Reminder that you have through today to get the Good Time Charley's shirt before we put in the big order, then we'll play for the next one tomorrow, and so on.

I think we're back to where I can just post updates. Leave questions in the comments.

Four and Out

No sooner was OH WR Markus Allen minted a 4* on Rivals than he left Michigan's class citing Fat Tay, and following some ominous tweets about going where you know you're a priority. That's a done deal($) according to everybody($), and a surprise to the sites, but apparently not one to the team. There doesn't seem to be anything to the theory that it had anything to do with Allen playing on a torn labrum that will need surgery this year. It could also be that he saw three other receivers committed in his class and Michigan was still talking to more. Sam said on the WTKA recruiting roundup that it's been trending this way since Michigan got Andrel Anthony and Michigan didn't make Allen as much of a priority after.

A decommitment means everyone wants to know who they're after next, but honestly the only response available at the moment is to walk you through the board. So we'll do that, after the JUMP.

The first is GA 4* Jayden Thomas, who's a similar (read: fade merchant) type of player to Allen. There was a lot of mutual interest—particularly in Michigan's academics—before Michigan's class filled up; since then Thomas was trending to Notre Dame to the point that Tom Loy named him the #1 most likely next Irish commitment (unless Georgia swoops in). Holland says communication never died down($) with Gattis but I imagine there's ground to make up now. Thomas is also a baseball player so that helps.

Gattis also never stopped going after OH 4* ND commit Lorenzo Styles, whom Holland said was "definitely a flip candidate"($) before the pandemic. Sam says the ND fans went nuclear on Styles when he expressed some interest in Michigan post-commitment, and since then Lorenzo has been very publicly pro-Irish. With Ohio State also trying to horn in it still sounds like a tough pull.

HI 4* Titus Mokiao-Atimala is a guy Michigan's been talking to about playing safety, so this might open the door for a "sure you can play receiver, but if it doesn't work out…" approach, which in recruiting speak becomes an article about how Michigan sees a guy as an "athlete." But Sam thinks unless Michigan can get him on campus that's a longshot.

If they get none of them Xavier Worthy + Cristian Dixon + Andrel Anthony is still a hell of a class.

News from The Old Colony

The Eaglepire Strikes Back: Finishing a close second for in-state OG target Rocco Spindler hurt less when it appeared Michigan's other state's top interior prospect, MA 4* Drew Kendall, would likely end up blue. That's…no longer the case. The most optimistic prognosticators are now calling this a BC lean who could also swing back to Michigan or go to Stanford. The most plugged in people say Michigan's now out of the running entirely($). 247's BC guy Tyler Calvaruso now thinks it's 51% BC and 49% Stanford($). There's still no official deadline for a decision that's been constantly just over the horizon, but a lot of people seem to think it's soon. They're also unwilling to put a confidence level beyond 6 on a crystal ball.

While it's a mystery to everyone trying to get an answer out of Kendall, I'm going to put forth my theory that the NCAA granting everyone another year of eligibility meant Raheem Anderson, Greg Crippen, Giovanni El-Hadi, Tristan Bounds, Zach Carpenter, Reece Atteberry, Karsen Barnhart, Nolan Rumler, Jack Stewart, Zak Zinter, Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan, and Jeffrey Persi are all going to be freshmen next year. BC meanwhile needs bodies even if they're still 20 pounds short of a Power 5 OL's. Maybe things will look different when Hafley bails on BC in three years.

Fallback options($) include NC 3* Diego Pounds, who'd be otherwise ticketed for Penn State, so at least we would get to hear the name every year.

Revenge of the Blitz. Don Brown got off the phone with top 2022 LB target, MA 4* Tyler Martin, and according($) to everybody who'd know($) it looks like a pretty done deal since Martin announced a decision to be announced tomorrow evening. He's from the school that sounds like a law firm that Zinter's from, not the one that Kendall and Casey Phinney are from. Martin is probably(?) going to be the state's top recruit this year but 247 has him third at the moment.

Thunder Before Lightning

Michigan's always wanted two RBs in this class and they're getting closer to one. Steve Wiltfong, Sam Webb, Steve Lorenz, Brice Marich, and EJ Holland are among those to put in a crystal ball or futurecast this week for TX 3* RB Tavierre Dunlap to Michigan. His recruitment was recently down to Oklahoma State and Michigan, and Wiltfong recently spoke to Dunlap's head coach, who described a machine:

“Oh man, first off all the dude, he’s super consistent and that’s with everything … work ethic and approach to practice, his mentality, he doesn’t have any up and down days."

…but one with battle robot potential:

“He’s nowhere near his ceiling … He hasn’t really done the personal training thing. He has some stuff to clean up. But as he continues to work, the sky is the limit for the guy. He has a college body, I think he has an NFL body. He runs away from people. He’s one of the best I’ve been around.”

Dunlap's teammate Caleb Burton is a five-star 2022 WR prospect, and Michigan's sending the house.

A commitment from Dunlap would not change their standing with top target Donovan Edwards, says Sam. Edwards was a recent guest on Isaiah Hole's podcast and the subject of a pretty deep profile that followed. That profile answers all the questions you didn't have about Donovan's character. Sam did mention Donovan's starting to get weary of the process which, as a recruiting roundup writer who keeps saying Edwards won't decide for some months and wants to visit Oklahoma (and UGA again) before it, is something I would know nothing about. Lorenz finally put in a crystal ball($) and Allen Trieu moved his confidence from a 2 to a 6($).

Duck Dodgers in the Twenty-First-and-a-Fifth Century

The most interesting interesting recruitment going on right now is that of 3* (soon to be 4*?) MD safety Daymon David, who shot to the top of Michigan's board a few months ago when they whiffed on two of their three top targets. The saga got interesting when Oregon offered, so interesting that Brian Dohn and Steve Wiltfong both put in 7-confidence crystal balls for the Ducks on Tuesday. 247's Ducks guy Kevin Wade says he'd like Oregon's chances if David committed today. But according to 247's BC guy Tyler Calvaruso, that wasn't the case this weekend($):

-On Daymon David...Heard from a source that the Oregon hype has died down and his decision is back down to Boston College and Michigan. Initial indications were that Oregon was going to be a big-time player and the Ducks are certainly still in the hunt, but Boston College and Michigan are the main two right now from what I have heard.

I know how Wiltfong makes his predictions and they're pretty solid, but not foolproof. Dohn seems to have the strongest grasp of this recruitment:

“Yeah, well I thought he was Michigan / Boston College (laughter). He and I spoke about it late last week. He went over it. These are my top two and he wants to decide early to mid-September. Low and behold maybe about four or five hours after he and I spoke, Oregon offers. He hits me up and I said, 'Oregon... are they in it, is it just nice to get the offer, or what?' He goes, 'oh no…. they're in a big time!' And I said, 'when we spoke a few hours ago you didn't bring (Oregon) up. What happened?' He goes, 'they hadn't offered and I wasn't sure they were going to offer. I didn't want to start talking about a school that hadn't offered yet and make it seem like I could really go there… because I can't really talk about going there because they hadn't offered.’ It was his dream school as a kid. He got along with the staff very well out there. They've spent a lot of time with him even before the offer. He likes Mario Cristobal. So now to me it's a three-team race with Oregon, Michigan and Boston College. He loves the staff at Boston College. He loves the staff at Michigan.

More at the link about why BC is such a threat. While 247 tries to figure out which side they're on Rivals' Adam Friedman offered five teams to watch and got David's quotes on each, but that has Indiana, Mississippi State and Oklahoma, not Oregon, which is so last week man! The scouting report is probably more valuable:

At a recent workout he impressed with his physical makeup and his long speed. As a safety prospect he showed great range and the length that he brings to the table as a 6-foot-2 prospect should really help at the next level. David's footwork is pretty good for this stage of his development … very little mass on his frame at this point.

Let's hope that's useful to a future MGo-Hello poster. Georgia Tech commit Kaleb Edwards seems to be the current fallback option.

J.J. McCarthy for Recruiting Coordinator

I just liked his response:

And the biggest questions that I get when I ask these recruits: ‘What about beating Ohio State and stuff like that?’ It’s like, ‘Good. Good that we’re gonna have the opportunity to be the ones that beat them and be the one to be a part of that opportunity to ignite a fanbase that will love you and cherish you for decades.’

Deal.

Please Don't Make Me Write About 2022s

Added to the row of 247 profile tabs in the window of "I'll get to it": QB MJ Morris, RB Arlen Harris, TEs Marin Klein (visited, Lorenz ball to M($)), and Oscar Delp, OT Laakea Kapoi, DT Jadon Scarlett… Oh here we go: Steve Lorenz put together a mini recruiting board on the backs($) and wide receivers($), with presumably the rest of the positions forthcoming.

Etc.

Lorenz called today's VIP chat a dud, which you be the judge($). The story of Junior Colson's recruitment; also he could play some Pepback. DT target Rayshaun Benny has a minor knee injury($) but is expected to play against West Bloomfield a week from today; Josh Hemlholdt predicts Benny to to Michigan (and Edwards to UGA). Dominic Giudice is an Italian chef($). Rooks is closer to a decision($). K/P commit Tommy Doman is an athlete too. MnB has every snap and scouting of QB commit J.J. McCarthy's 23-37/333-yard-5 TD demolition last week. McCarthy tells Hole Michigan's recruiting on personality, and 2022 RB target Arlen Harris Jr. fits it. Michigan still "throwing everything it has" at FL CB Omarion Cooper, who committed to FSU—that vibe of CB recruiting getting desperate isn't just me right? 2022 legacy Will Johnson please save us! Or any CB target for 2022 save us!