decommits

[Patrick Barron]

After trending this way for months, LB Raylen Wilson, Michigan's top-ranked recruit in its 2023 class, reopened his recruitment.

This is a rough, if not totally unexpected blow to a class that's been struggling to regain momentum since Harbaugh interviewed with the Vikings, and lost both coordinators and Courtney Morgan. It's especially rough for LBs coach George Helow, who specializes in the Jacksonville area.

Whether it's Michigan fumbling the ramp-up to an NIL age, recent staff turnover, the coach trying to bail for the NFL, recruits' personal preferences, cascading negative momentum from clanging what should have been a slam dunk anchor for the class after clanging another for the next one, or a combination of these things, Harbaugh should now be very uncomfortable about the state of his recruiting department.

Technically by mid-June last year they were in similar shape, but that program had Will Johnson committed and many of its successes after hinged on Morgan, Gattis, and luck. They also had a turnaround season to help. Hopefully the reigning Big Ten Champions have a better plan than synergistic newspeak to turn things around this time, because for reigning champions this feels pretty bleak.

Google Image Search "Burke flips"

We hardly knew ye. Apparently seeing an Austin kid desired by Michigan was too much for Texas, who jumped in at the 11th hour to un-Hello Michigan’s most recent edge commit.

This one’s not tough to swallow: The guy got a chance to play for his hometown, which he didn’t have when he made his Michigan pledge.

Counting Kevonte Henry, whose place in the class is tenuous at best since Courtney Morgan left, Burke marks three edge prospects—with Mario Eugenio—who have decommitted from Michigan this cycle, four if you count Justice Finkley’s hardly silent silent commitment last summer. You would think the program that just produced Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Kwity Paye, Josh Uche, Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary, Mike Danna, and Taco Charlton would have these guys jumping in the boat.

Michigan does seem likelier to add top-100 DE/DT Derrick Moore, a recent Oklahoma decommit, now, though Moore may project inside or to Mike Morris’s tweener role. Since Burke projected to more of a Hutchinson, Moore does ameliorate this loss. Henry would be the less replaceable, since having him on board might have been a factor in losing their other favorite edge prospect, Joshua Josephs, to Tennessee. Michigan may now use the time before late signing day to check on some of the other pass rushers they targeted over the cycle. They do still have 3* edge/LB tweener Micah Pollard in the class, and LB prospect Deuce Spurlock could grow into an Uche-type down the line.

[Kirthmon F. Dozier, Detroit Free Press]

As the insiders have been warning for months now, WR Tay’shawn Trent announced he won’t be in Michigan’s 2022 class.

Trent is a part of the 7v7 group that Will Johnson trains with, but he was also a guy the scouts thought might have to transition to linebacker…or something in college. Here’s a scouting report on Trent by a 247 expert chosen at random:

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The rumors split on whether it was athletic or academic benchmarks that were causing Michigan to keep pursuing receivers like they only had one (Chicago’s Tyler Morris) in the class.

Trent has fallen pretty far in the composite since his commitment and transfer to Harper Woods, slipping from a four-star just outside the top 247 to the #400 player and #56 receiver. 247Sports dropped him to the 74th WR and #19 prospect in the state. Rivals has held fast with a 4-star rating and #34 WR ranking though they’re also the ones beating the drum for a transition to tight end. ESPN almost never re-grades, but moved him down to the #51 WR and #9 in the state when he was originally in their top-200. He recently picked up some low-confidence crystal balls to Louisville from 247's Midwest scouting director Allen Trieu and national director Steve Wiltfong, because he took a visit there.

Update: His former coach has some details in the board thread announcing Trent's departure that goes into some detail about the academic issues. Short version is Trent (like LOTS of high schoolers) did not do well with online attendance last year, and Michigan was doing all they could to get that remediated.

Michigan continues to pursue rising Notre Dame commit CA 3* Amorion Walker, a leapy type who seems likely to flip sooner or later, and would love to pull a state to state flip for speedy 4* Dane Key, a Kentucky legacy announcing his destination this Thursday, out of Lexington, though UK insiders seem pretty confident he’ll stay home.

There is no content after the jump.

No more metal.

Go forth and be Weaver.

furk

Aw shucks.

those rumors were forboding, as it turns out

Extremely understandably, a Don Brown linebacker from Don Brown country who has known Don Brown forever has decommitted from Michigan, which recently let go of Don Brown.

now there are zero plausible DTs in the class

exit fringe top 100 linebacker 

Would have been the #12 commit to MSU.

exit three-star Ohio receiver