Michigan landed one of the more surprising— and most important— commitments in their class on National Signing Day, 4* WR Darrius Clemons. Just days earlier, Clemons -> Michigan was considered a longshot by most insiders, but after crushing it on Clemons' visit this past weekend, the Wolverines were able to reel in the athletic wide receiver, one of Jim Harbaugh's biggest wins this cycle. Clemons now joins Tyler Morris and Amorion Walker in the 2022 receiving class, which represents a very compelling trio of prospects for Michigan fans to get excited about. 

GURU RATINGS 

Clemons is a consensus top 200 prospect who is one of the 30 best wide receivers in this 2022 class nationally, and the top player in the state of Oregon (pretty nice that Oregon is going through a coaching change right now!). There is a bit of disagreement over whether Clemons is in the top 100, depending on whether you favor Rivals/On3 or ESPN/247, but either way, this is a high end commit. There's also a bit of disparity between what the sites think Clemons' height and weight is, but he's a taller WR prospect, which nicely contrasts Tyler Morris' 6'0/175 size. Clemons is now the second big(ger) WR prospect in this class, joining Walker, who measures in at 6'4 and an immensely skinny 175 lbs. The heavier frame of Clemons may allow him to get on the field more quickly than Walker. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: You mean he's tall AND fast?]

SCOUTING

Brandon Huffman of 247 gives his overview take of Clemons which can lead us off: 

OFFERS

Clemons got offers from almost everyone who matters in CFB: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Miami, MSU, ND, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin, Utah, and OSU to name a few. The favorites in his recruitment were home-state Oregon, Michigan, and Auburn, though Clemons did also visit USC and Penn State. As recently as only a couple weeks ago, this was seen realistically as a two-school battle between Oregon and Auburn, with the Ducks offering the local appeal while Auburn offered the ability to play in the sweet $EC. But then Michigan made its charge after getting Clemons on campus and crushing his official visit, which helped wrap him up. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Clemons has mostly played for Westview HS in Portland, OR. This season they went 9-2 and were ranked 10th in the state of Oregon by MaxPreps, a pretty good school but not an elite national powerhouse, and the caveats about the quality of competition in the state of Oregon apply. Westview plays in the 6A division, which is the highest level in the state, so in terms of Oregon (which ain't exactly Texas or Florida), it's the cream of the crop, and a good program.

As a junior, Clemons played for Pleasant Grove HS in Utah (near Provo), since the Oregon HS football season was washed out due to COVID-19. Pleasant Grove was 6-5 the year Clemons played for them, but were just 1-10 this season(!), competing in Utah's 6A (highest) division. The best way to summarize Clemons' HS career is that he's played in the top divisions, but in states that don't produce a high volume of elite football talent. 

STATS 

As a senior for Westview, MaxPreps has Clemons at 780 yards over 37 catches (21.1 yards per reception), with 11 TDs in 8 games. He had 408 yards and 6 TDs as a sophomore in six games for Westview. As a junior for Pleasant Grove, Clemons led his team in receiving yards by a country mile, racking up 760 yards over 37 catches (20.5 yards per reception), with 9 TDs in 11 games.  

FAKE 40 TIME 

It's not fake this time! He was clocked in "verified" fashion at 4.37, as listed on his 247 page, which is the speed component of the size/speed combo we've been discussing. That's why some recruiting analysts think he's still underrated despite the snazzy rankings. It gets zero FAKEs out of five. 

VIDEO

Here is the tape of Clemons' senior year highlights: 

You can see plenty of him playing offense, defense, and special teams there. As for the aforementioned circus catch component, we go to an Oregon HS football account: 

? @DarriusClemons @WestviewFootbal #Fox12FNL pic.twitter.com/Tnm2iqK5wh

— #FOX12FNL (@fridaylights) October 23, 2021

ETC

Quite a bit to discuss here thanks to an illuminating "personal" section on Clemons over at On3. Father, Larry, played for Spurrier at UF in the 90s. Plans on majoring in economics in college. Likes cooking and watching YouTube. Stressed academics and said "Beat Ohio" in his post-commitment interview with CBS Sports. Lived in Lansing, Michigan, until age 11 and is a childhood friend of Andrel Anthony's ($), which played a significant role in his recruitment. 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

I love Clemons as a prospect. Michigan was looking at taking two WRs in this class, which had long been assumed to be Tyler Morris and then Amorion Walker (who they worked for months to flip from ND). But Clemons is the kind of player you can't say no to when he's interested, because he's a better prospect than either Morris or Walker. It's not often you can add a 6'3"/6'4" receiver who runs a 4.37 forty to your recruiting class. Clemons is the type of player who should have a massive impact at Michigan and he's probably the second best recruit in this class after Will Johnson (I suppose you could make a case for Sabb or Berry). 

There may be some degree of an adjustment period going from Oregon HS football to high major NCAA play, but Clemons should be able to quickly become a demon. Next year will be an immensely crowded WR room with Ronnie Bell returning in addition to Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, Andrel Anthony, AJ Henning, and Mike Sainristil. It's hard to see Clemons getting many catches, but by 2023 you'd like to think he will be one of the feature pieces next to Anthony, with his classmates Morris and Walker behind him. Michigan has recruited WR exceptionally well under Josh Gattis and now we're beginning to see the fruits of that labor be manifested in a loaded receiving corps. Let Clemons marinate because you don't need his services immediately, and then reap the benefits after that. He's going to be a very fun player with legitimate NFL potential. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Clemons, being one of the last commits in the class, puts a bow on this 2022 Michigan recruiting class. The Wolverines will still be in the hunt for Josh Conerly Jr. into February, as well as probably circling back on some edge prospects depending on what happens with Kevonte Henry (in addition to the late Ethan Burke flip), but everything else is finished. The Wolverines got three WR prospects who they like, two of which in the top 200. Hard not to think that WR is one of the strengths of this class thanks to Clemons, after DB. Here's the updated class, with Clemons in the fold (still waiting on Derrick Moore), nearing completion: