The last installment of this series led with 2019 recruiting (M might take a running back) before segueing into how Rivals’ post-All-Star game bumps (and drops) impacted Michigan’s 2019 class. Call it chronological organization or lack of imagination but with no other 2019 updates, this post is going to lead with how 247’s post-All-Star game bumps (and drops) impact Michigan’s 2019 class.

The biggest move in the rankings was GA OT Trente Jones’ 88-spot leap from #197 to #109. If you’re a regular reader of recruiting roundup this shouldn’t come as a surprise; if you aren’t, I’ll shamelessly plug a Future Blue Derivatives post I put together about Jones in December. In short, he pairs prototypical tackle size and weight with athleticism far greater than you’d expect from a guy his size.

Another guy who’s more athletic than someone his size has a right to reasonably expect to be is GA DT Chris Hinton. Rivals has him as the #15 overall player in the 2019 class, and though 247 didn’t bump his ranking quite so high, he did get moved from just outside the Top100 (#104) to the upper half of that distinguisher (#47). All told, the movement was enough to make him a composite five-star and #31 overall, up from #49 in pre-postseason-camp composite ranking.

Two other players made big moves up 247’s rankings. MI DT Mazi Smith had such a good week of practice prior to the Under Armour game that 247’s John Garcia was prompted to coin one of my favorite player descriptors of all time: leverage monster.  The Leverage Monster (Ol’ Leverage Monster?) is still a four-star to 247 but moved from #240 to #170. Another in-state four-star jetting up the rankings is MI OL Karsen Barnhart, who moved from #247 to #161.

There were no free-fallers; those who moved down were mostly bumped down by risers, and they generally slid about 10 spots down. OK S Daxton Hill was moved from #8 to #23 because…stuff and things. He didn’t have much to do at practice during the practice week in San Antonio and therefore didn’t get an All-Star game bump, and 247 gave 10 players a fifth star that they then ranked above Hill. All told, the bumps up were enough to lift Michigan's class to sixth overall.

[Hit THE JUMP if you want the post title to make sense]

2020

A couple of themes that are emerging in this latest set of offers is players who’ve bonded with Sherrone Moore, as well as those who will need to see Michigan’s offense get the ball to playmakers in space if there’s any chance of landing their commitment. Some players, like MI WR Maliq Carr, check both boxes. Carr said he and Moore talk like Moore’s one of his little league or high school coaches, which seems to me like a good thing. He plans to visit Michigan in the near future and is looking for one very specific thing:

“I just want to see the depth chart,” Carr said. “Depth chart is the only thing that matters, how soon I can play.”

He went on to tell The Michigan Insider’s Josh Newkirk that whatever school he chooses has to be able to throw the ball a lot, so it’s pretty clear Carr is in search of targets early and often.

OK OT Andrew Raym committed to Oklahoma as a sophomore, and though he’s opened his recruitment up there’s still an expectation that he’ll end up there—or at least their staff believes he will, as Raym told The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb. Michigan is using former Oklahoma offensive lineman and current tight ends coach Sherrone Moore as their bridge from Oklahoma to Michigan, and it’s going to be good for at least an official visit from Raym. He said he’s in daily communication with Michigan’s staff and seems to be closest with coaches at Michigan, Georgia, and Oklahoma. It obviously won’t be easy to pull an Oklahoma native away from an elite program in his home state or Georgia because, well, Georgia, but he did also say he wants to go to a school with a good engineering program. Has North Campus ever locked up a top-100 prospect before? Could be a first.

Moore was part of the Michigan staff’s west coast trip and he used some of his time in California to stop in and offer another player with Oklahoma ties. CA CB Darion Green-Warren is still committed to the Sooners, but Michigan sent their former Sooner to pull Green-Warren out of class and offer him. Maize N Brew’s Jonathon Simmons spoke with Green-Warren, who said Moore told him they loved his style of play, namely his physicality in the run game. Green-Warren, a four-star and #87 overall in the composite, told TMI’s Brice Marich that he’ll visit Michigan either unofficially this spring or officially this fall. He then made it clear that Dr. Sap and Wolverine Historian have a role to play in recruiting.

“Excitement (was going through my head),” Green-Warren said when he got his U-M offer. “My dad always talks how good Charles Woodson was! He forces me to watch him on YouTube (laughter). Most definitely (am I a fan of Charles Woodson). He is one greatest to do it. Michigan is a great school.”

He told Simmons that his goal is to find a school that will help him develop as a player, graduate, and play in the NFL regardless of how far that school is from home. He’s also looking for stability with the head coach, which seems like a plus considering Harbaugh turned to Nugget King Adam Schefter to make sure the NFL slappies got the message about his desire to stay in Ann Arbor.

Jim Harbaugh and Don Brown offered three-star MA WR Jay Brunelle on their northeastern swing last week, an offer worth noting if only because he told The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich that the offer means a little more because Michigan and Boston College were some of the first big-time schools to believe in him; he’s wearing a Michigan State jersey in front of a Michigan State backdrop in his headshot on 247 (though State hasn’t offered so technically he’s right, but the optics provide good rivalry fodder). Brunelle plans to visit Michigan and camp this summer. Though he was offered by Anthony Campanile, NY OLB Cullen Coleman also fits the same mold of a player with mostly Ivy League offers whose first big P5 one came from Michigan. 

Another northeastern who earned an offer this week is the aptly named CT TE Cameron Large, a 6’5”, 232-pound TE/DE who camped at Michigan last summer and plans to be back again this year. The three-star is ranked #1029 overall and, based on discussing his time working with Sherrone Moore last summer, I’m guessing is being recruited as a tight end.

VA RB Chris Tyree visited Michigan last spring and liked what he saw in practice so much that he included Michigan in his top 10; relatedly, he’s interested in how an offense can put him in advantageous positions, so a pro-style offense is not an issue so long as #SpeedInSpace is actualized. He also said he doesn’t mind going far from home to play. It should be possible to get a better read on Tyree, the country’s #1 all-purpose back and #26 overall player in the composite, based off Michigan’s on-field results.

Three offered players on the same team could make for a good Future Blue Derivatives, and that’s a possibility now that Michigan offered a scholarship to 6’6”, 260 pound three-star AZ OT Jaylan Jeffers two days ago. His offer list is fairly impressive, with programs like Oregon, Arizona, Indiana, and Washington State listed among others. Jeffers is teammates with #10 overall player and five-star 2020 CB Kelee Ringo as well as nearly Top100 (he’s #106 currently) LB Damian Sellers.

Another three-star with a number of offers that received his scholarship offer on Ed Warinner’s western trek is CA OL Jeffrey Persi. USC, UCLA, Northwestern, Arizona State, and Washington State have also offered the 6’7”, 265-pounder lineman. He has only played offensive line for one season, so getting film of Persi will be especially important if Michigan’s interest continues to strengthen. He told TMI’s Brice Marich that he would like to visit Michigan and is also hoping to visit Nebraska and Northwestern, so getting a California kid to play in the midwest doesn’t seem the obstacle it seems to be for others.

We’ve seen prospects react to the hiring of Josh Gattis and the hiring of Anthony Campanile, but there haven’t been articles about a recruit’s reaction to both of their hirings until now. Despite working on different sides of the ball, four-star 2020 NJ RB Jalen Berger is familiar with both coaches from the recruiting trail. Not surprising considering he’s ranked #57 overall. Berger not only has a relationship with Michigan assistant Chris Partridge, he plays at Don Bosco Prep, where Campanile was an assistant for five years. There’s nothing in the article about a potential visit; he was literally wowed by the hires, so Michigan at least seems to be in better position to receive one now than they were a few weeks ago.

The Gattis hire also made an impression with 2020 MI WR Ian Stewart. He visited campus last weekend and got to spend time with the coach, telling TMI’s Brice Marich that Gattis seems determined to “take the offense to a new level” and adding that he thinks it will be good for the offense for Gattis to open it up. Stewart has known Michigan GA Roy Roundtree since he was in eighth grade, so there’s a mix of familiar faces on staff and intrigue in a passing offense that might use its wide receivers.--

2021

TX RB Camar Wheaton received a Michigan offer last week and, according to 247’s Steve Lorenz, has legitimate interest in Michigan. Wheaton’s recruitment will be very interesting to track, as Lorenz notes that he doesn’t publicly announce offers he receives and doesn’t have any visits planned. He told Lorenz he’s just going to let recruiting work itself out, which is probably easier said than done when you’re ranked #47 overall and the #1 RB by 247.

Michigan offered another elite junior-to-be this week. PA WR Marvin Harrison Jr., son of the Marvin Harrison that was Peyton Manning’s favorite target and also happened to play with Jim Harbaugh when he was on the Colts, picked up his offer yesterday. Harrison Jr. is unranked in the composite but a favorite of 247, which has him rated 93.0 and #16 overall. He has offers from pretty much every program of substance and no crystal balls. A cursory viewing of his Hudl tape shows a player who’s quick into breaks, adept at high-pointing the ball, and displays excellent footwork near the line of scrimmage that allows him to either beat press coverage or stick a foot in the ground and find acres of space to operate in when CBs play off.