Numbers

no reason [Eric Upchurch]

Sam Webb reports that Michigan is going to take another very large class this year, with numbers I'm not sure are in fact possible: 28 on the low end and 32(!) on the high end. Michigan took 28 last year*, backdating seven. That should mean that they can only backdate four from this year's class, giving a hard LOI cap of 29. Schools are figuring out ways around that LOI cap—that's what "blueshirting" is—but those are inconvenient.

Meanwhile I'm not sure about getting to the larger number without cutting certain spots on the roster to the bone. Michigan has 18 slots open right now and it's not too hard to get to 23 via a combination of early NFL draft entry, unrenewed fifth years, and the injury situation with Freddy Canteen. Five more departures to hit 28 is not unreasonable, but the roster will skew very young next season so there are going to be fewer players who are ready to move on in search of playing time.

It'll be interesting. The takeaway is yes, expect another large class.

*[I'm not counting Dytarious Johnson for purposes of this conversation. If he does enroll that obviously occupies another scholarship slot.]

Quarterback

Michigan is probably done with #1 QB Dylan McCaffrey in the fold but they could take a second, especially if that second had upside at another position. GA QB Jelani Woods, a 6'7" dual threat guy, is the only name on the board that fits this description at this instant. 90% they are done.

Projection: done.

Running back

With Kurt Taylor, AJ Dillon, and O'Maury Samuels committed Michigan is done unless a nationally elite name wants to join up. In that case they'd have to make a hard decision. Taylor does fit the profile of the guys that they more or less forcibly decommitted in the previous class, but dude is so enthusiastic about Michigan and the PR would be so bad that even if they wanted to—and I'm not saying they do—they would probably have to keep him.

FWIW, a strapping athlete like Dillon could easily be a Don Brown linebacker. The other two guys are locked in at tailback.

Projection: done.

[After THE JUMP: positions that are not full.]

Wide receiver

Five-star MI WR  Donovan Peoples-Jones is and will remain the top target, probably until Signing Day. Sam Webb related that NJ ATH Markquese Bell was on commit watch for a second there; he probably fits in at wide receiver.

Michigan might not take more than two depending on how many of the six guys they took last year stick at WR. If Bell is a safety to the staff or they move Hawkins and/or Mitchell, additional WR targets are currently pretty fuzzy. AL WR Nico Collins would have been the easy next name on the list before he did not make a scheduled spring game visit. If he does come up again (he was on campus for the OSU game last year) then you may resume mild optimisim.

CA WRs Joseph Lewis and Tyjon Lindsey are possibilities; CT WR Tarik Black is widely thought to be an Alabama lean, but the Tide might not have room for him. If that is the case Michigan is in the thick of that recruitment. NJ WR Bo Melton and MI WR KJ Hamler are both slot types coming in a year after Michigan brought in two or three guys who can play in the slot; Michigan might end up going after one or the other heavily. Obviously, track visits to see who Michigan is serious about and vice versa.

With DPJ out there for most of the cycle it's likely Michigan keeps their board open here.

Projection: Bell commits before his football season. DPJ keeps everyone on their toes. Michigan is probably the favorite, but in a "40% versus the field at 60%" kind of way. They add a third WR who is not mentioned above.

Tight End

Michigan has a commitment from instater and legacy Carter Dunaway. They are in search of a second. Right now the top name is Texas soft commitment Major Tennison. Tennison came up for the spring game and told Lorenz he was scheduling a second unofficial over the summer. The worry here is that prying a football player named "Major Tennison" away from Texas will destabilize the space-time continuum, but Harbaugh don't care.

The rest of the tight end board is comprised of guys who have expressed interest but have not made it to campus. CA TE Josh Falo, CA TE Jimmy Jaggers, and OH TE Matt Dotson are amongst those names. Dotson has a visit set up next weekend.

Tennison seems relatively likely to flip given the multiple unofficials; if he doesn't then the second TE in the class is more likely to be someone we're not talking about than someone listed above.

Projection: They flip Tennison either this summer or when Texas has an iffy season again.

Offensive Line

Ruiz(#52) has been around a lot

Michigan has a commit from instater JaRaymond Hall. They need more dudes, and plenty of them, after a disappointing finish to the OL class last year. There are plenty of good candidates on the interior, with national #1 and #2 centers Cesar Ruiz and Brett Neilon coming off of productive spring game visits. Ruiz has a top three of M, Bama, and UNC; he's been on campus a ton and is probably more likely than not to end up in the class. Neilon would be up there as well save a ton of USC connections in his family. Top-100 IMG guard Robert Hainsey also visited for the spring game. M has a good shot at him with MSU and PSU the primary competition at the moment.

At tackle FL OL Tedarrell Slaton and NY OL Isaiah Wilson are the highest-profile targets. Michigan was named the leader by both a few months back; both have backed off public proclamations of leaders since. I recently put in a ballz for Slaton to Michigan on the MGo247Account; that was an indirect result of putting together this post. All of the Slaton articles I could find from Florida-based schools thought their school wasn't actually of too much interest to Slaton and mentioned Michigan as a contender.

Wilson is thought to be a heavy Michigan lead aside from one alarming report from Rivals's Adam Friedman, who also offered up alarming and widely repudiated intel on Drew Singleton. Wilson's gone radio silent since his Michigan visit in February. He's got a visit to Bama coming up next weekend.

Other guys Michigan is on the radar for include five-star CA OL Wyatt Davis (M is in a top 15),

Projection: They add Ruiz, one of Neilon/Hainsey, one of Wilson/Slaton, and get a fifth guy who is definitely a tackle.

Defensive Line

Like OL, Michigan is set to take a bunch of guys here since they will lose at least four players. MI DT Phil Paea jumped onboard at the spring game; he could be an interior OL as well. Instate DE Corey Malone-Hatcher has seemingly been on the verge of a commit for months now; Michigan is likely the choice in the end.

Things get uncertain once venturing outside the pleasant peninsula. NJ DT Fred Hansard visited for the spring game, and for a second it was looking very good for him. Then he scrapped his plan to decide on his birthday and said he no longer had a top list. I'm not sure what's going on with him but it appears that certain schools (M, OSU) have a different opinion of his talent level than the recruiting sites.

If Hansard and Michigan aren't a fit it's then on to a bunch of Polynesian dudes out west. Michigan brought in Tony Tuioti to recruit the state of Polynesia, as it were, and Michigan is in hot pursuit of a number of guys. The most prominent right now are UT DT Jay Tufele and OR DT Marlon Tuipulotu. Both are in the talk-no-visit category right now.

At DE, Michigan made the top fifteen for MD DE Chase Young. They're up there with VA DE Luiji Vilain, a transfer out of Canada for whom Michigan is about as close as it gets to home. They're pursuing five-star IMG DE Joshua Kaindoh; right now that doesn't look to be going amazingly but there's a lot of time for Michigan to pull him back in, especially if M and PSU have the seasons it looks like they will have.

Projection: Malone-Hatcher and then ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Linebacker

Singleton is the top target at LB

Still pretty simple. MI LB Josh Ross is a commit and NJ LB Drew Singleton is widely expected to become one sooner or later. Uncommitted recruits who come on The Michigan Insider generally end up signing with Michigan, and Singleton has a relationship with not only a dozen Michigan players but his future LB coach.

If Michigan does go to 28, linebacker is a candidate for an extra spot. IMG LB Jordan Anthony, who came up with Ruiz and Hainsey, is a candidate to be the third. Michigan also made the top five for a couple of Alabamans, Will Ignont and Sterling Jones, but both guys are very likely to end up staying south. That's the story for most of the rest of the board right now—all talk, no visit.

Projection: Ross, Singleton, and one other. 30% likely it's Anthony, 70% a guy were aren't talking about.

Secondary

CN CB Benjamin St Juste is joined by AL S J'Marick Woods at a spot that Michigan will be loading up on. They lose five DBs to graduation and most expect Jabrill Peppers to be a sixth departure.

The most likely adds appear to be a couple of in-state players. Michigan held off a commit from AL S AJ Harris because they are waiting on Cass S Jaylen Kelly-Powell. Kelly-Powell's dad just told TMI that he may be moving up his timeline, which would be good for Michigan. De La Salle ATH Allen Stritzinger is now definitely a DB recruit for Michigan, and that's reportedly where he wants to play anyway. If Michigan does grab those two guys the next step would be to swing for the fences with the last couple slots.

MI CB Ambry Thomas will be a part of that. Thomas has talked about leaving the state a lot; Michigan remains after him. He intends to take his recruitment through officials. Other corners on the radar include CA CB Jaylon Redd, TX CB Kary Vincent, FL CB CJ Cotman, and GA CB Deejay Dallas. VA S Jonathan Sutherland, a teammate of Vilain, is also a Canadian transfer who lists Michigan highly.

Projection: Michigan adds Kelly-Powell and Stritzinger. They go after a third corner heavily; your guess is as good as mine.

Specialists

Michigan might take a punter.

This instant's ridiculous class projection you should absolutely ignore

You can start giving this mild credence as Michigan's board is coming into shape. "Low" is still a meaningless placeholder, more or less, and "moderate" is a guy who is less than 50% to be in the class but still has a decent chance to get there.

FWIW, "Approximate stars" is a projection. Samuels and Paea and particular are seeing their rankings lag their camp performance (Samuels) and offers (Paea); I expect both will get bumps by summer.