Why yes we are bad at keeping up with this. Sorry.

Quarterback

Mr. McCarthy went to the Elite 11, which doesn't really give guys enough reps to get any worthwhile scouting from, but did give us a pro day workout reel:

…and the opportunity for some quotes from Trent Dilfer:

“J.J. is really good,” Dilfer said. “The kid is charismatic, he’s competitive, he has juice, I was really impressed with J.J.”

And SI's Tennessee guy:

The Michigan commitment’s quick release combined with the pop off his right hand resonated as others’ began to wear down. He remained strong in his overall performance throughout, and he did not struggle at any level of the field.

And from JJ's personal quarterback trainer:

“It’s noticeable,” Holcomb said. “I don’t want to say each time I see him, but there are aha moments. He’s filling out nicely, it’s healthy and good and he’s growing into his body. He might be the youngest kid (at the Elite 11) and he’s growing. He measured 6-foot-2¾, and matches up physically with some of the bigger kids.”

And a glimpse into those aha moments:

“They had a competition at the end where they had to throw into a window high and tight at the goal line. It was a seam down the left side of the field and they had to throw it high up where only the receiver can get it,” Newkirk said. "He didn’t win it, but he made it to the fourth throw where half of them probably got eliminated after their first throw. He’s pretty consistent and even when he makes a mistake, he learns from it.”

Rivals' EJ Holland talked with SI's director of football recruiting, John Garcia, who thought McCarthy had the second-best week of anybody at the event. Holland unloaded a lot of his own thoughts in there. He and Garcia teamed up again for a scouting bonanza that described a Manziel type who sometimes gets too sped up:

JJ was consistent from an overall performance on a daily basis. But each day he had a couple of really bad throws. JJ does get antsy at times, and Dilfer said as much after the event. He’s definitely not erratic, but he does need to settle himself down sometimes.

The impact of J.J. McCarthy at IMG on other recruits can be discussed below; the short version is it's good to have the IMG quarterback.

[After THE JUMP: Trickling up except where we're not]

Running Back

The slow trickle blueward for Donovan Edwards continues. Special Agent Ron Bellamy is monitoring all calls, and one of the few let through was Rivals' EJ Holland, who posted the interview:

EJ: What about Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh?

DE: Coach Jim! Well, you know, Coach Jim is different. He’s a little bit of a different person in his own way. But he gives me positives vibes. He always has a smile on his face. If he’s smiling, I’m smiling. He keeps it real with me.

EJ: Yeah, Rocco Spindler was telling me about how he loves his chickens.

DE: That’s interesting, though! (laughs)

Sam shared their podcast that Michigan is trending up(writeup$) after stealing a page from Urban's recruiting handbook:

What I would see Urban Meyer do, and what I’ve seen Ryan Day do in his place is they would identify 10-15 guys as if it was their position or it was their region, and they recruit those guys like that. And (Day) was recruiting Donovan like that. So, it wasn’t that Jim Harbaugh wasn’t recruiting Donovan. He was just recruiting like most head coaches do… you recruit all the different guys and touch all the different positions. He didn’t necessarily have Donovan as one 10-15 guys that he is on more than all the other guys. But that has changed, Steve. And if you talk to Donovan these days, or you talk to his coach, or his dad… you talk to anyone in his orbit and it is very clear that Michigan (has turned it up). Jay and Sherrone Moore were always in there, but Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis have definitely inserted themselves into this recruitment a lot more, and I think that that is making a difference.”

The crystal balls have turned blue, with Wiltfong seeming pretty confident($) the local school will win out. Allen Trieu would have stayed on foggy if he could. If Michigan wins the race the story will be they took it slow and steady. There are still visits to take before a December decision. Holland reminds us Georgia is the threat($).

Michigan still wants two in the class. They offered mooseback Tavierre Dunlap in May, and ND followed; notably Michigan just made a top eight that includes Oklahoma State, Nebraska, ASU, Washington, USC, Utah, and Virginia Tech, but not the Irish. They also offered the very Mike Hart-like FL 3* Amari Daniels though his coaches in Miami neglected to share that information with Daniels($) according to Lorenz. Texas A&M was trending before, but Miami (YTM) is hoping to lock him down before the season fall.

This year's Always Offer the Rutgers Commit is Al-Shadee Salaaom, a super-explosive scatback Michigan offered 10 days after the Rutgers pledge. What, you're waiting for a link? No I'm just saying, always offer the Rutgers commit.

Happy Trails: RB/CB prospect AJ Green committed to Arkansas.

Wide Receiver

Commits: Shortly after my last receiver update Michigan got a commitment from Cristian Dixon. There are a few more takes since Ace's hello post. Rivals' EJ Holland has seen Dixon live a bunch so I hope he doesn't mind me picking out a larger chunk than normal($):

I love Dixon. I’m always a sucker for bigger wide outs, but Dixon is much more than that. He has great speed for his size and is capable of taking the top off a defense when running verticals. His catch radius is outstanding. The dude has super long arms. He’s always been one of my favorite recruits this cycle, and his personality fits exactly what Michigan is looking for…

Dixon had an impressive rep win over Top 100 2022 defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau, who is a stud, in 1-on-1’s. Dixon used his footwork and improved route running to make Guilbeau look a little foolish. He came back and had a moss in red zone 1-on-1’s, where he showed his ability to high point the ball. The only thing I really want to see from Dixon is consistency. Sometimes, he jogs his routes and brings a nonchalant attitude. I would like to see some more passion as well.

It's still less than half of that Blue Chips update, fyi.

Sam said on the podcast that Michigan thinks Cristian Dixon has an edge, and wants that in their WR room. But if you're like me you just want to move onto…

Targets: where the latest is Michigan's the crystal ball leader for Fresco, Calif. 4* Xavier Worthy, who announces a destination on Friday after what's been "a dogfight" with Oregon($) that at times looked ducky.

Steve Lorenz might be more excited about this than I am, though Josh Gattis is still driving our suddenly crowded bandwagon. I keep saying Chris Olave—a silky smooth route artisan with too much speed for any but an NFL-bound cornerback to single-cover. Now that MGoSlack is all over Worthy's video we're getting the Manningham and Breaston comps, and Lorenz says Jerry Jeudy three minutes into episode 5 of their podcast.

EJ Holland is pumping the breaks, however, believing the same thing with Oregon jumping back to the fore could happen again($). In the thread Holland explains Worthy's 3-star ranking is because their national guys haven't seen him yet, but that the Oregon threat is real. The vibe here is Worthy was about to commit to Oregon until something happened with the Ducks that put Michigan very much in play in late June (other than having the best WR class already), and ahead by July 4 weekend. Worthy still hasn't visited any of these schools, and his final six had four SEC schools, including Alabama, so even a commitment to Michigan on Friday probably won't signal the end of his pursuit. Worthy's a track star so the track program's been part of this recruitment too.

Worthy recently jumped into the top-100 for 247 and Lorenz thinks the more he blows up the more it could help Michigan since Worthy's such a good ambassador for other northern California prospects.

After it got out that Michigan's not cutting off pursuit of OH 4* Lorenzo Styles, a Notre Dame commit, the Domers apparently jumped all over him, for which Brice Marich blames himself. Lorenz mentions "varying beliefs" regarding Michigan's chances in a receiver roundup, and that South Bend is feeling a bit desperate to hold on because they've already lost a top-100 guy.

Baseball/football GA 4* Jayden Thomas has Alabama after him and others since he's been trending upwards. That recruitment will probably play out over the winter, and is in that group with Styles and Worthy among those Michigan's pursuing the hardest. Sam thinks Michigan is going to push the baseball angle.

The Worthy news probably moves MI 3* Andrel Anthony into the sad josh territory; Michigan State has been recruiting the East Lansing native harder than anybody said Sam. Michigan has been keeping tabs on offer OK 3* Bryce Stephens who's another speedster($). CA 3* Makai Cope holds a Stanford offer and was one of the top performers at the SoCal Top 100 Showcase.

Tight End

Target: The optimism over national #1 TE Thomas Fidone has gone up and down as he looked like a Nebraska/Iowa battle that suddenly turned into a national recruit who goes to LSU($) over Michigan. Brice Marich thinks Michigan has a great chance if they get him on campus in September. His recruitment has sped up and slowed down while Michigan plugs along like they've been forever.  Lorenz thinks Michigan would have made a much bigger mark if the shutdown hadn't happened when it did on the podcast. Now LSU's making an all-out push. Nebraska, Fidone's favorite growing up, remains a tough leader to dislodge according to Rivals' national guys (as well as our guys). Michigan having a guy—like it did with Theo Johnson last year—might be hurting them, but LSU has a guy already too. The LSU excitement might have just been because Wiltfong often slants things that way. Anyway, Holland represents a lot of Michigan insiders when he suggests Michigan probably led at one point but is trending down($).

Holland also thinks FL 4* Michael Trigg is a longshot.

Offensive Line

Commits: IMG C Greg Crippen won the spring OL MVP at his school. That's impressive given 2022 #1 OL Tyler Booker and Bama-committed OT JC Latham were the competition. It also was an opportunity for SI's Eric Rutter to get some coach quotes:

As a true film junkie, Crippen has worked to make calls at the line of scrimmage before plays, and his ability to quickly break down and process opposing defense alignments is a strong trait to his game.

And when not studying the game, Crippen is often working to boost his strength heading into the 2020 season. Crippen has posted multiple videos pushing mid-size and full-size SUVs up hills during the coronavirus quarantine, showing his dedication and commitment to arrive in Ann Arbor in the best shape of his life.

Recent OT commit, CT 3* Tristan Bounds is 247's Brice Marich's sleeper of the class. Rivals' Austin Fox tracked down an opposing coach take this week:

“Bounds not only looks the part, but also played the part from snap number one against us. He’s every inch of the 6-8 he’s listed at, and our offensive coordinator asked him afterward if he fits in elevators — he was like ‘no, not really.’

“He’s a great in-line run blocker, but because of his length, is also very hard to get around in the passing game. Choate Rosemary Hall didn’t pass that much, but he impressed me with how much he could flex out to a wide set and use his long arms to wall guys off when they did throw the ball.

“It’s safe to say Bounds pretty much did everything equally well against us. The one thing that worked against him was that we had one or two smaller defensive ends who snuck underneath him on running plays.

Targets: Speaking of IMG 4* OT JC Latham, Michigan ain't out of that one; in fact they're hoping J.J. McCarthy's transfer could work to turn the Bama commit($), who had Michigan (and Ohio State) out in front at one point. Michigan's also not dropping Nolan Rucci from their board($), despite in no way being on the same level of Wisconsin (where his brother goes), Penn State (legacy) or Clemson (is Clemson).

Clarkston OT Garrett Dellinger pulled the trigger on LSU, even if Michigan doesn't quite believe that's over. That might only help as Michigan zooms in on teammate Rocco Spindler. Spindler thinks "they're doing an amazing job of recruiting me." Holland thinks Michigan might be close to wrapping up($) a huge in-state victory:

Rocco Spindler may not take all five of his official visits as initially anticipated. Some of y’all may have caught me asking Spindler about a decision ‘in the near future’ on our video Q&A. Well, that’s because Spindler had already told me that he’s targeting August 15 as a potential decision date. Spindler knows visits are still up in the air, and he wants to be able to fully focus on his senior season … there is a feeling around Michigan that this one has a Braiden McGregor feel to it.

McGregor told ND people what they wanted to hear until they were primed to be disappointed. Holland also reported that MA 4* Drew Kendall is watching Spindler's recruitment, though he doesn't think it's going to change things. He's had Michigan leading for so long it's starting to make people wonder why the BC legacy hasn't pulled the trigger. Kendall told Holland in June that it would be a June or July decision, but the 247 guys think Kendall isn't so sure he wants to be the sixth member of this OL class.

Happy Trails: Garrett Dellinger committed to LSU. Frey-type OT Thomas Cole committed to UCLA.

Defensive Tackle

Targets: Rayshaun Benny is one of the top guys on the board regardless of position. Lorenz is getting a feel that this one's trending upwards too, with no doubt that Michigan's pushing harder than anybody for Benny (as well as Edwards). Michigan wasn't expected to be on his list of three likely official visits because he's been to Ann Arbor so many times already; Penn State, Arkansas, and Arizona State are the three so far. Oak Park's line coach (who's been sending five-stars to Kentucky) has moved over to Belleville, but told Webb that Benny is more of a Michigan/Notre Dame kind of kid. There are a bunch of official visits still to weather, including one to Ohio State. It's clear Benny is the #1 priority on the DL. It's also nice to hear that Iowa, the other school focused on Benny as a DT, is now out of the running($).

EJ Holland has been all over the George Rooks recruitment and is pretty optimistic($) noting "it seems like Rooks is getting worn down with the process and could make a decision soon" and that lately Syracuse's optimism is flagging($). Holland thought that Michigan would call it a DT day if they can get Rooks and Benny this cycle. Lorenz is holding off on a crystal ball for Michigan because the Rooks camp is so quiet. Sam confirms Rooks, though an Anchor recruit right now, will be about 290 when he hits campus.

If Michigan's after anyone else it's LSU commit, FL 3* Anthony Hundley, who's suddenly a "major priority"($) via Lorenz. LSU has four other DL committed but they're all currently listed as WDEs. However the Tigers are set to get 5-star local Maason Smith and are pursuing a lot of other projected interior types, so Michigan might see an opportunity to pry Hundley loose.

Keep MI 3*/CMU commit Pius Odjugo's name in the back of your mind as a guy Michigan's scouting likes and nobody else seems to have noticed, which is weird considering how many 6'3/324 high schoolers there are out there.

Defensive End

Commits: AZ 4* Quintin Somerville finally dropped—no, not in the rankings, his commitment for Michigan—but yeah, he's gone down in the rankings. Lorenz thinks the slide on their side comes down to measurables and that guys are ranked by their projected NFL value not their likely college performance. Rivals still has Somerville just outside their top-150, and Austin Fox got some coach scouting:

“If you went away from him, he hunted you down. If you went at him, he used good technique to make the play. There just weren’t any holes in his game. He’s that blue-collared kid who is going to transition very well to the Big Ten.”

While I still think Danna is the comp, they're mentioning the possibility of 3-tech on some downs, which, yeah, so is Kwity. Speaking of Kwity-like commits, Brice Marich confirmed MA 3* TJ Guy is coming in as an end.

Targets: Officially it's Happy Trails to FL 5* DE Dallas Turner the Aquinas teammate of McBurrows and Hood, since Turner committed to Alabama.

Unofficially, we were warned that Aquinas players commit before the season because their coach doesn't want the distractions. Michigan clearly doesn't lead, but they're not going to stop, and in that context I'd rather have Turner committed to Alabama—where nobody's going to bat an eye about a 5-star who comes and goes—than a school he has a super-deep connection to. The sense here is he's going to make a final decision after visits, so I'm leaving him on the board for now. If family friend Devin Bush Sr. hadn't left Michigan this might be a live one. Michigan is also pushing the "Edge U" angle.

Linebacker

Commits: Orion Sang went into depth on Junior Colson's life story, which was a trial (warning: Freep):

Born in Haiti, Colson experienced loss earlier than most. When he was a small child, his father passed away. His father’s will stipulated that Colson live in an orphanage, in hopes that someone would adopt him and provide a better life. It meant leaving behind the rest of his family, including his mother, who remains alive.

Colson would have competed again in the Rivals 5-star challenge had it not been canceled. The camp rat did make it to the Playmakers Academy in late June, where he measured 6'3/228 and ran a sub-4.6 forty.

This is a scary sight! @UMichFootball Commit @JuniorColson measures in at 6’3 228lbs and runs 4.57!!! @RavenwoodFB @NatlPlaymkrsAca @BallHawkU @grimesreginald @EJHolland_TW @CSmithScout @JohnDBrice1 @CBAthletes @TNGridironScout pic.twitter.com/9PmIeSuG6U

— NPA Sports (@BuckFitz) July 1, 2020

Tyler McLaurin is solid despite adding a Stanford offer.

Safety

Targets: With two (Ryan Barnes and Donovan MacMillan) of their top three targets off the board and the third (Rod Moore) already pledged, Michigan's on the hunt for secondary options. One of the pots they had on the back stove was MD 3* Daymon David, but Oklahoma might have jumped out in front since hiring David's old trainer as an analyst. Notre Dame, who got Barnes, was the other big school after GA 4* Kaleb Edwards, a friend of RS freshman Jalen Perry. Edwards committed to Georgia Tech on July 1, but if Michigan chooses to offer things might change. He had Stanford and Northwestern offers.

Cornerback

Commits: Sam's sleeper of the class is FL 3* Ja'Den McBurroughs, whose track speed is outrageous. That's not all good news—Ohio State—even with the class they have—is keeping in touch.

Targets:  As expected PA 3* Tyreek Chappell (pronounced Chapelle) committed to Texas A&M but this is another situation where Michigan isn't cutting off pursuit by so much as a hair($). Sam said on a podcast that this is just halftime; Chappell loves Zordich, the style of play, the facilities, and everything but the weather here.

Michigan is going full speed ahead on 3* FL ATH Kamonte Grimes, who named a final five of Kentucky, Maryland, Miami(YTM), Nebraska, and Michigan. The versatile ATH could be a safety or a viper or a cornerback, so let's see if we've got a comparison to ($)…

They’ve also been pitching a unique opportunity for him to play on both sides of the ball and be their next Jabrill Peppers. Michigan is the only school to offer him that opportunity.

…yep there its. Sam goes into detail—including on the Peppers comps—on how much Grimes's coach loves Don Brown, and the sense that we've got a regular Hail to the Victors sentence-level sponsor in the making:

“First and foremost (he’s a) phenomenal young man,” Gibbs told The Michigan Insider. “High academic kid. Probably will have over 4.0 after the final transcripts come out. He's an 1100 SAT and was frustrated because he wanted to get a 1600. That's kind of kid he is. He wants to be a pediatric surgeon just to give you an idea of what kind of person he is.

Hopefully he fills out Kickstarter surveys more quickly than these people.

Sam posted an article a month ago on the state of the CB board($), which includes Grimes. He also reiterated some of a long conversation about tiny CA 3* Dyson McCutcheon, whom Michigan sees as a top target and everyone thinks is Washington-bound. They've got a better shot with West Bloomfield 3* Maxwell Hairston, whom Michigan may have been slow-playing to prevent other schools from jumping. Missing camp circuits probably hurt the guy Coach Bellamy compares to Vincent Gray.

FL 4* Omarion Cooper committed to FSU shortly after their coach got called out by their players; here's another spot where Michigan is going to keep going after a guy who might have committed elsewhere to reserve a spot.

RB/CB prospect Prophet Brown is trending Oklahoma despite Giles Jackson trying to work him. He also moved up 60 spots on 247 and is being ranked as a cornerback, a sign he's accepted what appears to be a better college position. That's probably bad news for Michigan, which was trying the RB angle before. Michigan made the top eight for NJ 4* Duce Chestnut, a player from Hawkins's and Ruiz's original school we're going to have to battle Partridge for. If you're into reading too much from quotes trying not to say anything…

Ole Miss: “It’s a big opportunity to play in the SEC. I love the coaching staff, especially the coach (Chris Partidge) recruiting me. Also, I cannot just wait to visit.”

Michigan: “It’s a great opportunity to play in the Big Ten, it is a big school, and they have a great coaching staff.”

Michigan State: “Great coaching staff, and another opportunity to play in the Big Ten, and there is an opportunity to come in and play early.”

Rutgers: “Rutgers is home, basically. I would have an opportunity to play in the Big Ten and the coaching staff is great as well.”

…it sounds like that's going to be hard to do.