nate johnson the quarterback

Victors Weekend is here. Some of the greatest athletes in the history of ever, or depending on their upcoming school choices, the most unworthy scamps to ever pollute our good campus, are on hand for the biggest (also third) recruiting weekend of the last two years. Sam Webb is out here trying to get me to watch film on Walter Nolen while also admitting he thinks this goes South unless Michigan can beat the SEC’s NLI presentation. Matt Campbell is getting Mike Farrell to throw timely shade at other teams recruiting Mario Eugenio (call me if Northwestern ever beats a ranked Big Ten East team, Mike). Magnus is curating a list of visitors to keep track of the invasion, and who each guy is.

Will Michigan get a commitapalooza the likes of which we haven’t seen since Trey Burke mesmerized ten people into committing to Brady Hoke? Can they reach a generation that knows more about Harry Potter than Harry Kipke? Will they manage to produce the most effective PowerPoint in the state of Michigan since the one my brother made in 1999 to convince all of his friends’ parents* to let them go to Woodstock?

Let’s find out…nothing because this is recruiting. But here’s my list of this weekend’s 2022 class visitors and what I think we’re trying to accomplish here:

• Tier 1: Commits doing recruiting: IL 4* WR Tyler Morris, GA 3* TE Marlin Klein, CO 4* Connor Jones, MI 5* CB Will Johnson, TN 3* CB Kody Jones.
• Tier 2: Pull the trigger dammit: TX 3* RB Dillon Bell, AL 4* DE/DT Justice Finkley,
• Tier 3: Take a commanding lead: MN 4* OT Lucas Heyer, FL 3* DE Mario Eugenio, TN 5* DT Walter Nolen sorry sorry trying to delete it, GA 3* hybrid Josh Josephs, IL 3* S Austin Brown
• Tier 4: Pass the tentative leader: SC 3* RB C.J. Stokes, CT 3* OT Alessandro Lorenzetti, TX 3* EDGE Joseph Adedire, IL 4* LB Sebastian Cheeks
• Tier 5: Get in the game: VA 4* RB George Pettaway,
• Tier 6: Keep the relationship: 3* TX QB Bert Emanuel, 3* IL SDE Brian Allen, FL 3* NG Tawfiq Thomas

*[Really it was just Marjory Epstein he had to convince, since the rest were all planning on her to kibosh it so they wouldn’t have to admit they absolutely would have attended the original if they could have.]

[After THE JUMP: Position by position rundown]

Board lives here.

We have a lot to get to, with a brewing war on the horizon with USC (don’t panic), some major changes on the board at quarterback and cornerback, and the NCAA finally allowing on-campus visits and camps again after a pandemic’s worth of naught.

But first, we’ve got to talk about The D (NNTTD), for Michigan declared yesterday Detroit Day. This was the scene in Ann Arbor:

Not pictured: an unkindness of Ravens

For one day in Ann Arbor, all T’s were pronounced as D’s* all soft TH’s became Z’s, company names were given apostrophized possessives and pizzas were served square and bubbly. Coneys and looseburgers were piled onto the serving staff’s arms and washed down with pop, followed by Sanders on Stroh’s. Harbaugh shared his powerpoint Hall of Fame case for Lou Whitaker, traded gear for jars McClures from Eastern Market, and everyone went home with Pewabic tiles, most of which survived the potholed ride home on 94, which still nobody calls the Ford. I made an all-Motown team for the occasion. Also 30 area recruits for 2022-‘24 were on hand (free), which hand doubled as a map for a spirited, three-hour debate about which route everyone should have taken to get there. That list also turned out to be incomplete($). Rivals’ EJ Holland got reactions($), with Cass Tech OL Jackson Pruitt’s ⬆ the most interesting.

Whom they met along the way is best detailed by the 24/7 crew, who broke down who’s who on the remade recruiting staff on their latest podcast. Lorenz also broke down Michigan’s greatest positions of need which became a high-view state of the class and hosted a VIP chat($) for those looking for the gritty—it’s a few weeks old but has some good bits on Deone Walker and tight end recruiting. Steve is also keeping the visitors list as updated as he can.

The board is also shifting daily. This was expected—after a year and a half of no visits, few camps, and scattered football we knew the late-rising 2022s and all of the 2023s were going to be left unevaluated, both in terms of their football projections and their real interests in schools, until way deeper in the cycle than usual. We’re now starting to see all sorts of guys show up to camps and earn serious offers, and it’s only been a few days since they’ve been able to officially interact in person with these schools and gauge how serious they are.

⬆⬆⬇⬇⬅➡⬅➡BA

People liked the NCAA Football game-inspired arrows last time so I’m going to use them some more. Ups and downs mean trends based on where they were last writeup. Lock means commit or near to it. Peepers is we’re watching for something to happen soon. Right arrow is steady on, or no change despite news, or Connor Jones’s coach is giving quotes again. Left arrow is just there so I could reference a videogame code that’s twice as old as the players we’re talking about.

* [I once seriously confused my bud from from France when I told him to find us a restaurant in a specific New York neighborhood and he spent a half hour searching for somewhere called Liddliddle Lee.]

[Hit THE JUMP for the position-by-position breakdown]

Michigan’s closing in on prospects at some positions of need, and adding guys to the board at a lot of spots where they’re less sure of their top options. So let’s check in on recruiting before this post gets pushed down by another Hello or Goodbye. The 2022 recruiting board lives here.

Quarterback

CA 3* Nate Johnson got a crystal ball from 24/7’s Sam Webb and a FutureCast from Rivals’s EJ Holland recently. Johnson ran a 10.49 100-meter-dash at a meet last weekend per his coach. For reference, Tyrone Wheatley put up a 10.46 at Michigan, Denard’s personal best was 10.44, and the mathematics of the Universal Standard Model of Quarterback Physics breaks down at around 10.42.

Holland said as long as Michigan overcomes the distance hurdle, Johnson will be in the class. Matt Weiss working with Lamar Jackson (and Harbaugh’s history with Kaepernick) is helping convince the dual-threat Michigan would know what to do with him, a comp also shared by 24/7’s Brice Marich($). Utah and Oregon State will get their visits, and then I am guessing we’re on commit watch when Johnson visits in June. Holland also said Johnson ran a laser-timed 4.45, and gave a player comp to Marcus Vick, noting the elite athlete could play safety or wide receiver if quarterback doesn’t work out.

Johnson might not be the only QB on the board however. Marich reports they’ve made contact($, info in title) with Cal commit/CA 4* Justyn Martin, who just had a pretty nice delayed junior season.

Happy Trails: IN 4* Tayven Jackson committed to Tennessee.

Best Guess: Nate Johnson and thoughts turn to Dante Moore in 2023.

Running Back

Lorenz reports that recent offeree LA 4* Trevonte’ Citizen is a longshot($), despite Michigan making a top ten cut. I’m not adding him to the board.

Best Guess: Pursuit of Sawchuk goes to the moment Sawchuk signs with Oklahoma, add a Karan Higdon or Tavierre Dunlap type along the way.

[After THE JUMP: Dashes]