Don't Buckle Up Yet, But...

check the 2:57 mark to see a defender get spot-shadowed before getting juked to the ground.

...stay vigilant? 247's Steve Wiltfong just put in a Crystal Ball pick for four-star CT WR Tarik Black to Michigan:

I was hearing rumblings coming out of the Barbecue at the Big House that the Wolverines moved into pole position for the Cheshire (Conn.) Academy standout.

I'm also told Stanford and Alabama are the biggest threats to Michigan. Notre Dame was once considered the top contender but the Irish have faded some. The Cardinal staff is expected out to see Black next week.

Black wants to announce at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl but I would not be surprised if he did something sooner.

Notre Dame was considered the leader for a long time; if they're not the main contender, that's great news for Michigan.

[Hit THE JUMP for a quick McCaffrey eval and more.]

Not Quite An FBO: Dylan McCaffrey

MGoVideo saved me the trouble of putting together a video from Dylan McCaffrey's nationally televised game against Saguaro.

Dylan McCaffrey (Valor Christian, Littleton Colo.), son of ESPN’s Ed and Lisa Show co-stars, brother of Christian, Max and Luke, took the field against Saguaro (Ariz.) and completed 18 of 24 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown each passing, rushing and receiving on Saturday. Unfortunately for the McCaffreys, it wasn’t enough as Saguaro’s offense was unstoppable in the 49-28 defeat for Valor Christian.

McCaffrey throws the ball past the sticks all of two times in this game, so it's not worth turning into a full-blown scouting post. The main thing that stood out to me was McCaffrey's pocket presense; while he can get happy feet, he keeps his eyes downfield even when under heavy pressure while still showing a sense for where the pass-rush is coming from, and with the exception of one Very Bad Idea ball that was nearly intercepted, that skill got him a lot of yards in this game.

The other, far more minor thing I noticed is McCaffrey is really good at play-action fakes for a high school quarterback. Not many QBs have the calm and instinct to wait that extra beat with their back turned to the defense. It would've been nice to see McCaffrey connect on the two deep throws, but one of those came under heavy pressure, and I won't put too much stock in a throw or two.

Leatherwood Sets Official Visit

Five-star FL OT Alex Leatherwood has mentioned interest in Michigan a number of times despite his commitment to Alabama, and while it's probably still best to consider him a longshot, Scout's Chad Simmons reports that he's set two official visits: Michigan and Alabama.

"I will be visiting Michigan for the Wisconsin game (October 1) and this will be my first time visiting Michigan," said Leatherwood.  "Michigan has a need for offensive linemen and I really like the direction the program is going in.  I like coach [Tim] Drevno's (Offensive coordinator/Offensive line) track record with players too."

Leatherwood plans to see USC, Florida, and LSU after the season, but one gets the sense that Michigan is running second right now.

Peoples-Jones Sets Official To... Nebraska?

Five-star Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones will take his first official visit to Nebraska this weekend, as will Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Upon seeing this news, I had a similar reaction to Wiltfong:

This is probably been said here, and I said this to Lorenz on the phone yesterday, but Peoples-Jones taking a visit to Nebraska this weekend just screams to me he's going to Michigan and now he's going to enjoy the process with his friends, see some cool places, experience different things. He's already been on a ton of college campuses.

Taking that visit on the same weekend as JKP lends credence to that hypothesis.

Antwuan Johnson Discusses His Commitment

Four-star 2018 OH ILB Antwuan Johnson discussed his commitment status and his former teammate, Leonard Taylor, with The Wolverine's Brandon Brown, and like the rest of us, Taylor's decommitment didn't exactly catch him off guard:

"I feel like Lenny committed to Michigan because of me but his heart was always with that team in Columbus," Johnson explained. "I could tell when he started planning visits and went to watch that team in Columbus play after he committed. He was wearing their shirt — I knew then.

"I don't think he'll be back with Michigan. I don't see any reason to decommit and then commit back. I think he'll end up playing for that team in Columbus. I support his decision though. Lenny is my boy and I wish him nothing but the best."

Johnson, who just got cleared to play after transferring from Springfield to Dunbar in the offseason, will be on campus this weekend; his commitment sounds firm.

Etc.

Four-star PA DT Donovan Jeter tweeted he's considering Michigan again. This looks like a direct result of the Aubrey Solomon decommitment. Also potentially related: four-star Flint SDE/DT Deron Irving-Bey is hoping to squeeze in a visit to the Hawaii game this weekend before he has to work in the evening; even if he doesn't make it, that's a good sign.

Last night at midnight marked the beginning of the contact period for 2018 prospects. I won't bother to cover all the players Michigan has reached out to; if they have an offer, you can bet they heard from a coach. That includes the nation's #1 prospect, GA QB Trevor Lawrence, who Michigan hopes they can sway from current favorite Georgia.