braden smith

THE ESSENTIALS

WHAT	#79 Michigan (7-11, 2-5 B10) at #2 Purdue (17-2, 6-2 B10)
WHERE	Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
WHEN	9:00 PM
THE LINE	Kenpom: PU-17 Torvik: PU-20
TELEVISION	Peacock (streaming link)

THE OVERVIEW

Purdue Basketball is having its 2023 Michigan Football season, with a game-bending senior up front who put off the pros to get in a run with some underrated sophomores coming into their stardom. Also along for the ride are some longtime contributors who chose to come off the bench rather than transfer because This Right Here is The Year. They're led by a brilliant, 100% authentic, Hall of Fame coach whose one knock is an inability heretofore to win on the biggest stage.

The difference: Purdue Hoops ran over a murderer's row of Xavier, Zaga, Tennessee, Marquette, Bama, and Zona in the nonconference, then lost road games at both of the Big Ten's mediocre NUs.

Like 2023 Purdue Football, Michigan is a rickety nuisance that looks tougher on paper than the field of play, is playing this one without a critical guard, and is about to get steamrolled. There the comparisons end, except their visit to West Lafayette is being played far too late at night on Peacock.

If you're looking for reasons to get your login credentials back from your brother and stay up for the nadir of Michigan basketball since before Zak and Stu, it's that what Purdue does will work equally well on #3 Arizona or #95 Indiana. Until they prove otherwise, we can assume the general Painterness of this program that leads to upsets against Farleigh Dickinson is still baked in. Who's the Farleigh Dickinson now? We are. Go…wildcats? Corporals? [does a google] Knights!

[Hit THE JUMP for murder at the hands of good people.]

Today's recruiting roundup covers Michigan's latest offers to 2015 and 2016(!) prospects, campus visits by Braden Smith and Danny Burns, and more.

We Offered A Freshman. A 6'4", 248-Pound Freshman.

As the recruiting process continues to speed up, programs are getting in on top prospects earlier and earlier in their high school—or, if you're USC or LSU, middle school—careers. Michigan took a big step in that direction this week when Greg Mattison offered 2016 GA TE Isaac Nauta, the first freshman to earn that distinction in program history, per Tim Sullivan ($):

"We called Coach Mattison, and he just explained to me how they watched my film, the tight ends coach really liked me over there, and they wanted to offer me early," Nauta said. "He said that they actually don't offer kids this early, so it was kind of a special for them which I thought was really cool. It was pretty humbling because apparently I'm the first freshman that they've ever offered."

The Wolverines aren't even the first program to get in on Nauta, who also holds offers from Clemson, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech. This is the case because Nauta is, well, not your typical high school freshman—he's listed at 6'4", 248 pounds, and recorded six TD receptions and eight sacks for the Buford High School varsity squad, which won the Georgia Class AAA state title. Aside from some rawness in technique, there's little in his freshman film to suggest that he is, in fact, a freshman.

If Michigan is going to continue offering kids this early, I support the "offer man-child first, ask questions later" tack. Nauta says he plans to visit Ann Arbor in June, and he's taking his time with the recruiting process—which, yeah, is probably a good idea.

Michigan sent out a 2014 offer to AZ WR/DB Jalen Brown, according to Scout's Jason Jewell ($). The 6'2", 185-pound athlete now holds 29 scholarship offers, including USC, Stanford, Ohio State, and Oklahoma.

The Wolverines also sent out a 2015 offer this week to Plano (TX) West RB Soso Jamabo, per 247's Clint Brewster ($). Jamabo also holds offers from Ohio State and Oklahoma; at 6'2", 200 lbs., he's one to watch down the road, both for his talent and his name.

[Hit THE JUMP for visit reactions from a pair of 2014 linemen and more.]