Good afternoon to the #1 football program in college football. This is the first Tuesday I've had since midsummer that there hasn't been a football game to chart, a non-scandalous scandal to pick apart, or a kid in the hospital, meaning it's time to update the Recruiting Board for 2024. Michigan's Class of 2024 is mostly set, with everyone committed expected to sign in a few weeks.

Broadly speaking, they'd still like to add a receiver and a pass-rusher, and would love to get their hands on an elite DB or three (wouldn't anybody). The most likely--and still not likely--addition before Dec 20 is WR Gaitlin Bair, a now 5-star receiver who's going on a two-year Mormon mission but choosing a school first. Sense there is Bair will wait until February to see how things settle with Harbaugh. For the rest, they're poking around other peoples' classes and late risers, but pickings are slimming out. The uncommitted edge they have on campus today is being courted by several schools known mostly for big NIL inducements, the safety they covet is already committed to one of those, and if they get a third receiver they're probably going to have to raid Maryland's, Virginia Tech's or Georgia's classes.

What this is: This is our sticky recruiting board for 2024. When Alex or I finish a major update (happens quarterly-ish), it will be reposted to the top of the site. Otherwise it will be under the "Useful Stuff" tab.

January 2023 (launch): Our annual exercise is less useful than normal because of the unknowns around Michigan recruiting. A year from now their NIL program could be as competitive as any in the country, with their coaching situation solidified for the foreseeable future and the program coming off another championship and playoff run. They could also be back where they were for the start of the 2023 class, with all of the momentum of their recent success at a standstill while Harbaugh interviews for NFL jobs. That's where they are now, though the read on that situation is the smoke is all coming from Harbaugh's agent to pressure Michigan into a new contract. Hopefully they get that done, and long-term security is a major feature of it. For now, recruiting momentum has come to a dead stop. That does at least afford us an opportunity to take a snapshot of their efforts before the class really starts to take shape.

April 2023 update: Hammond, Oden, Marshall, Roebuck, Davis, Sprague, Frazier, Prieskorn, and one of the since-decommitted Smith twins committed.

August 2023 update: Didn't happen, kid in hospital.

Since last time:

• 4/28 OT Jake Guarnera committed.
• 5/12 LB Cole Sullivan committed.
• 6/11 DL Owen Wafle committed.
• 6/12 LB Jaden Smith (no relation to the twins) committed.
• 6/13 Edge Jacob Smith committed.
• 6/16 WR I'Marion Stewart committed.
• 6/17 RB Micah Ka'apana committed.
• 6/19 Edge Devon Baxter committed.
• 6/25 Edge Dominic Nichols committed.
• 6/28 LB Jeremiah Beasley committed.
• 8/1 CB Jo'Ziah Edmond committed.
• 8/10 CB Jeremiah Lowe committed.*
• 8/12 Edge Elias Rudolph decommitted (Miami-YTM).
• 9/15: Edges Jacob and Jerod Smith decommitted (Kentucky).
• 12/9 NT Deyvid Palepale committed.*

* Hellos forthcoming.

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, or they got someone else, 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. If you want a clearer picture than what can be gleaned from free browsing, subscribe to the services.

A Note on Needs and Scholarship Numbers: We're largely ignoring the 85-man limit these days because NIL can cover the cost of attendance for any player, e.g. a transfer, not subject to the rules governing scholarships for recruits who go through the process (see "blueshirting"). Expect Michigan's class to be between 23 and 28 players as usual.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Almost done.]

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Quarterback

Needs: 1-2. It's time to reload. Actually 2023 was the time to reload but they bet it all on Dante Moore and whiffed (but may pick him up on the backswing). JJ McCarthy could be a top NFL draft pick in 2024, and is gone by 2025 regardless. Jack Tuttle is out of eligibility. Michigan's options past him right now are walk-on Davis Warren and three low-profile projects, though Alex Orji's role seems like one that should be expanded and kept in the offense as a change of pace and Jayden Denegal showed some things. Michigan's post-JJ plans will almost certainly include finding a floor in the portal, but now that they're well out of JJ's shadow they should also be a major player in the 5-star market.

January 2023: At the same time they lost Moore, Lloyd Carr's grandson chose Notre Dame(!!!). All eggs are now in the Jadyn Davis basket if they have to invite Davis's entire high school team along with him. That looks promising; the dual-threat playmaker seems set to announce this month. That's on hold until Harbaugh's figured out.

April 2023: Jadyn Davis is on board, so Michigan is done, though they did tack on Harvard decommit Jack Grusser as a PWO for 2023. The only drama left is between recruiting reporters.

Latest (Dec 2023): No change.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Jadyn Davis	NC	*****	Michigan		On-target playmaker
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
CJ Carr	MI	****.5	Notre Dame		Lloyd's grandson at Saline.
Dylan Raiola	AZ	*****	Georgia		#1 overall for 2024. OSU decommit.
Elijah Brown	CA	****.5	Stanford		Cade-type from Mater Dei, national prospect
Davi Belfort	FL	****	Virginia Tech		Young Brazilian dual-threat
Isaac Wilson	UT	****	Utah		5'11" dual-threat ATH (CB)
Isaiah Marshall	MI	***	Kansas		Top-500 ATH from Southfield

Best Guess: Davis, and some portal shopping for a competitor if JJ goes to the NFL after this year.

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Running Back

Needs: 2. Corum and Edwards are going to be in the NFL sooner or later. Michigan's depth was built from within, with Kalel Mullings emerging as a 1A back, Ben Hall looking like a star, and Cole Cabana on hand to be the next Edwards. The position's still in need of a reload, however, since 2021 Tavierre Dunlap hasn't panned out and 2022 CJ Stokes hit the portal. Regardless of Edwards's NFL decision, there's immediate playing time available for a 5-star. Would prefer a pair.

January 2023: Michigan's Ohio Strategy will get its first major test as they go toe-to-toe with Ohio State for Jordan Marshall, who grew up an Ohio State fan, but they were (are always) slow to offer a local. Their other top target is Taylor Tatum, an elite with academic offers who also plays baseball. After that it's pretty nebulous. EJ Holland has been loudly critical of Mike Hart's recruiting efforts now that he's in a third cycle without Michigan appearing to be a major player for national elites. There's probably something to that; there's a wider net cast this fall but Michigan has been mentioned rarely by many of those they've offered. Considering how much they feature their RBs and the state of the depth chart after the stars Jay Harbaugh recruited to the position, you would think they'd have better options.

April 2023: Well whaddaya know! Criticism of Hart ceased as Marshall committed to Michigan early. That does slow (or cancel?) things with Tatum, who was trending to Michigan until another blue chip jumped ahead of him--USC seems to be moving in. Another sign that they're not confident in getting Tatum is Hart's pursuit of a number of RB targets down the board. Harry Stewart might be the next guy down, Micah Ka'apana is a new offer, Darrion Dupree seems to be trending to Wisconsin but don't tell ND's recruiting people. Might be awhile for the 2nd guy to shake out as a lot of good landing spots are looking for their first backs still, so there's plenty of time to focus on trying to sell Tatum on being the Corum to Marshall's Hassan Haskins.

2025 thing: Michigan is recruiting 2025 OH 3* Bo Jackson (YTBJ).

Latest (Dec 2023): Marshall was Mr. Ohio. Michigan added Ka'apana and shut down their 2024 RB recruiting. Hart took an interview for IU's head coaching job but didn't get it.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Jordan Marshall	OH	****	Michigan		Bruiser. Top of the board for M/OSU
Micah Kaapana	NV	***	Michigan		Quick-cut accelerator, runs hard.
Zach Ludwig	PA	**	Michigan		Fullback (LB on the sites). PWO?
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Taylor Tatum	TX	****.5	Oklahoma		Elite, baseball, "Michigan guy"
Harry Stewart	TX	***	Kansas		Hart loves, productive, stout
Darrion Dupree	IL	***	Wisconsin		Higdon-y, MSU legacy, Wis CB 4/16
DeJuan Williams	MD	****	Maryland		St Francis, Ty Isaac-y highlights
Dilin Jones	MD	****	Wisconsin		Good Counsel, ND focus
Davion Gause	FL	****	UNC		S-Fla playground legend
Brandon Hood	GA	**	Auburn		Riser, Auburn legacy, 2022 injury
J'Marion Burnette	AL	****	Auburn decommit		Derrick Henry type
Anthony Carrie	FL	****	SC, ND, Okla, UNC		Compact, mid 11s in track
Corey Smith	WI	****	Penn State		Track background, UW passed
TJ Engleman	OH	***	ECU		Hart-like from small Cincy HS
Tony Phillips	IL	***	ND backup plan		Tiny speedster, Kankakee.
Tito Glass	OH	**	Miami(NNTM)		UK just offered, has visited.
D'Shawntae Jones	OH	**	UK, Marshall, Cuse, UMass		Glenville.

Best Guess: Marshall and Ka'apana is a solid class. We're counting Ludwig here as a fullback.

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Wide Receiver

Needs: 2-3. Michigan is coming off of a great class and a good class, but you need receivers every year, are losing Cornelius Johnson and most likely Roman Wilson, and lost a bunch of guys to the portal or defense recently. Would like to get at least one difference-maker.

January 2023: Ron Bellamy has been one of Michigan's best recruiters and once again has them in good shape with some national names. Unfortunately a handful of early scouts have since blown up into NIL battles that I'm leaving off the board, but they're close to locking up a full class anyways. That starts with high-4* I'Marion Stewart, who plays at Bolingbrook (where Todd Howard's from/used to coach). Jadyn Davis has two Power 5-caliber teammates in Channing Goodwin (athletic and fast) and Jordan Shipp (large & leapy). As for elites, Michigan put it itself in a strong position with elite Ryan Wingo, whose brother played at Arkansas when Ben Herbert was there. However Wiltfong has a crystal ball in for Tennessee as of early November and the top of his list has a lot of the other pay-for-play leaders like Notre Dame, Oregon, A&M, and Miami on it. Also Jay Harbaugh went out to Idaho again and has a receiver version of Colston Loveland highly interested.

April 2023: It's weird because they've been hovering with two or three guys ready to commit at any moment. They still lead for IL 4* I'Marion Stewart, and are also widely expected to get legacy/Jadyn Davis's Providence Day teammate NC 4* Channing Goodwin, and then one or two more. The most obvious is their 4* teammate Jordan Shipp. It looks like ND for NC 4* Micah Gilbert, their friend who Braylon'd his team to an upset of Providence Day. Idaho 4* Gatlin Bair, an insane athlete, is taking a 2-year Mormon mission so I consider him a 2026, but they're in good shape to land him.

They'd probably like to reel in an elite for the last one. The top option there is MO 5* Ryan Wingo, whose brother had Herbert at Arkansas, but SEC teams, Clemson, etc. are going to come hard. Another guy like that is FL 5* Jamie Ffrench, though that was a Helow connection. They're still a darkhorse for 5* ATH Mike Mathews, but that's a fight with Georgia. Scouting might take care of it too. Michigan caught VA 3* Mekhai White on his way up and changed his commitment schedule--he's still a 3* here in April but the big schools are starting to line up and he's probably a top-100 soon. Bellamy has also been on LA 3* Jeremy Jackson for ages.

This is all moving slowly for recuitniks, but Bellamy has proven he can close well.

Latest (Dec 2023): Bellamy missed on a lot of the guys he was going after in the Atlantic. They're still all in on Bair, but have to fend off Oregon's deep pockets and exciting offense. Tea leaves are good since his Boise State decommitment came right after visiting Michigan for The Game.

In more immediate players, Bellamy is trying to pry the top player in Indiana, Nitro Tuggle, out of Georgia's class, now that teammate Jo'Ziah Edmonds is coming here, and is maintaining his pursuit on a couple of interested guys committed to poachable programs in Mekhai White (Maryland) and Chanz Wiggins (VT). Likelihood of getting any of them is low. Nick Marsh seems solid again to MSU, by the way.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
I'Marion Stewart	IL	***.5	Michigan		Ronnie Bell-like. #1 to M.
Channing Goodwin	NC	***.5	Michigan		Legacy (Jonathan). Skinny, speedy teammate of Jadyn Davis
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Ryan Wingo	MO	*****	Texas		DPJ comp, brother worked w Herbert at Arkansas
Gatlin Bair	ID	*****	Boise decommit, M/Ore		Ludicrous athlete, Mormon Mission till 2026.
Nitro Tuggle	IN	****.5	Georgia		Smooth athletic Amorion Walker type.
Mekhai White	VA	***	Maryland		Fast/tall riser. M "monitoring."
Chanz Wiggins	VA	***.5	Virginia Tech, Tenn		Rising leapy type, AA invite
Nick Marsh	MI	****	MSU		Leapy local top-100, MSU family, top priority
Jordan Shipp	NC	***	UNC		Big, leapy teammate of Jadyn Davis
Bredell Richardson	FL	****	UCF		Bellamy priority, but ND leads.
James Madison II	FL	****	Mizzou		Bigger Aquinas prospect.
Elijah Moore	MD	***	FSU		Good Counnsel. Nico-like.
Joshua Jackson	LA	***	M, Ole Miss, Miss St		Bellamy in early, never rose
Terrell Anderson	NC	***	NC State		Nico-like, more productive than 4* teammate
Micah Gilbert	NC	****	Notre Dame		Braylon'd team to upset of Davis's. ND commit on 5/2
Mike Matthews	GA	*****	Tennessee		WR/S, multi-sport athlete, M a dark horse
Jamie Ffrench	FL	****.5	Bama		National battle, but knows Helow well.
Jeremiah McClellan	MO	****	OSU		Possession, not tall but TE-ish
Aeryn Hampton	TX	****	Texas (recommit)		ATH(WR/CB), M tried to get a visit.
Izaiah Williams	FL	****	Florida		Track. Lots of interest, doesn't talk much.
Ryan Pellum	CA	****	USC		Friends w Andrel Anthony, dad runs a 7v7
Cam Coleman	AL	****	Auburn		6-3 teammate of Karmello English
Jaylen Watson	MI	***	Iowa		River Rouge. Slot type.
Israel Hiraldo	RI	**	B10, WKU		Used to go to Loomis Chafee

Best Guess: Stewart and Goodwin, but I do think they win Bair.

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Tight End

Needs: 2-3. Two keeps the train a-rolling, but may take 3 this cycle since so many departed, AJ Barner played himself into a Day 2 pick, and Loveland will be an NFL candidate after '24, especially if they can serve different roles.

January 2023: Unsurprisingly Michigan is a destination for national tight ends now. Rochester Adams's Brady Prieskorn would have been a top target if he wasn't local, and other schools seem to be giving up. Four-star Hogan Hansen (no relation to Lou) out of Washington was an early commit and oddly for a high schooler comes with mostly blocking bona fides. Who's the third then? They're heavy in the market for the elite Loveland types, recently jumping into the fray for Nebraska star Carter Nelson, whom Nebraska, Auburn, and Notre Dame all see as a priority. They may have done themselves a favor by pulling out early from IL 5* Christian Bentancur's recruitment because since then their top target, because their iron has remained hotter for 6'7" Georgian Walter Matthews, who talks to Michigan often, and who's probably going to be hearing more from Bentancur's failed suitors soon.

April 2023: Michigan seems set here after getting two of the top guys in the country...they recruited Carter Nelson because he's too good not to. If they do still pursue another guy it's probably Walter Matthews, since the two guys they got are block-catchy types and Matthews is straight-up Flex.

Latest (Dec 2023): Nelson committed to Nebraska, as expected, and Michigan seems content with the two top-tier targets they got. I also expect them to be active in the portal, especially if AJ Barner is leaning towards leaving for the NFL.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Brady Prieskorn	MI	****.5	Michigan		Rochester, top target, national interest
Hogan Hansen	WA	****	Michigan		Loves to block, possible he grows into a T.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Walter Matthews	GA	****	USC		Top-150 iron on the fire. Jumbo receiver.
Carter Nelson	NE	****	Nebraska		Multi-sport athlete, Loveland comps
Christian Bentancur	IL	****.5	Clemson		National offers, deciding soon.
Damarion Witten	OH	****	OSU		Glenville ATH. OSU's if offered, just offered.
Bear Tenney	AZ	**	OSU, UGA, Wis, Ore		National offers, OSU/UGA visits already.
Dylan Mesman	MI	****	Louisville		Saline. WR/TE build-a-flex.
Brody Kosin	MI	**	Indiana		Clarkston. Catchy type.
Ian Flynt	TX	***	Nebraska		Blocky type
Gavin Grover	OH	***	Cincy		6'6" Ohioan.

Best Guess: Prieskorn and Hansen, don't be greedy.

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Offensive Line

Now you're greedy.

Needs: 4-6. The top of the depth chart doesn't mean as much because of the development lag, but Zinter and Keegan are gone for sure, and a lot of their scholarship players are out of eligibility after 2024 (Nugent, Barnhart, Trente, Henderson, Hinton) even if they stick around for it. Michigan wanted to bring in a huge 2023 class but missed out on a lot of the guys Sherrone Moore targeted, and filled with the portal. It's long past time to get some elite tackles in the pipeline, as well as a center of the future.

January 2023: Once again Moore is shooting his shot with elites and finding himself in battles that an all-out effort is 20% likely to win. Some of their best guards are already off the board but they're in good shape for top tackle prospect Andrew Sprague, and are going to stay in the fight for Massachusetts's Guerby Lambert. The floor here is they clean up in the Western Cleveland suburbs, where they already have a pledge from mauling G/T Luke Hamilton, strong interest from St Edwards mauling G/T Ben Roebuck, and twins Devontae and Deontae Armstrong, who'd be more developmental prospects. If you remember Steve Frazier, a swingman from the Griese/Brady era, his son Blake is a track athlete down in Texas. Michigan's also fighting Penn State and Notre Dame for the tops of their boards, and sent out a bunch of offers when junior tape came in this fall. There are a few longtime targets hanging on the board who go back to Warinner; I've dropped those who haven't had a Michigan article since last spring, but a few came to the BBQ.

I also want to mention Michigan is also in great shape with 2025 MI 4* Avery Gach, who would be the first scholarship football player from my alma mater, and the first FBS athlete to ever come through my mother-in-law's preschool.

Part of the issue here is OL take a long time to develop so they want stability, and it's widely believed Sherrone Moore is close to becoming a Power 5 head coach candidate. His near term presence has made them bonkers at recruiting from the portal; the question of his long-term presence is what's holding back his freshman recruiting. It would take naming Moore as Harbaugh's successor or something to change that, but Michigan's back-to-back Moore awards and developmental success have affected this class more than the last one, so there's a good chance they win a few recruitments they get into late.

April 2023: Hahhahahahahahaah nevermind! Moore is cleaning up. Hamilton begat Roebuck, which would be a solid start to an Ohio State OL class, but now it looks like those guys will be the bottom two of the group. Sprague, one of their dream OTs, committed, and they secured Frazier. At the time of this writing they're expected to get their #1 center in Jake Guarnera, after a couple of others fell back. Sam Webb says they want six in the class though, so there's room for one more. Ideally that's another elite OT, CA 4* Brandon Baker, or TX 4* Bennett Warren, who left his visit close to committing. It could also be one of the elite guards who visited like TX 4* Michael Uini or CA 4* DeAndre Carter, though he seems the least likely. And TX 4* Max Anderson, who planned to commit in summer, is a guy many expected in the class, and Michigan likes him enough if he decided today that would be it. Or would it?

Latest (Dec 2023): Frazier indeed committed, and Michigan looked too full after that for the final pieces they were pursuing. Baker went to Texas, Uini to Georgia, Warren and Anderson to Tennessee. We did get some clarity on how Michigan sees their five commitments shaking out, position-wise, with Sprague and Frazier the tackles, Roebuck and Hamilton inside, and Guarnera was the top center on their board.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Andrew Sprague	MO	****	Michigan		Hello. 6'8, top LT target on the board.
Blake Frazier	TX	****	Michigan		Hello. Legacy (Steve). Swingman. A+ at shot put.
Luke Hamilton	OH	****	Michigan		Hello. Mauling Western Cleveland meatneck
Ben Roebuck	OH	***.5	Michigan		Hello. St Ed's mauler.
Jake Guarnera	FL	***.5	Michigan		Hello. C target 1A, RU legacy, also mauler.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Brandon Baker	CA	*****	Texas		Visiting, #1 OL in country
Bennett Warren	TX	****.5	Tennessee		Elite OT, also hoops, M might lead?
Max Anderson	TX	****	Tennessee		May commit in June, unless he's beaten to it.
Michael Uini	TX	****	Georgia		Visited, M quickly among leaders.
Guerby Lambert	MA	****	Notre Dame		Scholastic, athletic, Massachusettsian
DeAndre Carter	CA	****	Auburn		M first offer but USC expected to keep
Waltclaire Flynn	GA	****	UCF		C target 1B, offers blowing up
William Satterwhite	OH	****	Tennessee		Hoban. Visited. Just getting started here.
Kyle Altuner	MD	***	WVU		C prospect #3. Good Counsel.
Malachi Toliver	GA	***	Georgia		Shot put/discus. Plays RT. M moved up fast.
Kevin Heywood	PA	****	Wisconsin		OT prospect, good pass pro, M filled up.
Caleb Brewer	PA	***	PSU		6'6 OG/mauler. Blew up fast.
Devontae Armstrong	OH	***	OSU		St Ed's twin 1, thicker.
Deontae Armstrong	OH	****	OSU		St Ed's twin 2, taller.
Isendre Ahfua	WA	****.5	Oregon, USC, UGA, Bama		Onwenu 2.0. Visited, #1 OG. Oregon/USC.
Donovan Harbour	WI	****	PSU		Visited for BBQ, regional OG battle.
Chenellson Exume	FL	***	A&M		Lower-ranked twin of DT offer Dinellson.
Eagan Boyer	NC	***	PSU		Visited, is legit 6-8.
John Wayne Oliver	TN	***	Ole Miss		Rising OT prospect, reportedly up to 6'7"
Devin Forrester	GA	NR	GT, FSU, Duke		PWO target.
Idrys Cotton	MI	***	Northwestern		Plymouth. Visited.
Mark Nave	OH	***	Kentucky		New riser from Toledo. Got an OSU offer.

Best Guess: Left to right: Sprague, Roebuck, Guarnera, Hamilton, Frazier.

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Defensive Tackle

Needs: 3-4 including a real nose since they missed out on one last cycle. Jenkins and Goode are gone after this year, Graham and Grant are looking and 3-and-dones after 2024, and that leaves just Benny and Pierce for 2025 right now. Would be great if their success got them in on a 5-star to immediately fill in for Goode next year, plus two projects to be their Jenkins and Mazi of the future.

January 2023: They think they have a dude in Beigel, but nobody has any scouting on the German immigrant who will be playing at Choate in Connecticut. If Michigan's among the elite by the end of this cycle they have a good shot at landing super 5-star Justin Scott as long as he (as people think) stays in the Midwest. Past that they've been working forever on Eddie Tuerk, who was shaping up to be one of those Michigan-Illinois battles until Illinois lost his recruiter. Michigan also put out a out round of offers to select players based on junior film who've had their rankings/offers blow up since.

April 2023: Added Ted Hammond about when the last post went. The board here is expanding since Michigan seems to be #8/8 for Justin Scott, though Michigan often underplays their involvement in these battles. Beigel got Georgia and PSU offers but no sign he's slipping (was in town for the spring game). Palepale isn't ranked highly but M is treating him as a priority. They're also jumping into the fight for top-100ish Jordan Thomas because he's Jersey and Partridge is back. It seems M cooled on Tuerk.

Latest (Dec 2023): Michigan took another swing at Palepale, who committed to USC in the summer then saw how USC played on defense and flipped shortly after Michigan won its 3rd straight Big Ten title. That gives them the nose they wanted, a couple of good developmental pieces in Hammond and Beigel, and a Graham-lite in Wafle. Meanwhile Justin Scott decommitted from OSU and went to Miami (yes That Miami).

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Manuel Beigel	GE	***	Michigan		Euro ATH via Choate. Elite offers, no scouting.
Owen Wafle	NJ	****	Michigan		Biting bastard we stole from ND's class.
Deyvid Palepale	PA	***	Michigan		Nose, Penei Sewell's cousin
Ted Hammond	OH	***	Michigan		Cincy build-a-bear
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Justin Scott	IL	*****	Miami (YTM)		Whale of the year. M made top 8.
Jordan Thomas	NJ	****	Georgia		Don Bosco. 6'5/296. Partridge has in.
Jowhar Franklin	LA	**	Grambling		6'6/300 late riser, offered finally
Eddie Tuerk	IL	***	Illinois probably		DE/DT build-a-bear. M in early, maybe backed off.
Nasir Smith	GA	NR	Tenn, UK, Aub, MSU, M, UGA		Aug offer, offers are blowing up.
Benedict Umeh	CT(Ont)	****	Stanford		DE/DT. Offers blowing up. SDE for M?
Dinellson Exume	FL	****	USF		Higher-ranked twin, listed 225, more like 245 now.
Xavier Porter	FL	***	Louisville		Just offered, rising.
Jahsear Whittington	PA	***	Pitt		M offered 2 days after his commitment.

Best Guess: Palepale at nose, Wafle and Beigel are the high-floor/high-ceiling versions of Mason Graham, and Hammond is in line for the Jenkins position.

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Edge

Needs: 2-3. Would love to get an elite instant-impact pass-rusher even if he just comes on for pass rush downs. Coaches say to count Chibi Anwunah among their 2022 haul, but he's not the only high ceiling with a lot of development on the roster, and 2023s Breeon Ishmail and Aymeric Koumba are probably further from seeing the field than Chibi. If they whiff on the readier prospects expect them to expand the field and take a few more shots at a diamond in the rough.

January 2023: It's hard to get instant impact guys but there's an opportunity for an elite rusher to get on the field early, and M is out there pitching that to a lot of guys who are probably going to cut their lists to a bunch of SEC or up-front NIL schools soon. Ernest Willor is the white whale they have the best shot with. On the next tier, their attention to Ohio got them out in front on Brian Robinson, who's likely to be their hybrid since OSU's waited too long. Right now they're mostly focusing on those two and seeing what fruit their other offers bear.

Note: Michigan State made an excellent hire last year in Brandon Jordan ("Coach BT") who used to train a bunch of elite NFL names, and that has put State on the map for a lot of guys Michigan's offered. It may work out for us since Coach BT isn't long for MSU, and a lot of them visited Ann Arbor on their way, but for now there are a lot of names who might normally not be coming up here but made the list because they visited.

April 2023: They picked up a Heavy who may grow into a 3-tech in CT 4* Jerod Smith, whose twin brother Jacob "needs more convincing" after being a priority for Notre Dame all cycle, and is a pure Edge. Jerod may be more of a DT, however, and Michigan still wants two more guys (a regular DE and a pass-rushing freak if possible). The edge board is expanding as the elites they were after are starting to trim lists to the payout schools. MSU also lost Brandon Jordan to the NFL.

The wait for Brian Robinson has now gone into "bad sign" territory--he's also up to a reported 255, though he's enough of an "OLB" that Jerod Smith shouldn't be considered recruiting over him (unless M considers it that). On the other hand he's visited Michigan 8 times, and is family friends with Clinkscale, and is the first cousin once-removed of Denard Robinson, so he might just be stuck with us. Meanwhile Partridge has changed their fortunes with super athlete Dominic Nichols, who was looking like a PSU commit before.

The plan here is opaque to me. It may be they're waiting to gauge their chances with Stewart/Mayo/Willor, or it may just be everyone's taking it slow and seeing how things shake out at various schools.

Latest (Dec 2023): Michigan lost the twins to Kentucky, and Brian Robinson too, but how much of that was mutual parting is hard to say. They picked up Baxter and Nichols around the same time, but lost Elias Rudolph to Miami's NIL offer, the second cycle in a row they got a recruit picked off by deep-pocketed Canes boosters. This means they're scrounging around still for an impact pass-rusher, but probably need to lock up Harbaugh long-term to peel off Deshawn Warner, a Kansas commit they tried and failed to get on campus (he plans to sign with Kansas), or Lugard Edokpayi, a raw athlete who's been attracting a lot of interest. He just took a visit to Texas A&M, Michigan is hosting him today (Tuesday the 12th), and FSU gets a visit at the end of the week.

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Devon Baxter	MD	***.5	Michigan		Quick and long, future at SDE.
Dominic Nichols	MD	****	Michigan		6'6/250 pass rusher
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Dylan Stewart	DC	*****	South Carolina		#1 overall to On3. Visit 3/20, M needs official in summer.
Darien Mayo	MD	****	Clemson		Super tall edge.
Ernest Willor	IMG(MD)	*****	Miami, PSU, OSU, everyone		Elite edge, M stayed in position a long time.
Deshawn Warner	AZ	****	Kansas		Senior riser, seems to be sticking w KU
Elias Rudolph	FL	****.5	Miami (YTM)		From Cincy, decommit$, still in touch?
Lugard Edokpayi	MD	***.5	FSU, A&M, M		Hoops/riser/raw. Visiting.
Brian Robinson	OH	****	Kentucky		Heavy (255 lbs.) Clink neighbor, Denard cousin, 8 visits.
Jacob Smith	KY	****	Kentucky		Same top-6 as Jerod, higher ceiling, lower floor
Jerod Smith	KY	****	Kentucky		Decommit, heavier twin
Curtis Simpson	NC	***	UNC		6'4/200, rising, offered 4/24
Marquise Lightfoot	IL	****	Miami (YTM)		In no hurry. Not THAT Lightfoot from Chicago.
Brandon Davis-Swain	MI	****	Colorado		West Bloomfield. Judon-y. Son of Brandon Davis.
Elijah Newby	CT	***	USC		LB/DE at elite school. Rising?
DD Holmes	DC	****	FSU		6'6"/240 Edge/basketball ATH.
Dylan Stephenson	FL	****	Stanford		Academic/Athletic. Loves Denard but M backing out.
LJ McCray	FL	***	UF leads FSU		Recent offer, top target, dad coach at Bethune.
KingJoseph Edwards	GA	****.5	Cuse, Colo, FSU		ATH (DE/TE). Visited. Multi-sport star.
T.A. Cunningham	CA(GA)	****.5	PSU		Lengthy Edge, has visited, NIL transfer in HS!
Jaxon Jones	CA	***	Oregon		Grow-an-edge. Flipped from Washington
Mylachi Williams	PA	***	PSU		6'3/200 grow-an-edge.
TJ Lindsey	AR	***	Auburn		Recent offer. 6'6"/260 already.
Kolaj Cobbins	LA	****	LSU		Grow-an-Uche, M made an SEC-heavy top six.
Zina Umeozulu	TX	****.5	Texas		Brother is OL at UT.
TJ Capers	FL	*****	Louisville		Elite OLB, flip down the road guy.

Best Guess: Nichols, Baxter, and they may get creative in the portal if they can't bring in Edokpayi.

----------------------------

Linebacker

Needs: 2-3. Michigan finally has a solid two-deep and solid future with Hausmann and Rolder coming up behind Barrett and Colson. They also took two or three depending on how you categorize ATH Jason Hewlett, who might be a LB or a hybrid safety or even grow into an LB/DE type. Two ILBs and an athletic freak for hybrid seems like the norm now. A five-star here would be nice, though they seem to be in good shape for a difference-maker in the portal.

January 2023: Michigan got an early commitment from 4-star Mason Curtis, who fits a lot of the things this staff looks for (length, versatility). They were in early for national #1 LB Sammy Brown and will shoot their shot, but everyone is coming for Brown. They also highly value Kris Jones, but again there's quite a battle to be fought for a nationally renowned athlete. They've had more success with Anthony Speca, a classic Michigan-Notre Dame battle where Tom Loy has a high-confidence crystal ball in and Michigan reporters are more concerned about Penn State. For the hybrid spot, they're in another classic three-way fight with ND and PSU for Quinton Martin, who like Michael Barrett out of high school could project to RB or safety or LB or in between. MSU is probably going to get their legacy Beasley unless Michigan decides to push. Andrew Hines seems like the kind of football/academics type who'd love Michigan; he has a bunch of academics on his list, but it's not yet clear how hard Michigan's pursuing.

April 2023: Chris Partridge replaced George Helow after this class was underway and remade the board, but not so much at the top, which is Aaron Chiles with a bullet. Probably not happening with Sammy Brown and never was, but Partridge immediately got them back on top of Belleville's Jeremiah Beasley. Additions include Myles (son of Earnest) Graham, who quickly committed to his dad's alma mater, and Daniel Hill, who quickly named previous leader South Carolina his "leader" which is kind of like getting most of the way to an engagement, meeting someone else, and declaring the person you were about to propose to "top girlfriend." Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa was already on offer, but Partridge redoubled Michigan's efforts to get back into what could be a classing ND-M-PSU battle. Partridge also added Mike Boganowski and Jaden Smith, both of whom are under 200 pounds right now but could grow into super athletic WLBs or Edges. Bog held off on committing to KSU; Smith seems pretty open. If Michigan gets both Jerod and Jacob Smith they *HAVE* to take Jaden, right? Also Jay Harbaugh has been working the Western US by himself but sent back a couple of targets, thicc MLB prospect Brayden Platt out of Yelm, WA, and Kamar Mothudi, a CA 4-star who's been looking at schools out West.

Latest (Dec 2023): Chiles going to UF was a shock. So was Partridge having to be let go for—apparently—telling players not to give the NCAA everything they want. The interim tag went to former Notre Dame DC and Cincy HC in Rick "Jesse's old man" Minter who could take the position permanently. That probably doesn't help on the recruiting trail, but their short second stint with CP left them a rich class of four, with Mason Curtis maintaining his status throughout a long commitment, Cole Sullivan and Jaden Smith popping up the rankings after their pledges, and local standout Jeremiah Beasley reportedly all in, with the possibility he brings his tight end brother from East Lansing through the portal. Speaking of East Lansing, there was talk of a PWO offer from Michigan to Minnesota commit Brady Pretzlaff, but now that MSU's hired the Gophers' DC it's likely the rising Gaylord product ends up at State.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Mason Curtis	TN	****	Michigan		Hello. Long ILB who can edge rush.
Cole Sullivan	PA	***	Michigan		Hello. Basketball/ATH: Khaleke 2.0
Jaden Smith	NC	****	Michigan		Hello. Partridge offer, grow-an-Uche.
Jeremiah Beasley	MI	****	Michigan		Hello. Belleville. Brother of MSU's Maliq Carr.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Aaron Chiles	MD	****	Florida		Good Counsel. Colson-like.
Myles Graham	GA	****.5	Florida		UF legacy, Partridge is prying anyways.
Daniel Hill	MS	****	SCar named leader		Partridge add, M eliminated
Kristopher Jones	VA	****	Georgia		M got a visit in Sept. LB/Edge super-ATH.
Cayden Jones	NC	****	Bama		Elite, M took a swing, gonna commit to Bama
Jordan Lockhart	CA	***.5	A&M		Partridge add, winnable
Qua Birdsong	GA	****	Cincy		Partridge add, flippable
Raphael Dunn	NJ	***	Wisconsin		HSP. Partridge add, winnable
Michael Boganowski	KA	***	Oklahoma		Partridge add, winnable
Brayden Platt	WA	****	Oregon		LB/RB, elite javelin thrower
Kamar Mothudi	CA	****	Oregon		Recent offer, planning visit, JayHarbs guy
Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa	CA	****	ND		Most versatile LB, Partridge addition, didn't make visit.
Sammy Brown	GA	*****	Clemson		No.1 national LB, great mullet
Anthony Speca	PA	****	PSU		Classic M/ND/PSU battle.
Quinton Martin	PA	****	PSU		ATH: RB/S/LB (Mike Barrett) type.
Brady Pretzlaff	MI	***	Minnesota, MSU		Captain-y, productive Sr year, Stanford offer
Andrew Hines	GA	****	Wake		M got a visit. Academics-oriented.

Best Guess: Curtis, Sullivan, Smith and Beasley.

----------------------------

Cornerback & Nickel

Needs: 3-5. Not only does Michigan have three of these guys on the field at once, Will Johnson looks like a 3-and-out, and the future right now is Jyaire Hill, Amorion Walker, DJ Waller, none of whom were ready to play in 2023 and probably won't be that polished in 2024. Ja'Den McBurrows has a lot of eligibility left if he's indeed Sainristil's heir at nickel, and they have an elite committed for 2025 in Chris Ewald, but it would behoove them to add one who can help them in 2024 and step in for Johnson in 2025, and start building depth.

January 2023: Michigan's in very good shape with a number of highly rated targets, and in a battle for some higher ones, but not in for any 5-stars save a long longshot. They also see Jalen Todd out of Southfield as a take, and while he's probably going to get more offers soon it's a good bet he's in the class. Clinkscale has also picked some fights--Michigan has been at Glenville trying to convince Bryce West, the kind of guy who usually goes to Ohio State out of hand, that Michigan's moved into the top spot permanently. Boo Carter is an athlete coveted by a lot of teams, and some NIL programs are shooting their money cannons, but as long as the house is in order it's between playing Nickel for Michigan and RB for Ohio State, a decision that seems to favor Michigan. Omillio Agard was a PSU-Michigan battle that the SEC is horning in on. If Michigan can't secure 4 guys from the above they have several options nearby they've kept their eyes on.

Note: Michigan already has a potential 5* commit for 2025 in Chris Ewald Jr. His Chaminade teammate Earl Kulp is a safety prospect for 2024.

April 2023: Clinkscale Bonaparte has already accomplished the impossible with his invasion of Ohio, and is now laying siege to Aaron Scott, a longtime Ohio State lean and Ohio State fan as a kid whom OSU fans expected to go to OSU on the offer, like it's their birthright. The fortress of Glenville, wherein is housed #2 CB Bryce West, is considered unassailable, but so was Ohio not too long ago. If Scott falls, West is a possibility too, but Scott can hold out a long time, and you never know what kinds of reinforcements the Ohioans can muster in the interim.

They're going to keep the full heat on Boo Carter, who's just one of many guys they're battling old nemesis Tim Banks (now at Tennessee) to get. After those top prospects there aren't many elite options left. Austin Alexander is bound to be some Big Ten team's prize, and Terhyon Nichols would fit right in with the high-celinged 3.5* Ohioans of the preceding class. Clink isn't generating news when he recruits so the sites haven't matched the activity, making it harder than usual to gauge where Michigan's interest lies and vice versa with guys like Ondre Evans, the subject of several "who's the next to commit to NC State" articles that resolve into "What's he waiting for?" Chase Tyler from Georgia and Jameer Grimsley are also in that vein, though Grimsley is so high on PSU's board that might not be an option.

Latest (Dec 2023): So they didn't manage to get the top two prospects from Ohio who grew up Ohio State fans, and weren't in a position to take another swing after another win over Ohio State. This probably had more to do with Ohio State showing they're not completely inept at developing cornerbacks over the course of the season rather than Ohio State's hit job. Michigan did pick up a couple of corners from Ohio-bordering states that they (and Ryan Walters) valued over everyone else. Of them Jo'Ziah Edwards has had a bump in the rankings; Jeremiah Lowe hasn't (yet?). With their favorite nickel prospect committing to Tennessee, it feels like they're out of options here. I would like to see one more appeal to Aaron Scott's head; I mean, he's met the Ohio State fans.

The Board: 

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Jo'Ziah Edmond	IN	****	Michigan		Hello. Lengthy late riser.
Jeremiah Lowe	KY	***	Michigan		Hello. Sainristilian diamond?
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Aaron Scott	OH	****	OSU		Heart was in Ohio, head said Michigan.
Bryce West	OH	****	OSU		Glenville, acid test 2 for Ohio Strategy
Boo Carter	TN	****	Tennessee		ATH (Nk/RB). M sees Nk. OSU sees RB.
Austin Alexander	IL	***	Kansas		B10 West battle, 4* to On3/ESPN now
Terhyon Nichols	OH	***.5	Kentucky		3.5* type on the Ohio front
Nigel Maynard	TN	***	Pitt		Nickel prospect
Earl Kulp	FL	***.5	Purdue		Aquinas, visited, raw/long arms, falling?
Ondre Evans	TN	***	Georgia		"High on the board" and rising to sites.
Chase Tyler	GA	***	Duke		Long and lean, high on the board
Jameer Grimsley	FL	****	Alabama		Big riser lately, PSU top target
Charles Lester III	FL	*****	FSU		Longshot elite.
Omillio Agard	PA	****	Wisconsin		Slot type. PSU's top target, SEC pushing.
Jalen Todd	MI	***	Kansas		Southfield. Impressed at camps, didn't rise.
Ify Obidegwu	MD	****	Oregon		St Frances. M made top-7.
Jamir Benjamin	MI	***	UCLA		West Bloomfield. Is he back on the board?
Bryce Rowe	MI	**	CMU		West Bloomfield.
Jackson Stage	OH	**	Open		Visited in fall.
Renzo Jennings	MI	**	Ferris State		Belleville.

Best Guess: Edmond and Lowe, and a big class in 2024.

----------------------------

Safety

Needs: 2. Michigan reeled in an excellent safety class in 2022 and redshirted all of them, but their 2023 class was one guy, and the list of bodies for 2025 right now is that guy (Brandyn Hillman), Keon Sabb, and Zeke Berry, with Sabb the only one of them giving us confidence. Start putting the next wave in now so you're not playing true freshmen in two years.

January 2023: Note that some of the guys on their CB board might also be safeties. They're closest to landing ATH Jacob Oden, an M-MSU battle that seems to favor Michigan. The one definite safety Michigan looks to be in very good shape with is Ricardo Jones, a typical Michigan-Notre Dame battle where Michigan has more cards. They also have a very empty board right now, which might be part of the pitch to Jones. Boo Carter might also classify here, and the same goes for Kyan McDonald, an undersized prospect who might have been leaning Michigan earlier in the cycle--Michigan was in on him early--but now has a lot of interest from Oregon. Jay Harbaugh has historically recruited his positions better than anyone could hope for, and often turns up dudes that nobody else heard of until too late. If there's one in this class it's Caleb Benning, a Nebraskan whose listed size is reportedly outdated, as is the Nebraska-Iowa battle he was going to be.

April 2023: If you thought Clinkscale was hard to follow on the trail, try Jay Harbaugh. Michigan got their legacy in Oden, which is a solid start, and seems to be in that part of the process where we will find out soon if they're in or out for the race to the finish line for super-elite KJ Bolden (my guess is out). Kyan McDonald is one we know he's been working for awhile, but he might be a Rod Moore type or a nickel, or choose to stay out West. He's a Ford Sports Performance trainee, the same factory JayBaugh hit up for Colston Loveland and Hogan Hansen.

Latest (Dec 2023): Safety recruiting has been mostly quiet. Oden slipped a few rankings after committing to Michigan, but that happens with low-drama recruitments. There hasn't been much talk about their safety targets going into the stretch. McDonald has gone quiet; he's expected to stay out West. They failed to get Zaquan Patterson to come up for The Game, which means he's still a longshot, but they're not cutting off pursuit until he signs. I do wonder if Jay Harbaugh's low-drama/no news style of recruiting makes things look worse on the paid sites than they are; their confidence in Keon Sabb for example wasn't shared by any of the sites and things could be the same with Patterson. Recruiting reporters only print what they get.

The Board:

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Jacob Oden	MI	****	Michigan		Hello. S/CB with good length. Dad was a M walk-on, B.Graham's HS coach.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Zaquan Patterson	FL	****	Miami (YTM)		Built like a tank, HSP possibility
Kyan McDonald	WA	***	Ore, M, UW, A&M, Cal		Nickel. Trains with Hogan Hansen.
KJ Bolden	GA	*****	FSU		#11 overall. Visited twice.
Jordon Johnson-Rubell	IMG(TX)	****	Texas		Hybrid safety, naming top schools soon.
Jaylen McClain	NJ	***.5	OSU		Impressive camps recently. ND wants.
Marquis Gallegos	CA	****	USC		USC in late, OSU waiting
Isaiah Rubin	NV	****	USC		Grew up M fan, Dax-ish
Tayshawn Banks	OH	***	Pitt		"Dax Hill"-Clink. Taft.
Jay'Quan Bostic	OH	***	Toledo		Also Taft.
Jaylen Heyward	FL	****	UCF		Nk/Rod Moore-ish. UGA commitment is soft.
Caleb Benning	NE	***	Nebraska		Undersized riser
Edrees Farooq	MD	***	Tennessee		St. Francis, has a cousin at OK
Xavier Lucas	FL	***	Wisconsin		Was at Denard's old school, lots of recent offers.
Ricardo Jones	GA	****	Clemson		Classic M/ND got in first, staying South
Corian Gipson	TX	****	Clemson		Dax-like, M trying to get a visit.
Tysen Campbell	OH	**	CMU		Hoban. Rod Moore-like.

Best Guess: Oden and ???? This board was opaque to me in April and remains so.

----------------------------

Specialist

Needs: Zero or 1. The Pax Specialistica has ended but Michigan seems pretty confident in Tommy Doman, their 2021, and Adam Samaha, their 2023. Might skip a year and get another in 2025 but they'll take a guy if they spot a Jake Moody abouts.

January 2023: Iowan Drew Miller has been on campus.

April 2023: High schools are notoriously bad at sorting out the good kickers due to a number of factors--they play at night under bad lighting, high schoolers can't snap or hold very well, many states (like Michigan) actually have them kicking off tees, and coaches are so unlikely to use them over their short seasons that sample sizes are tiny. To get ranked you have to spend a ton of money to travel around the camps, and even those can only really sort out the guys with big legs and tell you nothing about poise and consistency. Colleges are much better at sorting through their various walk-ons to find guys who can do it with any consistency, so expect a lot of kicker recruiting to happen in the portal from now on.

Note: Michigan seems to be the landing spot for former Ann Arbor Saline K James Turner, who walked on at Louisville and put up two highly competent kicking seasons that sandwiched a dodgy one. Reports (and my insider) say Turner still has to take some classes to graduate from Louisville since Michigan still doesn't accommodate Terrence Shannon situations, but expect him to be here in fall. Turner has one year of eligibility however, so he doesn't really affect 2024.

Latest (Dec 2023): Miller committed to Georgia. Think that's it.

Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Summary
Drew Miller	IA	NR	Georgia		Had for visit

Best Guess: Not this year.

REVISIONS LIST

• 1/10/23: Launched (Seth)
• 1/31/23: Reworked OL board, added a bunch of guys from this update.
• 3/21/23: Updated lots of recruitments from this update.
• 4/18/23: I've been updating the OL board, probably ready for an update.
• 4/26/23: Big update, reposted to the front page.
• 5/3/23: Updated LB board based on Lorenz intel.
• 12/9/23: Updated the board with guys who committed during season.
• 12/12/23: Big update, reposted to the front page.