Tight End Recruiting: Dust Settling Soon?

The recruitment of top-100 NY TE Jeremy Ruckert, a newly minted five-star on 247 after a stellar performance at The Opening, is nearing a conclusion:

I will be committing to one of these 4 schools on July 17th at 3:00 PM!! #GoBlue #GoBucks #GoIrish #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/qfYEH7PAb4

— Jeremy Ruckert (@Jeremy_Ruckert1) July 7, 2017

Ohio State has long been the presumed leader, followed by Michigan and then the rest of the pack, and while Ruckert's been quiet about his recruitment it looks like that remains the case. Wolverine247's Isaiah Hole expects Ruckert to choose the Buckeyes after a source who'd held out hope for Michigan's chances got pessimistic:

However, speaking to the same source after Ruckert announced his decision date, that optimism had faded quite significantly. The source told Wolverine247 that Michigan hasn't made the type of gains they would have liked in recent weeks.

Unless something changes between now and Ruckert's decision date in a week and a half, all signs are now pointing to Ohio State being the choice -- they currently lead with 100% of the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

Losing Ruckert to OSU would stink, no question. Michigan still has a lot to like about their tight end recruiting, however. Four-star TX TE Mustapha Muhammad remains one of the better bets to end up in the class—Michigan owns all 23 picks on his crystal ball. Top-100 IL TE Luke Ford, meanwhile, just set up a visit for July 22nd, and 247's Steve Wiltfong thinks the Wolverines could make a big move:

Alabama and Georgia lead here but this Michigan visit I think can flip the script on the whole thing being a Midwest school that really features the TE. I expect Ford and his family to really hit it off with Coach Harbaugh and his staff and the rest of the people in town.

With the visit occurring a week ahead of the BBQ at the Big House, the coaches will be able to give Ford and family plenty of attention.

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

2018 Updates: "Dream School" For Addison

Following up on a note from last week's roundup: four-star CA ATH Bryan Addison told TMI's Josh Newkirk that Michigan is now in his top group:

Addison admits he grew up a fan of Michigan, UCLA and USC, so the offer form the Wolverines happened to be a “dream” scenario for him. He says now that he holds an offer from the Wolverines, he has added them to his top tier of offered schools.

“I’ve always wanted to play for Michigan since I was younger,” Addison said. “Playing for Michigan has just been a dream for me."

He added that he's planning to head to Ann Arbor on an official visit. So far UCLA has pursued Addison, who could be a wideout or defensive back, while USC hasn't made him a priority. If that stays the case, Michigan should have a legitimate shot. He isn't planning to make a decision until signing day.

Another California four-star, safety Julius Irvin, is preparing to narrow his list to five. Based on this article from Scout's Blair Angulo, it appears a couple Midwest schools will make the cut alongside USC, UCLA, and Washington:

Two others that appear to be in great shape to earn official visits during the season are Michigan and Notre Dame.

"I'm planning to take all my five officials and making my decision around my birthday in October," Irvin said. "I want to go out east since it's farther away.

"I've never been out to the Midwest so I'm just looking to see how the culture fits me. It's a lot different than out here. Distance does not matter. I talk to Notre Dame and Michigan a lot. I'm in contact with coach (Brian) Polian and at Michigan it's coach (Brian) Smith. They've both been reaching out to me every week and just keeping in touch."

That's far from the only only M-ND battle. Four-star NJ OLB Shayne Simon, who said last week that the Wolverines and Irish are "neck and neck" at the top of his list, plans to make a decision in the near future, per Sam Webb:

“Probably before the season,” said Simon specifying his timeline.

If he can’t settle on a choice within that timeframe he plans to take visits in the fall. At this point, though, all signs point to him reaching a decision in the next few months. The question of who leads as Simon enters the home stretch is the subject of great debate. His connections to Notre Dame (teammates Justin and Jayson Ademilola are committed to the Irish and former teammate Brandon Wimbush is slated to be ND’s starting quarterback) have long been cited as lures to South Bend.  His connections to Michigan… his mother and aunt are alums… have been well documented.

Ohio State is hanging around, but this looks like a two-team race, one that could easily go either way.

Top-100 GA WR Kearis Jackson set a commitment date for August 19th and told 247's Rusty Mansell it's "going to come down to either Georgia or Auburn. Despite that, Michigan may still get a shot at a later flip:

Even though he will make a decision there could be some official visits coming in the fall to others schools not currently mentioned as much in the mix for the four-star WR.

“Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan are some schools that may get officials at the end of September or sometime in the fall,” he said.

It's safe to file him under "longshot."

247 updated their 2018 Top247; none of Michigan's commits moved more than a handful of spots one way or the other.

2019 Updates: Trinity Trio To Visit

Five-star 2019 OH DE Zach Harrison visited Michigan for the second time last month, hitting it off with Greg Mattison and Jim Harbaugh. He told Sam Webb he's looking to see more of the program:

For now, Harrison publicly considers all his suitors to be equals. If Michigan is to rise to the fore it will to build upon the comfort that was established during his last visit.

“I still need to find out a lot because I’ve only been there twice,” he said. “I just need to get there more often.”

Doing so is in the plans for Harrison.

While Harbaugh hasn't had much success prying top Ohio prospects away from the Buckeyes, OSU doesn't have their usual fandom advantage with Harrison, who's originally from Chicago.

Four-star quarterback Michael Johnson Jr., Michigan's latest offer recipient at the position, was the subject of attention when Harbaugh hired his father, who shortly thereafter accepted a position coach job at Oregon. The younger Johnson told The Wolverine's Austin Fox that won't play into his decision:

With his father on the Oregon staff, one might think the Ducks would be the team to beat for Johnson Jr.’s services, but he insisted that’s not the case.

“Honestly, it doesn’t give them an advantage at all,” he said.

Meanwhile, Michigan will host several top 2019 prospects this month. Three four-star recruits from St. Louis—top-50 ATH Isaiah Williams, top-100 WR Marcus Washington, and top-150 OLB Shammond Cooper—will see Ann Arbor as part of a four-school tour that also includes Alabama, Ohio State, and, uh, Illinois, per 247's Steve Wiltfong. Another top-100 prospect, FL OT William Putnam, informed Steve Lorenz he'll visit on July 26th with his parents in tow.