Vilain could be a WDE or SAM in Don Brown's defense.

Another weekend visitor to keep an eye on is three-star OH SDE James Hudson, who decommitted from Kentucky yesterday. Hudson's fielded recent offers from the likes of Alabama and Miami; at the moment, Michigan and MSU are the two school listed as "warm" on his 247 profile.

More DPJ Optimism

Monday's roundup led off with a very positive post from Rivals on Michigan's standing with five-star Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, noting he had a great tour of the medical campus on his latest visit. Turns out it was more than just a tour. Steve Lorenz did some digging and found even more reason for optimism from Michigan's end:

EDIT: The tweet won't embed properly, but says Donovan Peoples-Jones has been working/shadowing at U of M hospital for surgeries and other medical fields.

Since it appears as a pretty big deal, I was able to check with those closer to the Michigan side of things and can confirm that the above is true regarding Peoples-Jones, who has been apparently posting some of his experience on Snapchat, an app that I despise and refuse to add to my phone.

As a fellow Snapchat holdout, I'll take Steve's word on that. It's safe to assume DPJ is "shadowing" instead of working a paid position, which would get into tricky NCAA territory. It's hard to take this news as anything but a great sign.

Speaking of which, top-100 AL WR Nico Collins continues to say Michigan leads, though he also acknowledged he's susceptible to the post-visit afterglow factor. We'll learn more about where the Wolverines truly stand after his next visit or two. For now, the way he talks about Michigan—"everything was just perfect"—is quite promising.

St-Juste Moving Up

It's been quite a month for Benjamin St-Juste, whose standout performance at the Opening New Jersey regional ultimately resulted in an invite to the finals. The regional gave some scouts their first real look at St-Juste; Scout responded by moving him from a two-star to the #32-ranked corner in the class, only three spots away from four-star status.

St-Juste ran a 4.64 40-yard dash in New Jersey, a strong mark for a 6'3" corner. That apparently wasn't satisfactory:

Wasn't satisfied with my 40 at The Opening , so I decided to work harder and I just ran a 4.54 Thanks to @Hudl Combine

— Benjamin St-Juste (@BenjWolfpack24) May 13, 2016

At this rate, he'll be running a sub-4.0 in no time.

Various Top X Lists

Michigan joins Alabama and Miami in a "rough" top three for four-star GA ATH DeeJay Dallas, who told Scout's Chad Simmons he's looking forward to a trip north:

"I am ready to get up there and see Michigan.  They have really been recruiting me hard and they have a lot of history there.  I love Jabrill Peppers and they say I could be like him up there.  Coach [Jim] Harbaugh lets his guys be who they are and do what they do.  Peppers plays offense and defense and I love how coach Harbaugh allows his guys to find themselves.

"I have a great relationship with coach Partridge and it is a school I really want to get to, to spend some time at."

Dallas says he'll either commit this summer if he's comfortable with a school or wait until December when his senior season is over.

Michigan is the only non-SEC school in the top five for four-star MS OLB Willie Gay, who hails from Starkville. Yes, both Mississippi schools are included. The Wolverines also made the top ten for four-star IMG OLB Jordan Anthony, who noted five schools he's most familiar with:

“I would definitely say Michigan, Clemson, Maryland and Oklahoma and Penn State,” he said.

Anthony hails from the DC area, and two IMG teammates—including five-star DE Josh Kaindoh—have committed to Maryland, so don't discount the Terps here.

Michigan also made the top ten for four-star KY OT Jedrick Wills, though they're almost certainly working from well behind with him—Kentucky has all but one of his Crystal Ball picks.

New Offers

We're still at the stage where it's near-impossible to cover all of Michigan's offers in a couple of roundups a week. Lately, some more notable offers have gone out. I'll do my best to cover them all.

Starting in the 2017 class, Michigan offered four-star NC S Hamsah Nasirildeen, whom 247's Barton Simmons mentioned showed high interest in the Wolverines early in his recruitment. We'll see if that's held up now that he's got a who's-who of southern power programs in pursuit.

The coaches are targeting a huge wideout in three-star FL WR Matt Landers, who told TMI's Brice Marich he plans to visit this summer after fielding an offer. Landers is 6'5", 182 pounds, and his offer sheet far outstrips his current ranking; Notre Dame is the latest big-time school to throw their hat in the ring.

Marich reports Michigan also offered four-star 2018 FL WR Xavier Williams, who claims no early leaders among his impressive list of offers.

2018 five-star NY OL/DL Matthew Jones has Alabama and Ohio State out in front early, but 247's Alex Gleitman reports that he really wanted offers from Michigan and Oregon, and the former came through this week. Jones is a Brian-approved prospect:

"I feel really good about the offer from Michigan," Jones told 247Sports. "They have a great program and the academics there are great. I want to study either mechanical or electrical engineering in college."

Michigan still has work to do, but there's plenty of time.

The Wolverines grabbed the lead outright for four-star 2018 MO DT Michael Thompson, who told TMI's Josh Newkirk there's a simple reason why Michigan is on top:

“The offer came like two weeks ago, my coach told me” Thompson said of his offer from U-M. “Michigan is probably on top right now.”

Why is Michigan on top? What stands about the Wolverines? Well, one particular reason, Thompson says.

“I like Michigan’s coach Jim Harbaugh,” Thompson said.

Michigan is the first elite program to offer Thompson, who also holds offers from Mizzou, Louisville, Illinois, and Iowa.

Etc.

I highly recommend Brandon Justice's extensive recap of the Opening regionals, which includes a handful of prospects raving about the move to Jordan apparel.

2018 Detroit County Day LB Kolin Demens, younger brother of Kenny, seems darn close to a lock to end up in the class based on what he told Josh Newkirk:

“I love Michigan a lot,” Demens said. “I miss being there with my brother. I miss him living there. Being there every weekend for games, it’s a great atmosphere in the Big House – I love it there.”

Demens recently added a Michigan offer and stood out at the Chicago regional for the Opening.

I fully approve of Michigan pursuing all large RB/FB types with the name Sione.