Happy Trails: Tyler Shough

Four-star AZ QB Tyler Shough had long been expected to join Joe Milton in Michigan's class, to the point it was unclear who was running second behind the Wolverines, but quarterback recruiting has a way of turning on a dime. That happened last week, when Shough committed to North Carolina shortly after visiting Chapel Hill.

With Milton already in the class, this was a miss Michigan could afford. At the same time, it makes Milton a bit more of a risk if he's the only QB in the class; while Milton is a boom-or-bust project, Shough is more polished and has a higher floor. While Shough had maintained that Milton's presence in the class wasn't a factor, Steve Lorenz's notes on the commitment suggest otherwise:

I'm told he felt that UNC was a better fit from a football sense than Michigan, which can basically be translated to earlier playing time opportunities being available.

As of now, there's still a possibility Michigan looks to take a second in 2018. The A4 camp on Saturday got a lot more interesting all of a sudden.

Unfortunately, Saturday's A4 quarterback camp didn't provide alternative options, and Jim Harbaugh at least indirectly blamed the new Individual Associated With Prospects rule, which prevented Michigan from even trying to bring in the star-studded coaching lineup of years past to work the camp:

“That’s the landscape we have,” Harbaugh said. “Even pro players, you have to do a complete background search on who do they know that is already on our team or we could be recruiting. So we stayed away, just college coaches and our players.” ...

“Yeah, I think it’s silly and ridiculous,” Harbaugh said of the rule. “It’s been that way for 50 years that high school coaches can work camps and college coaches could go work camps at high schools. It’s always been that way. Drastic change.”

While the other recruiting rule changes were steps in the right direction, the IAWP rule is as much of an ill-conceived disaster as expected.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]

I Volunteer To Cover The Future Germany Satellite Camp

Michigan's Super Skills Camp, also held over the weeked, didn't feature a ton of top-flight talent, but The Wolverine's Brandon Brown mentioned a couple intriguing prospects who stood out. WR Zavier Scott, a native of the United States who plays in Germany, won the fastest man and agility competitions before standing out in drills, picking up a Central Michigan offer in the process. German SDE Julius Welschof has a four-star rating from 247 and backed that up at the camp, per Brown:

A true German hailing from Bavaria, 2018 strongside defensive end Julius Welschof looked very impressive at 6-6, 245 pounds. He was long and athletic but also appeared to have solid power while working on the sleds. He received a lot of attention from Greg Mattison during the camp and was easily the most impressive defensive player in attendance.

Welschof has picked up a handful of offers while hitting a bunch of camps this spring/summer. While he hasn't added one from Michigan yet, 247's Isaiah Hole reports the coaches are keeping a close eye on him:

Michigan hasn't offered Welschof -- yet. I spoke with some sources close to the program who said that they are very high on him, but that there could be some academic hurdles (since he's coming from Germany) and they just want to see more of him. The sources corroborated what Welschof himself told me: the staff does not want him to commit or sign with any other program while they get serious about his evaluation process.

Importing from Germany worked out quite well for John Beilein. I wouldn't mind seeing Harbaugh follow suit.

Various Visit Reactions

Michigan hosted top-100 2018 FL OT Nicholas Petit-Frere, who's coveted by several top programs, last week. While Petit-Frere doesn't talk much to the media, Lorenz is hearing that the visit put the Wolverines in contention:

From what I've been told, Michigan believes they've entered the race for Petit-Frere's services after originally feeling like they were on the outside looking in with his recruitment. The Wolverines were the first offer of the recruiting process for the four-star way back in the day, and have a connection at Berkeley Prep in former Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas, who is an assistant coach at the program.

Alabama and Ohio State are among the schools with strong interest, so this one is far from over. Petit-Frere very much fits the Greg Frey ideal of a tackle prospect.

Lorenz reports four-star GA S Trey Dean also made it to campus last week, though it's unclear how strong the mutual interest is there. Georgia is the Crystal Ball favorite.

While an Oklahoma native with this name seems destined for one particular school, 2019 five-star TE Grayson Boomer told TMI's Brice Marich he's "very, very interested" in Michigan after picking up an offer on his recent unofficial:

“We just toured the place and obviously talked to Coach Harbaugh for a while. At first, I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming (laughter), but he was so friendly and genuine. He just told me I had an offer and I was blown away. He also said you remind us of Jake Butt and you would fit right in. I’m one of the biggest Jake Butt fans ever. Watched him since the 7th grade.”

Boomer will be in attendance for the season opener in Dallas.

Four-star 2019 VA DB Litchfield Ajavon, high school teammate of Luiji Vilain, told Lorenz he thinks Michigan is the "total package" after his visit last week and provided this delightful comparison to a couple other recent visits:

Ajavon also saw Notre Dame and Michigan State on his trip and says the trip complicated his recruitment a bit, although he's nowhere near a decision and still hopes to see Stanford and Texas among others this summer.

"Each school had their own way of appealing to me," he said. "I really like what each program offered. I'm hoping to end up fitting in at a program that is elite academically and also has a campus that I can find things to enjoy on when I'm not playing football. That was one thing I liked about Michigan; their campus is surrounded by a lot and isn't in the middle of nowhere. I'm really looking for the full college experience."

Here's hoping Ajavon can fill the Donovan Jeter Rival Shade-Thrower role for the 2019 class.

Michigan also impressed four-star 2019 FL OT Michael Tarquin, who told Marich that the Wolverines are sticking out along with Miami (YTM) and Clemson. He plans to visit again in the fall.

Etc.

Commit Myles Sims spoke extensively with Sam Webb on WTKA about why Michigan has had so much success in his home state of Georgia.

Michigan made the top ten for 2019 top-50 KY DE Stephen Herron, who recently added an offer he coveted in Stanford. The Wolverines are still in great shape here.

Three-star FL S Jamien Sherwood will visit Michigan on Saturday, per 247's Andrew Ivins.

I continue to recommend you do not watch Alim McNeill's highlight tape.