I’m trying different formats for the recruiting posts. If you’re keeping track of all the names you can get much better recruiting coverage from the paid sites dedicated to it. If you’re just trying to get oriented, these posts are for you. I update the 2022 Recruiting Board under Useful Stuff every week or two.

Visits

Lorenz has a (free) rundown of who’s coming and when, with the penultimate weekend in June (which I assume is the BBQ) when they’re going for the most overlap bonuses. I’ve added a few that have been announced since.

June 11-13: QB Nate Johnson, ATH (LB) Tyler Banks, CB Kody Jones, CB Myles Pollard

June 18-20: RB CJ Stokes, RB/H Dillon Bell, OL Lucas Heyer, NT Walter Nolen, SDE/DT Joe Strickland, DT Justice Finkley, DT Sir Mells, DE Mario Eugenio, SDE Joseph Adedire, ILB Omar Graham, OLB Joshua Josephs, HSP Austin Brown, CB Will Johnson

June 25-27: WR Darrius Clemons, DE Anto Saka

Quarterback

Quick Summary: Down to a 3-star Denard type, but it looks like they’ll get him.

Latest: EJ Holland dropped a free article that shared some of his thinking behind potential FutureCast picks, and the first on the list was the one quarterback Michigan still seems to have on the hook, CA 3* Nate Johnson. Short version: Michigan should be able to beat Utah and Oregon State here. Johnson is visiting on the 11th.

Class it is like: 2000. With Drew Henson’s best years ahead of him and 3.5-stars Navarre/Mignery in the class after that, the school about to graduate Tom Brady struck out with elite targets, was too late to get in with the next level, and settled for Jermaine Gonzalez, the gettable athlete from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. Gonzalez would play some receiver but was never much threat to three-year starter Navarre.

Happy trails: TX 3* Alex Orji committed to Virginia Tech.

[After THE JUMP: What class these offensive positions remind me of.]

Running Back

Quick Summary: Falling out for some national elites, will probably sneak in a thunderback and a receiver type.

Latest: The race for CO 5* Gavin Sawchuck isn’t going great($), though of course Tom Loy is making Notre Dame sound like they’re in better shape than the quote says:

“I think he’s trying to figure out between Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Stanford and Florida is in the mix for him too,” Kevin Sawchuk, Gavin’s father said. “Notre Dame was one hey this is a place I could go and out of the couple places we have lets see.”

Sawchuck too self-guided visits to USC and Oklahoma, the favorite.

Michigan is also falling behind($) in their pursuit of top-100 PA 4* Nicholas Singleton, who replaced Michigan with Ohio State as the final stop on his June official visit tour that includes Wisconsin, PSU, Northwestern, and Notre Dame. Singleton is still planning an unofficial to Ann Arbor but downgrade expectations here from from “we get the last shot” to outside shot. He plans to announce in July.

In turn, Hart’s making a late run at track star SC 3* CJ Stokes, who was offered in late March($), declared Michigan his “dream school”($), and locked in an official visit to Ann Arbor for the weekend of June 18, after Mizzou and Vandy get their shots. Pulling Stokes out of South Carolina will be tough($) since his dad works there, and his high school coach (an SC alum) was recently made TE coach.

Another speedster they’re looking at for a HB/slot role is TX 3* Dillon Bell, who’s listed at WR because he’s 6’2”/205 and runs like a cornerback. Bell set up an official quickly (free) after he got his offer, via 24/7’s Brice Marich.

Hart’s still working on VA 4* George Pettaway and likely to get an official visit($, info in title). Michigan’s been after Pettaway for awhile but FSU and Ole Miss recently offered. Wiltfong thinks UNC wins($) this one. Michigan is in a top 6($) but not getting one of the first officials.

They’re also trying to get into the top group for Fitz Toussaint-like NC 4* Omarion Hampton, though that remains an uphill battle for the big kid who reportedly runs 4.38.

Class it is like: 2017, when the Wolverines were in the mix early for Cam Akers and Eno Benjamin and D’andre Swift and Stephen Carr, and got close enough with #1 Najee Harris that his gear was in Ann Arbor when he accepted Bama’s final offer. The room was pretty stocked so they could afford to go for broke and try to win a few low-key scouting battles. They ultimately got NM 3.5* O’Maury Samuels, and GA 2* Kurt Taylor hung on to his provisional scholarship, but neither panned out. Scouting wins in 2018 and 2019 plus Tru Wilson’s emergence filled the roster, and it was fine.

Happy trails: Michigan did not make a top five of OH 4* Gi’Bran Payne. MO 4* Arlen Harris Jr. chose Stanford over Iowa, and reaffirmed that commitment.

Wide Receiver

Quick summary: Boring at the top as Michigan’s been after two Illinois speedsters Gattis adores since Gattis got here, but will have to fend off Ohio State and Notre Dame, respectively, to get them. Bellamy’s addition added some big outside guys to the mix, one a big leapy in-state commit, the other a national Nico who grew up in Michigan. Linguist might know a guy as well.

Latest: Commit Tay’shawn Trent looked Adrian Arrington-like at the Under Armour Ohio event, by which I mean he’s comfortable catching passes thrown behind him:

Despite the poor conditions, #Michigan WR commit Tay'shawn Trent (@TrentTayshawn) still showcased his skill-set and made several catches at Under Armour Ohio

https://t.co/8F3AujOaS4 pic.twitter.com/uNsemvPXYH

— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) April 13, 2021

It’s basically a two-horse race for IL 4.5* slot Kaleb Brown where Michigan had an early lead and Ohio State’s spending max points and save scumming just to mess with a rival. His delayed junior season has finally started, and Rivals’ Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt got Brown’s visit plans:

“I definitely want to visit some colleges just to get the full effect,” Brown said. “I definitely want to get out to as many places as I can in the area, not too far. Possibly Michigan, maybe Notre Dame and Ohio State. I’m ready to get everything going again; that’s really what I am looking forward to."

Brown, who plays RB for his school, made it clear he’s a receiver at the next level.

The slow and steady recruitment of IL 4* Tyler Morris continues, but EJ Holland warned($) Notre Dame is making a big push right now, and Michigan might have to do a better job of making sure the Golden Tate-like target who used to ball with J.J. McCarthy isn’t just McCarthy’s job to reel in.

I find it notable that OR 4* Darrius Clemons scheduled his Michigan official visit first. This was shortly after showing out at the Pylon event. He’ll be on campus that big June weekend, with his other officials the three weekends prior—Auburn on June 4th, USC, the next week, and PSU the week after that. Clemons played last year in Utah because Oregon canceled its season, but grew up in East Lansing and remains tight with Andrel Anthony. PSU’s 24/7 guy put in a ball to Penn State, and the Oregon guy has one in for Oregon but explains this is over Michigan State($), who’s been out of it for awhile. Alabama recently offered($).

I get a strong sense that Clemons and his parents know how the recruiting industry works, and are too good at feeding them information they want to hear for the information reported to be that valid. The vibe is one of a national recruitment that will have Michigan in the hat ceremony, but with whom and which hat are far from settled.

Mo Linguist’s 7-v-7 connections have also put TX 4* DJ Allen high on Michigan’s board a few months before those camp performances started shooting him up the rankings. A fast, short, four-sport athlete, Allen was probably headed to Baylor—the only visit he’s locked in—before the rest of the country started kicking his tires.

Class it is like: 2019. That was the slow recruitment of Giles Jackson and Mike Sainristil, the latter who was so close to a Michigan commitment for so long I rewrote his Hello post several times when we thought the moment had come. Meanwhile the fans were all “Hey where’s the tall guys?” because we really needed tall guys. They got a visit from a speedster headed to Baylor, took a commit from OH 3* Quintel Kent but it wasn’t until late December when they reeled in big-time 4* Cornelius Johnson.

Happy trails: TX 3* Nicholas Anderson set five officials and Michigan wasn’t one of them. Seems to have been a Bellamy target($) that fizzled away once Bellamy moved to defense.

Tight End

Quick summary: As always Michigan’s scouting got them an early commit, and into the finalist ring with an elite they saw first.

Latest: Commit Marlin Klein qualified for states in track. Doesn’t seem to be anyone else unless Jay Harbs can reel in now-elite GA 4* Oscar Delp, who’s got a visit locked in to Georgia, his expected destination, the first weekend of June. Survive that to get a visit and maybe we’ll talk—Sam made it sound on their podcast like that would be a surprise but not the craziest one.

Class it’s like: Every tight end class lately. Losing the elite to Georgia would be the most cliché.

Offensive Line

Quick summary: Michigan has a solid grow-a-tackle committed, and appear to lead for a couple of 4* swing guards. Moore is taking swings at some high-profile types to see if they yield.

Latest: The first bit of news is they’ve got a new ally in the OL recruitment front, adding Carr-era swingman Courtney Morgan to Dudek’s crew. This is a Hart-like hire in the recruiting coordinator ranks; Morgan helped UCLA win some battles against his alma mater as Jim Mora’s director of high school relations, he gave San Jose State its best class ever, and Fresno State was on track to.

Rivals’s national guy Adam Gorney talked to CO 3.5* commit Connor Jones. He didn’t share any scouting information; in fact the whole article just came off like a fishing expedition to see if the coaching shakeup affected Jones. Spoiler: it did not, and inquiring schools have wished him luck.

The other big target from the—what’s Colorado?—googles—Centennial State? Seriously?

—Where was I?

Ah. Michigan’s other big target from the Inhabited Rectangle State, 4* George Fitzpatrick took an academic virtual visit, which Sam Webb notes was the turning point for Tristan Bounds($). Fitzpatrick seems to be of a mind with Bounds, though he’s a very different shape—an athletic kid who plays lacrosse. Michigan wants this one badly and has a good shot; Fitzpatrick will be taking a dead period visit on his own dime soon.

Lorenz would not be surprised if M leads($) with Fitzpatrick and Moore’s other top prospect, MN 4* Lucas Heyer. I think he too noticed that Heyer, who locked in his Michigan visit on March 23, still hasn’t scheduled any other schools. Stanford involvement is the thing to worry about.

Past those three Moore’s shooting for the moon, starting with WA 4* Malik Agbo, a national target with Oklahoma, USC, LSU, Bama, Oregon, and Miami also among a top 12 that Michigan snuck into. Agbo, who’s listed at 320, also plays basketball, and is feeling the pull of Michigan’s gravity (free):

Michigan: ”From talking with coach (Sherrone) Moore, my interest in Michigan has began to soar out the roof. It’s such a great school to be a part of and the people around you make it hard to tell you different when you’re in Ann Arbor."

If you’re playing the “Which nice thing is nicest” game Oklahoma clearly leads the field.

In non-Colorado people, Michigan recently offered 4* OT Ryan Brubaker, who’s from Denver, Pennsylvania. The PSU legacy has a rather paltry offer list for a guy in the composite-250 (24/7 has him much lower than that). It’s early but Michigan would probably have to displace someone on a June visit schedule of PSU, SC, Tennessee, and Vandy.

The Wolverines have also thrown their hat in($) for top-150 AL 4* Riley Quick. Bama and Auburn both appear to be slow-playing the local two-sport (baseball) athlete to see if he’s going to choose baseball or bulk up into a lineman. This left Michigan a thread to pull, and they’re tugging hard. Quick’s just as big of a deal as a baseball recruit—guy throws 93 mph and just hit a grand slam in his own no-hitter—so Bakich will certainly want to be part of this. Get him on campus, sell him on the school, and there’s a chance, but it sounds like there’s a lot of local pressure for him to choose football and the Tide soon.

4* WI OL Carson Hinzman has official visits set up to Iowa, Notre Dame, and favorite Wisconsin, and is mulling one to Michigan, who’s the latecomer in this brawl of Midwestern OL heavyweights. Ditto($) WI 4* Billy Schrauth, who seems to be Notre Dame’s to lose at the moment.

Class it’s like: This is sort of new territory—the last time Michigan blew up its OL recruiting board after replacing an outgoing line coach from within was when DeBord took over for Les Miles in 1995. Ironically, given each man’s career trajectories, that transition was a similar story: DeBord tried to offer kids Miles wasn’t pursuing. Michigan ended up with a meh five-man class, of whom only Steve Frazier and Chris Ziemann made much of an impact, but the strategy paid off the following year when they netted 5* T Jeff Backus, top-250ish OL/DL Steve Hutchinson, and in-state 4* C David Brandt, plus 4* T Paul Tannous.

I think I’ll handle the defense later.