Black Moves Up Decision Timeline

This is quite notable in conjunction with last week's news that Michigan's impending numbers crunch is likely to cost either Oliver Martin or Tarik Black a spot in the class.

COP, I will no longer announce my commitment at the AA game but will announce within the next 2-3 weeks #StayTuned @BleacherReport

— Tarik Black (@LetmeRockk_) November 28, 2016

Even though Black recently named Alabama as his leader, this looks like Black securing a spot in Michigan's class ahead of Martin. SECCountry's Chris Kirschner explains:

So, what do I make of him saying Alabama is his current leader? I don’t really think much of it right now. I truly believe this may be a case of a prospect talking up Alabama shortly before committing to a different school.

My pick for Black is Michigan because I know the Wolverines covet him more than the Tide currently do. Again, there are three committable offers out at the receiver position: Smith, Ruggs and Collins. If Alabama misses on any of those receivers, that’s when they’ll go to Plan B, which Black currently is.

I fully expect Black to commit to Michigan, even though he says Alabama is his top school.

Wolverine247's Steve Lorenz reports Jedd Fisch will do an in-home visit with Black on Thursday, and he still expects Black to end up in Ann Arbor.

Among the many in-home visits taking place this week, Lorenz mentions a couple notables taking place today: Chris Partridge will check in on top-100 MS LB Willie Gay and Jay Harbaugh will visit with top-50 OT and LSU commit Austin Deculus.

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

As The Solomon Turns: Bama Tightens The Race

Top-100 GA DT Aubrey Solomon's recruitment is shaping up to be the one we remember for its dramatic twists and turns regardless of where he winds up. The one-time Michigan commit had the Wolverines as his leader again heading into his official visit to Alabama last weekend. He told Scout's Chad Simmons after the visit that he no longer has a clear leader:

"My visit to Alabama was extremely fun for me and my mom," said Solomon.  "The visit definitely showed us that Alabama is good at what they do.  They excel in areas that have nothing to do with football.

"As far as numbers on how they compared to Michigan and who the leaders is now, I couldn't tell you all that right now."

The good news: Bama doesn't lead outright, at least publicly, and Solomon has no more official visits currently scheduled.

The bad news: it probably goes without saying that it would've been preferable for Bama to, you know, not tie things up here.

I won't bother trying to guess how this ends up going.

Slaton Fading

Based on the way top-100 FL OG TJ Slaton's recruitment has gone, this bit of news from 247's Andrew Ivins doesn't come as a surprise:

The U.S. Army All-American was previously considered somewhat of a Michigan-lean, but he said that's not exactly the case anymore after he didn't make it to Ann Arbor a few weeks ago for a planned official visit. 

“My SAT scores weren't up to par, so they canceled my trip," Slaton said. 

"I'm still talking to them though," he quickly added. 

While Michigan is still in Slaton's newly named top five, three other schools appear to have a better shot: Florida, Miami (YTM), and Ole Miss. Tennessee rounds out the group.

Michigan will get even more clarity regarding their offensive line board soon, as four-star CA OT Aaron Banks announces his decision on December 9th. Scout's Greg Biggins reports Michigan will take an in-home with him on Thursday. Arizona State, Notre Dame, Oregon, USC, and UCLA are also in the mix, and this is a recruitment with an air of mystery about it—the only Crystal Ball pick for Banks, a USC selection, was placed over a year ago.

Etc.

Surprise! The high school coach of three-star corner Elijah Hicks who insisted Hicks would stick with his Notre Dame commitment—and still does—told Irish247's Tom Loy that it was his dream to play for the Irish. He may not be the most reliable source in this case; optimism is strong from the Michigan side.

Safety commit J'Marick Woods will announce his final decision between Michigan, Arkansas, and Mississippi State on Friday at around 9:45 am, per Scout's Chad Simmons. There doesn't seem to be much concern from Michigan's side of things despite some optimism among both Arkansas and MSU recruiting reporters.

Five-star TX OLB Baron Browning, who's probably ending up at Alabama, pushed back his commitment. Unless something changes dramatically, Michigan is out of this one.

DJ Durkin loses the crown jewel of his class.

Jess Speight, a 6'4", 280-pound interior linemen and younger brother of Wilton, will join the program as a preferred walk-on. We've come a long way from expecting Speight to transfer.