recruiting board

One of the top targets for 2023 [Patrick Barron]

NOTE: This is being re-posted at the top of the site because it has been completely updated for April 2022

This is our sticky recruiting board for 2023. When I or Seth finish a major update, it will be reposted to the top of the site. Otherwise it will be under the "Useful Stuff" tab. 

The Guys: 

 Icon Name Meaning
Sad Josh The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something.
Tommy Torpor Player Michigan wanted, but who told Michigan he's going elsewhere so they've cut off their pursuit.
Nefarious Eduardo Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school.
Hopeful Hank Cousin of Sad Josh, the category of player Michigan has on the line heading into NSD whose committable offer is contingent on how the top prospects swing.
Data Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet.
Happy Teeth Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk.
Mr. Blue Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits.

The order of these faces are based on how likely the given player is to end up at Michigan and how high of a priority this player is. A couple notes I've copied and pasted from our 2022 board: 

A Note on "Stars": These are a general (not exact) average of a player's status among the recruiting services.

A Note on Premium Info: No illicit sharing of said material will appear on this site. Players are listed with interested schools in their profiles; this information is public. Commitments are by definition public. Any assertions as to schools in the mix, decision dates, or leaders I will back up with links to the source of the information. 

Quarterback 

Needs: 1. JJ and Cade are both back next year but it seems decently likely that one won't be on the 2023 roster given the way that QB decision making goes nowadays with the portal. Alan Bowman has one year of eligibility remaining, so he'll be gone by '23, and Michigan took two QBs in the 2022 class. It seems perhaps most likely that the Wolverines will take one in this class and then add a grad transfer if they lose both Bowman and one of Cade/JJ next offseason. 

What I wrote in January 2022: Dante Moore is the only name worth discussing right now. I listed a couple other guys in the table, but there's only one player on the board who Michigan is putting any resources into recruiting right now, and that's Moore. He's a 5* and he goes to HS in Detroit (MLK). That's the kind of recruit you have to have, and Harbaugh knows it. Cutting off major pursuit of anyone else sends that message to a kid, which is what Michigan has done.

Latest: The all-or-nothing approach to Dante Moore is still happening, but the probability has dropped some and become all the more risky. Moore has had serious flirtations with Notre Dame, although he will not be committing until late summer and the fact he hasn't means he isn't totally sold on the Irish. The SEC is involved, and playing time is said to be a major factor. Michigan needs to step up the game, because they still are not actively recruiting anyone else. 

Best Guess: Moore or bust. There is a list of other names Michigan could circle back to that are winnable recruitments, but it will be a major disappointment if they cannot land Moore. 

Targets
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Summary
Dante Moore MI ***** ND, M, OSU Top guy, ND has pulled ahead, still time
Malachi Nelson CA ***** USC SoCal 5* staying in SoCal
"Pop" Watson MA NR BC, KY, M, Oregon New England dual-threat picked Neb.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Many more small animated faces]

[Scheduling Note: No podcast today because we're doing a live NSD one with Lorenz on Wednesday evening.]

This is our sticky recruiting board for 2022. When I finish a major update on this I repost to the front page, hence the weird posted date above and the comments section that goes back a ways. Otherwise you can always find it (and I usually have somewhat updated) under the "Useful Stuff" tab. One of our users has put all of this into a very helpful Google Doc. The last front-page update was on October 29, 2021, which is why so many comments are from then. If you haven't explored the tabs, by the way, there's a lot of good content there that should help you orient yourself if you don't know the ins and outs of the site.

NEW FACE AGAIN!

There's yet another new face this time. As we approach National Signing Day we have a cousin of Sad Josh who's waiting to see how Michigan does with their top prospects to see if he has a committable offer. Usually there are at least one or two in each class as Michigan seldom gets all the guys they have hats in for, but have to leave the possibility open. Thus, Hopeful Hank:

Willie Henry and Dennis Norfleet were both Hanks. Their situations are often fluid, and not necessarily Michigan's choice. Often these guys are late risers or high-ceiling projects who are Hank'ing out with two or three schools alike in dignity to see where the best fit is when things shake out.

The Guys:

Icon Name Meaning
Sad Josh The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something.
Tommy Torpor Player Michigan wanted, but who told Michigan he's going elsewhere so they've cut off their pursuit.
Nefarious Eduardo Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school.
Hopeful Hank Cousin of Sad Josh, the category of player Michigan has on the line heading into NSD whose committable offer is contingent on how the top prospects swing.
Data Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet.
Happy Teeth Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk.
Mr. Blue Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits.

The order is my interpretation of how likely they are to commit and how many recruiting points are being expended. Prep school or IMG players are listed with their home states and then either the state their new school's in or "IMG".

A Note on "Stars": These are a general (not exact) average of a player's status among the recruiting services.

A Note on Premium Info: No illicit sharing of said material will appear on this site. Players are listed with interested schools in their profiles; this information is public. Commitments are by definition public. Any assertions as to schools in the mix, decision dates, or leaders I will back up with links to the source of the information.

Quarterback

Needs: 1-2. Michigan got 5* JJ McCarthy and Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman, but took just Cade McNamara and Dan Villari in the last two classes after longtime 2020 commit JD Johnson had to give up football for health reasons, and their quarterbacks from the two classes prior have already transferred. Harbaugh would like to get his old Stanford mix of a dual-threat and a gunslinger.

What I wrote in July 2021: Were laser focused on Denard-ian Nate Johnson before they suddenly opened up the board and took a Navarre/Speight-like Californian who's been falling down the rankings.

What I wrote in late October 2021: Johnson fell through after hometown Utah offered his little brother. Michigan still seems comfortable with Denegal, who has been falling down the rankings, as their class slinger, but stayed on Cal decommit Justyn Martin, who committed to UCLA. By the way they had 2023 Louisiana QB Jai Eugene Jr. on campus this weekend. If that name means nothing to you, you do not have to talk to Nick Hopwood about your retirement plans right this second.

Latest: Michigan has Alex Orji, a Virginia Tech commit, and Bryce Archie, who's committed to Coastal Carolina, interested if there's room at the end of the class.

Best Guess: Denegal and they go all in on Detroit King QB Dante Moore for 2023. My read on the class is the first empty spot if Michigan misses on anyone they're finishing with goes to the WR/DB athlete Koen Entringer, who was recently on campus, but a second open slot would go to Orji then Archie if Orji turns them down.

Commit
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Summary
Jayden Denegal CA ***.5 Michigan Ask again later
Targets
Player State Stars Schools Y/N Summary
Justyn Martin CA **** UCLA Visit didn't happen
Nate Johnson CA *** Utah Speed demon
Alex Orji TX ***.5 VT Tank
Bryce Archie GA *** C Carolina Baseball P, late riser
Conner Harrell AL *** UNC Academic
Ashton Daniels GA *** Stanford Late riser?
Bert Emanuel Jr. TX n/a Army, TSU Camp invite
Destin Wade TN *** Kentucky ATH, package w LB bro Keaten

[After THE JUMP: Coming in for the landing.]

We are still not even. [Bryan Fuller]

That sound you hear outside is your FSU friend. For your health and safety, please read this before answering the door.

YOINK

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So Michigan finally has a 2016 offensive tackle! Last night they secured a commitment from LA Tech (and onetime LSU commit) 2021 grad transfer OT Willie Allen. The 6'6"/345 Allen sat out this season because of COVID and entered the transfer portal a couple of days ago. Experiencing their own tackle hell, 247's FSU site jumped on the news that the Seminoles had been in contact. Alas, one of the OL super-rich wanted him more. Allen plans to enroll here next spring, when Mayfield is expected to be in the NFL.

I'll get more into it when I get around to a Hello next week but it's a good idea for Michigan to pursue grad transfers for the 2021 class. The NCAA won't be counting any current senior against the 85 cap next year, and a year of graduate education at a top-echelon grad school is some world-class bait. 

Your FSU friend is peeved about this, but not as much as he's going to be now that…

YOINKY YOINK.

As you no doubt noticed, Recent 4.5* FSU decommit Branden Jennings, a top-100 LB, is committing sometime today committed at exactly the same time this article was scheduled to post. Not that we were surprised; 247's Miami guy Andrew Ivins noted when the date was announced($), that Miami (YTM) hasn't communicated lately and Clemson is full, leaving just the M hat. This is how a near-5* sneaks into your class without raising an explosion.

Ace's hello post was a couple of hours ago but that's enough time for the sites to get their react articles up. 247's Steve Wiltfong has more from Jennings's head coach about Branden's college preparedness and what he meant by "Big Ten linebacker":

““He could go to practice with them tomorrow night after our game and you wouldn’t know which kid is from high school and he would look better than 75 percent of their linebackers and be just as intense as they are. ... They got themselves a vicious linebacker that just wants to hit. When I say vicious it’s between the rules. He plays football the way it’s supposed to be played and you’re going to be hit and driven. That kid is a Big Ten linebacker. I told him you remind me of (James) Laurinaits, those big inside Michigan, Michigan State linebackers hitting that 225-pound running back from Wisconsin on inside zone on 4th and 1.”

Rivals says Jennings is already up to 235 and also got Geis on record about readiness, though this time the Big Ten LB comp was to a former Illini:

“Branden breaks helmets. He plays so violent. He’s just different. He plays like Dick Butkus played back in the 1960s."

I take it he means Butkus when he wasn't getting planted on his ass by Jim Conley. There's some question about what position Jennings might play on the next level. We also neglected to mention his nickname is Godzilla. Quick watch of that tape (all at MLB) bears that out—he tackles, you stop—but his bend is his most impressive/translatable asset. Immediate and close comp is Victor Hobson, and I'll let you use Brown's imagination to figure out what that is in a modern defense—they're even ranked close together.

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Sucks for the Noles; he was their highest-rated recruit, in addition to a legacy.

[After THE JUMP: Michigan may not be done raiding the Noles 2021 class. Little Bro wants to play Brandball. Your author adds recruits to the board]