chase lasater

Exit: Chase Lasater

I'm a little late getting to this after the bye week, but fullback Chase Lasater is no longer a member of the class. Lasatar announced his decommitment on his Twitter account, which is now set to private. He said he and his family "feel it is best" to reopen his recruitment and that Michigan remains one of his top schools; he thanked Jim Harbaugh and Bam Richards for recruiting him.

With Michigan going after LSU fullback commit Tory Carter, who has an official visit scheduled, it would be a surprise if Lasater ended up back in the class.

Busy Bye

The coaching staff didn't take it easy during the bye week, instead heading out for a long list of recruiting visits headlined by Jim Harbaugh's stop in Antioch to see the #1 recruit in the country, CA RB Najee Harris. Scout's Josh Henschke has a full, free rundown of who the coaches saw.

Notably, a few new offers went out, including one that spurred a new Crystal Ball prediction. That came after Michigan offered three-star TN DT Rutger Reitmaier, who's committed to Oregon, a program you may recall hiring a defensive coordinator with a very strong track record of unearthing excellent defensive linemen. Reitmaier has some impressive junior film (see above) and Oregon commits are ripe for picking these days. This offer looks like a reflection of both Reitmaier's ability and M's waning hopes of bringing Aubrey Solomon back into the fold; Sam Webb was in Lee County during the bye and came away saying M's chances at Solomon are "essentially nil."

Harbaugh also offered top-100 Las Vegas Bishop Gorman S Bubba Bolden, and Sam Webb says that despite the late timing of the offer, Michigan could have a shot:

Michigan offered four-star safety Bubba Bolden from Bishop Gorman. Despite the relative lateness of that offer, the interest definitely appears to be mutual. Bolden has two open visit dates and has expressed a desire to give Michigan one of them. No firm date has been established but a trip to Ann Arbor now appears to be a distinct possibility.

The coaches also offered four-star AZ S Isaiah Pola-Mao, who currently has Washington on top of his list. The multiple new safety offers could be a result of commit J'Marick Woods, who recently had high praise for his Arkansas official visit, taking a look around; I highly doubt it's a product of losing confidence in their ability to land Jaylen Kelly-Powell.

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This post has been updated.

Michigan kicked off a huge recruiting weekend a little early, securing a commitment from FL LB/FB Chase Lasater on Thursday night. Lasater is listed at 6'2", 238 pounds on his Hudl page, which until last night was the only thing resembling a recruiting profile on him. The four sites have now added his profile, and a couple have even posted scouting reports.

Lasater entered his visit this weekend holding only a Troy offer. Michigan really values his potential as a fullback, however, so they didn't wait long to give him a scholarship offer, and Lasater didn't wait long to accept it:

"Harbaugh saw me and immediately wanted to offer, so I committed," Lasater told Scout. "Well, I was expecting an offer already, just not that day. But I met Harbaugh, we talked for a few minutes, and then I told him I was ready to commit.

"He then told me that I can commit this second, and I was quite surprised, but I shook his hand and the deal was done. (It's a) great feeling. They can expect a hard-nosed, tough player who will make plays and not let them down!"

Lasater is Michigan's ninth commit in the 2017 class and the first at fullback. He should also get a chance to play linebacker; he best projects as a thumping lead blocker.

GURU RATINGS

Scout Rivals ESPN 247 247 Comp
NR ILB 3* FB NR FB NR FB 3*, #25 ILB,

#611 Ovr

I have no idea how the 247 Composite came up with their ranking, but Lasater's only been given a cursory three-star ranking on Rivals, and they've yet to give him a position ranking.

All four sites list him in the same range as his Hudl page: 6'2" and ~235 pounds. ESPN lists him one inch shorter, which wouldn't be a bad thing if he ends up at fullback—he's plenty big and that would give him a little more leverage when blocking.

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