Oak Park three-star WR Maliq Carr has recently seen his interest in Michigan explode, and he attributes it all to one person. As he told The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb:

“Coach Gattis is the difference there. Coach Gattis is the big difference. Before, I really wouldn’t really have considered (Michigan) as much as I do now. They probably wouldn’t have been in the top five without Coach Gattis. Coach Gattis is a huge difference.”

Carr told WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold that he expects he’ll get the ball often if he attends Michigan because that’s what Gattis told him he’ll do. Carr visited Michigan twice last week, and though he made compelling cases for each team in his top five (Purdue, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Michigan) in his discussion with Webb, they weren’t convincing enough to stop seven people from casting Michigan crystal balls in the past week. Coinciding with that came 247’s Steve Lorenz moving Carr up to “top target” on their Michigan board, which comes on the heels of fellow MI WR Rashawn Williams being moved down to “high choice” as he apparently is more interested in other Big Ten schools. There’s plenty of time for Carr to further develop his relationship with Gattis, as he told Petzold that he’ll be committing October 11th.

Sticking with in-staters for a minute, MI ATH Cam Martinez is still listed as an athlete in 247’s database, but he has some clarity regarding how Michigan would use him should he go there after taking an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor last weekend. The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich reports that Martinez spent most of his time with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, and the two made small talk and watched film to show how Martinez would be utilized in the offense. Currently a quarterback, Martinez says Michigan is looking at him at slot receiver and possibly running back.

Martinez is one of Michigan’s top targets, but the Wolverines’ staff shouldn’t expect to know much about his commitment anytime soon; he told Marich he’ll make his decision either before or after his senior season. Martinez told WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold he should have a slightly better idea how he feels about certain schools after the first week in April, during which he has one visit scheduled each day to predominantly Big Ten schools.

There’s even more good news when it comes to top targets, as VA DE Antwaun Powell unofficially visited last weekend and told WolverinesWire’s Evan Petzold he couldn’t have asked for a better visit. He left his unofficial having set a date in late June to come back and visit officially. If Powell’s ratings are to be believed, the Michigan staff must be ecstatic. He broke things down numerically with The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown:

"I'm feeling the love from them and it seems like they really want me," Powell-Ryland said. "I think they're recruiting me at about a 10 and I like them a solid 8, probably closer to a 9."

Powell noted that he got to spend a good amount of time with defensive coordinator Don Brown, and that Brown raved about his get-off and pass-rushing skills. He also told Brandon Brown that Virginia Tech and Duke are recruiting at a 10, and he has a Duke visit scheduled for the first week in April. Powell thinks he’ll make his final decision in the weeks after his Michigan official, as he told Brown he’ll make a decision before his season starts.

[After THE JUMP: more crystal ballz, big-time visitors, and rising 2021 players M got in on early] 

AZ OT Noah Nelson just finished an unofficial visit to Michigan last weekend, and it appears distance is no issue for the 6’8, 295-pound three-star (he unofficially visited Northwestern and his only other official is going to be Oklahoma, so yeah). Currently ranked #547 overall and the nation’s #50 offensive tackle, it seems from what 247’s Steve Lorenz writes and from a Brice Marich interview with Nelson’s mother that the family’s thoughts coming out of the visit were very clear:

“My favorite coach!!! Hands down...very caring and genuine. I could go on and on in describing him in a positive way, but I came away with a great connection. The day was with him because he took so much time to make sure our visit was great.”

That quote, of course, is about offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Lorenz wrote that he got the impression Michigan is Nelson’s leader, with the one question being whether he would be a take for the staff since Warinner’s in on seemingly dozens of targets. Lorenz’s crystal ball for Nelson to Michigan answers any questions on the staff side of things. His junior film is embedded in the crystal ball post and he seems to have good feet for a guy his size.

OH RB Jutah McClain, early-enrollee Erick All’s former teammate, told 247’s Bill Greene All said the coaching staff wants McClain to visit, and McClain says he’ll likely take a Michigan official. He’s in no hurry to announce a decision, though, as he hasn’t cut down his list of schools yet and sees himself committing on signing day. McClain is ranked #391 overall and #8 APB in the composite, but 247 has him #290 overall and the #6 APB in 2020. Between Greene’s likely involvement in the higher ranking and McClain weighing offers from and recently visiting schools like Notre Dame, West Virginia, Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan, I’d lean toward the higher number being closer to where he should currently be ranked.

Another player 247 likes more than others is GA S Brian Branch. 247 sees him as a top 100 player; he’s currently ranked #92 overall and the #5 safety. The composite, however, has him as a four-star, but ranks him #227 overall and the #17 safety. He told 247’s Steve Lorenz that Michigan and Oklahoma are the two schools definitely getting official visits, and he’s accelerated his decision timeline from August to June, which Lorenz says favors Michigan. It sounds like Michigan views him a little like Jaylen Kelly-Powell; Don Brown told Branch they’d like to move him around from corner to nickel to safety. Branch was very upfront with Lorenz about his feelings coming off the unofficial visit he took last weekend.

"Honestly, it did end up going better than I thought it would," Branch told 247Sports on Monday afternoon. "Their campus was awesome. I liked how it's like a big city but everything is really close together. The facilities were unbelievable too. The weight room is basically brand new and it's still expanding. It was definitely a memorable visit for me."

Not a bad sign from a guy who’s already unofficially visited Alabama (a school he might officially visit), Tennessee (a school he might officially visit), Ohio State, Indiana (a school he might officially visit?), Kentucky, and Georgia Tech.

Speaking of liking (this is my worst segue of all time, I’m sorry), it seems NJ S Jordan Morant’s warming toward Michigan ahead of today’s unofficial visit. Morant is being courted by Super Jersey Bros. Chris Partridge and Anthony Campanile, whose actual brother is Morant’s current head coach. Morant recently told 247’s Steve Wiltfong he likes the continuity that could bring to his football career should he choose Michigan. Expect a lot more on the four-star (who’s ranked #42 overall and the top safety in the nation by 247) after his visit.

It’s also worth noting that Michigan’s currently expecting to get a spring visit from another one of their top targets, IL WR AJ Henning. Lorenz notes that a return visit to Michigan from the #76 overall player (#15 WR) would be significant, so keep an eye out to see whether a date is ever firmed up.

Michigan appears to be pulling a St. Frances with California’s St. John Bosco, as the school brought a set of six players through Ann Arbor last week and all six left with offers. They’re primarily three-star 2020’s (S Jake Newman, DT Kobe Pepe, and CB James Smith), though top 100 2021 WR Beaux Collins and 2022 OT Earnest Greene also landed offers. Brandon Brown wrote up a handy summary of their current offer lists and notes on each player.

2021

Michigan gets a big visit this weekend from a player 247 has ranked in their top 50. CO DE Brayden Wood, ranked #34 overall and the #3 DE in the class, has visited about every big-time program in the nation but has legitimate interest in Michigan; according to 247’s Blair Angulo, this will be the standout DE’s second visit, with the first coming one year ago. According to Angulo, defensive line coach Shaun Nua has upped his efforts with Wood of late. He also has an interesting mini-scouting report on Wood:

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound prospect from Boulder (Colo.) Fairview was strong at the point of attack and showed a good motor in drills, although he has strides to make as a pass-rusher and could very well end up playing inside given his frame and strength. Wood is athletic for his build and also plays baseball at the varsity level, so he's not a finished product by any means and has the potential to end up at a variety of different spots.

The article also notes that the last big prospect from Wood’s high school was Carlo Kemp, so the school isn’t exactly a pipeline but has sent players Michigan’s way before.

CA QB Miller Moss isn’t ranked yet, but it seems like that won’t last long based on what 247’s Greg Biggins writes.

Moss is one of the top quarterbacks in the national 2021 class. As a sophomore he threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns and we think he can make a big jump in both production and efficiency as a junior. He’s a pure thrower with a natural stroke and the arm strength to make every throw on the field.

Moss just completed a midwestern trip that saw him visit Ohio State and then Michigan, and the Michigan visit seemed to make quite an impression: Moss has another Michigan visit planned for July. He told Biggins he built some valuable relationships with the other players visiting Ohio State and got to spend time with new head coach Ryan Day, but it was offensive coordinator Josh Gattis that Moss mentioned having a good rapport with. Moss said Gattis went in-depth on the offense during their film session, a meeting he said was unlike any other. Moss told Marich that Michigan “exceeded every prior expectation.” One notable difference between Michigan and Ohio State is that Michigan has already offered, while Ohio State said they’ll come watch him throw sometime this spring. Moss’ most notable offers at the moment are Auburn and LSU, and he plans to travel south for visits as well before potentially making a summer decision.

Michigan is also in early on OH RB Corey Kiner, who unofficially visited last weekend. Steve Lorenz heard that Kiner is highly regarded by the coaching staff and as such he moved Kiner to “top target” on 247’s board. He also put in a crystal ball for Kiner to Michigan alongside Ohio analyst Bill Greene. Ohio State and Notre Dame have yet to offer but Wisconsin has, which alone is enough to justify throwing someone in the “top target” section. Kiner told Brice Marich he has a current leader:

“Michigan is at the top,” Kiner admitted. “I think that they want me the most and I just feel amazing energy around them that is the best environment for me I feel like right now.”