BBQ Visitors: Offense

The weekend in which I can't leave my laptop for more than 30 seconds is nearly upon us. The BBQ at the Big House is on Saturday, and it features a visitor list absolutely loaded with top-end talent. 247's Steve Lorenz has the full, updated list posted for free, as well as an excellent VIP post that goes in-depth on each uncommitted 2017 and 2018 prospect who'll be on campus. I'll do my best to cover the highlights. Keep in mind that every 2017 Michigan commit save for Aubrey Solomon, Kai-Leon Herbert, and AJ Dillon is slated to be in attendance.

The headliner, of course, is #1 overall prospect Najee Harris, the California running back committed to Alabama. According to Lorenz, Bama insiders think Michigan is the top threat to flip him from his current commitment, and Harris will be accompanied by his mother on the trip. Harris won't be the only back at the BBQ; four-star UT RB Sione Heimuli-Lund is a Stanford commit who could wind up at RB, FB, or LB (or, given Harbaugh, all of them).

Michigan's top four targets at wide receiver will all be in attendance. Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins need no introduction at this point; Michigan leads for Collins and is the presumed leader for DPJ. Four-star IA WR Oliver Martin is ramping up his recruitment now that baseball season is over—this weekend should give us a good idea of where Michigan stands compared to MSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, and his other contenders. Four-star CT WR Tarik Black has Michigan in his top group, though Lorenz thinks Notre Dame and Stanford are out ahead at this point. Michigan's top tight end on the board, four-star CA TE Josh Falo, will also be at the BBQ.

With three-star AL OT Toryque Bateman naming Michigan his leading heading into his BBQ visit, the offensive line is the most likely (though far from only) source of a weekend commitment—Bateman pegged his chances of committing at 50% and potentially higher if the visit goes as well as his last trip to Ann Arbor. Four-star tackles Isaiah Wilson and Aaron Banks are also on the list; Wilson is a Michigan/Bama battle right now, while the Wolverines are hoping to lure Banks away from top-tier Pac-12 programs.

As I was writing this, Steve reported that four-star OT Henry Bainivalu will make the trip from Washington. This is the second unofficial for Bainivalu, which is especially notable for a prospect from the other side of the country—Michigan definitely has a shot, and...

...oh boy, we might have a situation here.

One prospect who'd been mentioned as a possible visitor who won't make it: five-star KY OT Jedrick Wills, who looks like a longshot at best.

In the 2018 class, four-star Oak Park OG Marquan McCall—who could also wind up at DT—will accompany his committed teammate, OT JaRaymond Hall. While I've avoided mentioning the 2019 class, early rankings have Belleville OT Devontae Dobbs as a five-star prospect; he'll be at the BBQ with a couple classmates from a program that's got a lot of young talent.

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

BBQ Visitors: Defense

Five-star CA CB Darnay Holmes will get an in-person look at the program. While Michigan hasn't been consistently mentioned as a favorite, they have a chance to make a big move; Holmes is very close with freshman corner David Long. Three other high-profile visitors could wind up in Michigan's secondary: in-state four-stars Ambry Thomas and Jaylen Kelly-Powell and four-star NJ ATH Markquese Bell—Michigan has reportedly moved at or near the top of Bell's list lately, and they're in great position for the two in-staters, especially JKP.

The Wolverines have work to do for two visitors who play on the defensive line. Four-star OH DT/SDE James Hudson has narrowed his choices to Michigan and MSU with a decision coming on August 26th. If he had to choose right now, the Spartans would likely be the pick. Four-star Flint Southwestern SDE Deron Irving-Bey has been to MSU several times, but the BBQ will be his first trip as a recruit to Ann Arbor—we should have a better idea of where M stands with him (and vice versa) after this weekend.

Four-star IMG OLB Jordan Anthony is right behind Baron Browning and Drew Singleton on Michigan's board at linebacker, and Maryland is the primary competition for him. Michigan will also host four-star AL OLB Will Ignont, who's had an unpredictable recruitment thus far; he was a silent commitment to Alabama at one time and has since said they're not in contention. Auburn is thought to be the leader for Ignont, but it seems like that could change with a great visit.

In the 2018 class, five-star PA SDE Micah Parsons, a Penn State commit, will be the top-ranked target on campus—he's third overall in the 247 Composite. Lorenz described his PSU commitment as "butter-soft" and this will be his second unofficial to Ann Arbor; he's also visited (and raved about) USC, so this one is far from over. Four-star Cass Tech CB Kalon Gervin and three-star Detroit Country Day OLB Kolin Demens will also be on campus.

For commitment-watchers, Bateman is the clear-cut leading candidate for a Michigan pledge this weekend, but he's not alone. Collins and Kelly-Powell both have had Michigan as their leader for a while and it wouldn't be a big surprise if either dropped, and on a weekend like this you can never rule out a commitment coming out of left field.

ESPN Updates 2017 Rankings

I put less stock in ESPN's rankings than the other three sites because of their fire-and-forget nature and other oddities that are probably due to the fact that they have far fewer reporters scouting prospects than the others. But they've got new rankings, so let's take a look at where M's commits landed:

• QB Dylan McCaffrey dropped from #19 to #45 overall.
• DT Aubrey Solomon stayed put at #61 overall.
• DE Luiji Vilain dropped from #95 to #102.
• OT Kai-Leon Herbert dropped from #106 to #109.
• OT JaRaymond Hall dropped from #161 to #173.
• OT Joel Honigford dropped from #199 to #204.
• LB Josh Ross dropped from #219 to #234.
• RB O'Maury Samuels dropped from #222 to #239.
• DE Corey Malone-Hatcher dropped from #254 to #273.
• S J'Marick Woods fell off the list from #263.

Other than a healthy drop for McCaffrey, which falls in line with other post-Opening re-ranks, these were all minor falls resulting from ESPN bumping other prospects up the board. They kept Ambry Thomas bizarrely low at #263 and still have Benjamin St-Juste as their #57 cornerback. So, yeah, grain of salt and all that.

Etc.

From IMG's media day—which is a thing, apparently—comes news of a little more competition for four-star OC Cesar Ruiz, per 247's Ryan Bartow:

Said Alabama, Michigan and Oklahoma are tied. Plans to take multiple official visits before making a winter decision.

Top-100 2018 WR Justin Shorter, the #3 player in New Jersey in the rising junior class, had a "great" visit to Michigan on Monday, per Bartow. His Crystal Ball reads 100% for Rutgers. For now.

Speaking of Rutgers, here's your crootin moment of the week. Scout has the overview:

Fairmont (W.V.) defensive tackle Darius Stills  made it a whirlwind weekend for two schools. Stills unofficially visited Rutgers on Saturday, where he ended the trip with a verbal commitment to coach Chris Ash. Here's the strange part. Stills, who long waited for a West Virginia offer, finally received one after he returned home from Rutgers. Stills' father played for West Virginia, and the Mountaineers successfully flipped the 2017 prospect within 48 hours of his initial commitment to Rutgers.

247 has the hilarious petulance:

"I talked it over with my dad and he asked what I wanted," said Stills. "I told him I always wanted to go to West Virginia. All the clothes I own are West Virginia. WVU was always going to be in my heart no matter what."

So Stills took the first step in making that happen, telling Rutgers that he was opening up his recruitment. The staff, knowing what was coming and miffed by the choice, parted ways completely. "They took away the offer," said Stills.

"You're not breaking up with me, I'm breaking up with you" is always a good look, right?