Previously: Offense, Defensive Line, Hello posts for WDE/SAM Kechaun Bennett, SAM/WLB/MLB Tyler McLaurin, MLB/Viper Junior Colson, MLB/WLB Jaydon Hood, and WLB/FB Casey Phinney.

Michigan's mostly set at linebacker, with four or five commits already in the class depending on where you put recent commit Kechaun Bennett (he's here for now but headed for DE). Many of the guys in this class are like that. A brief overview of all of Michigan's positions on the spectrum between pure defensive lineman and pure defensive back can be found at post's end. 

The fellas again:

Icon	Name	Meaning
	Sad Josh	The genre of player with unrequited interest in Michigan. Unlikely to receive offers; most will eventually fade off the list and go to Duke or Michigan State or something.
	Nefarious Eduardo	Player is a longshot. Either they've declared someone else a leader publicly or popular opinion holds that they're likely to go to another school.
	Data	Either no opinion or Michigan is one of a fairly even group of chasing schools. Players in this category maintain no leader or change their leader frequently. The default category for players that we don't know much about yet.
	Happy Teeth	Players who have Michigan in a small leading group or have Michigan as a tenuous favorite. Should be regarded as a good shot, not a slam dunk.
	Mr. Blue	Player is either a verbal or is expected to be one sooner or later. Players with this designation are 65%+ to be Michigan commits.

To to the dudes!

SAM/WDE/Edge

Commit
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Kechaun Bennett	CT	****	Michigan		Hello. Discussed on pod.
Tyler McLaurin	IL	***.5	Michigan		Hello
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Darryl Peterson	OH	***	Wis leads Michigan, WVU, Bama, PSU
James Wilborn Jr.	CT	***	BC, Michigan, ND

Needs: Major. Josh Uche left for the NFL and none of the explicitly DE prospects Michigan has a good chance of landing seem like impact edge rushers. The guy on the roster getting talked up like he'll take on the role is Luigi Vilain, whose career thus far has been two medshirted seasons and another when he barely played.

Commits: Michigan recently picked up CT 4* DE Kechaun Bennett, who's already 6'4"/220, and who we believe will ultimately grow into a hand-in-the-dirt guy, but also may get into that rotation of edge rushers immediately. The Hello post ran too late to catch an excellent piece by MnB's Jonathan Simmons where he breaks down some plays from Bennett's film.

Don Brown is transitioning into a positionless scheme where standard positions are gone and everyone falls along a spectrum. …

As mentioned above, Bennett is still pretty lanky. He does have room to pack on 30 to 40 pounds, which would put him around Josh Uche territory and a little lighter than Kwity Paye. The best thing about Bennett’s frame is that he is all limbs. His arms are really long, which is essential for pass rushers to keep separation from blockers.

This play from his highlight reel (no full games available) displays the advantage of his arm length well. Bennett shoves the tackle back, extending his arms out to keep him at bay, then swipes over the top to disengage and gets to the quarterback.

Given the state of the class it's reasonable to assume Michigan plans to use swiss army knife LB Tyler McLaurin like Noah Furbush. That role leans more coverage, with some pass rush and lots of taking on lead blockers. Since his commitment McLaurin went on EJ Holland's podcast and described himself as a really fast downhill player who excels against TEs and H-backs. He didn't talk specifically about how he'll be used except the coaches love his length and want to see what he looks like after weight training. Allen Trieu also caught up with McLaurin and talked at length about how his recruitment played out.

Prospects: I wrote this section before the flood of commitments so might as well keep it, but for the record I think Bennett's pledge rules out anyone else.

It's hard to see them giving up on 3* DE/OLB Darryl Peterson however. EJ Holland confirmed that getting Ohioans Markus Allen and Rod Moore helps put Michigan back in the race for Peterson, an Akron (Archbishop Hoban) prospect the staff thinks was critically underrated by the sites. Unfortunately Wisconsin has been making Peterson a priority too. He's visited there multiple times, and talked to the UW 247 guy Evan Flood about committing the same day as friend/IA 4* LB TJ Bollers, a heavy Wisconsin lean. Flood thinks if the pair aren't Wisconsin's next OLB duo it's because they're Alabama's($). Peterson still plans to visit Michigan in late June if possible. Former teammate Nolan Rumler might be of assistance.

Last is James Wilborn Jr., a Connecticut prospect who rose into various top-250s after strong camps at ND and PSU last summer($), and fell back to obscure 3* over the winter. He loves Don Brown, but pursuit from all the big schools seems to have dried up.

[After THE JUMP: Things that didn't make it into recent Hellos, who plays what position, Seth adds a Viper to the board just because].

Middle Linebacker

Commits
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Junior Colson	TN	****	Michigan		Hello.
Jaydon Hood	FL	***.5	Michigan		Hello.
Casey Phinney	MA	**	Michigan		Hello.
Targets
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Damon Ollison	OH	***	Wis, MSU
Baron Hopson	GA	***	GT, Neb
Deshauwn Alleyne	FL	***	Kentucky, Auburn, PSU, Neb

Needs: Moderate. Michigan is rebuilding a position hit hard by attrition and graduation, and should start preparing for life after Cam McGrone and Josh Ross, with only Charles Thomas (whom they like a lot) behind them among guys on campus last year. This was well addressed in 2020 with a class featuring MLB/Viper Kalel Mullings, modern OLB/ILBs Osman Savage and Nikhai Hill-Green, and old fashioned thumper Cornell Wheeler. They still could use at least two; getting a real difference maker to serve as heir to McGrone would be ideal.

Commits: Addressed. Over the last week Michigan received commitments from two coveted prospects from SEC land to go with their thumper from Don Brown country.

We'll start with TN 4* Junior Colson. Like most of the defensive class, Colson was its highest-ranked member at the moment he committed. Unlike the rest until that point, it'll be tough to find a better. Since the Hello we got a few bits from 247. Sam & Steve & Brice's new podcast noted Colson has upside for days, and Lorenz described a big win for a national prospect, noting Colson ranks higher than Cam McGrone in the composite. They like him as much as McGrone, who was 247's #1 OLB. They also said Colson can play anything in the front seven. Marich gushed about Colson's athleticism, noting Michigan is bringing him in as a Viper to start but that his greatest upside is as a do-everything WLB or MLB.

Sam Webb got some more scouting from Colson's head coach Matt Daniels($) that suggests the kid can play anywhere in the front seven:

“He’s phenomenal in coverage for his size and strength. He moves really well, he’s got loose hips, and he likes to cover in the passing game. I know he was tested in the 4.5s in terms of his 40, and that probably would have been several months ago at this point. So, he’s one of those jacks of all trades. I would have no problem, especially at the high school level… you could put his hand on the ground. He could be a defensive end and be all over the field and in the backfield. But he’s so athletic and moves so well in space that there’s no reason to kind of limit him by putting his hand in the ground.”

He's complemented well by FL 4* commit Jaydon Hood, he of the great recruiting quote Ace highlighted in the hello. Lorenz noted while talking about Hood that it reminds him of 2018 when Michigan identified McGrone and Barrett as their top two prospects and got them. Michigan is going to be loaded at this position in a few years.

That does make you wonder what their plans are for MA low-3* Casey Phinney, who's the teammate of 4* OL target Drew Kendall, and friend of 4* TE commit Louis Hansen and 3* DE commit TJ Guy. EJ Holland saw them all in his Northeast trip, but came away substantially less impressed than he was with Guy:

Casey Phinney had the tough task of covering Hansen throughout the day. Phinney isn't built for these types of workouts. He's not a guy that's going to wow you with his ability in coverage or athleticism. To get a true appreciation for Phinney, you have to watch him in pads, which I did last fall. Phinney is a thumper in the middle and a ferocious hitter. He's a natural run stuffer and fills gaps quickly. It was great to see Phinney come out and compete even though it wasn't in a setting that played to his strengths.

Rivals also spoke to Phinney about his position, to which Phinney described his recent film sessions and discussions with Don Brown($):

“Right now, he sees me as a Will linebacker. He said Mike occasionally, but he sees me as a true Will in their system. I love what I see on film. The way they scheme, and the way everyone works together on a string, it’s art.”

Targets: Getting their favs likely means the patience of($) OH 3* Damon Ollison is going to run out. Michigan probably led at the start of the month but was clear about their priorities. Now I imagine Wisconsin should manage to shoo away MSU for the Desmond Morgan clone. GA 3* Baron Hopson and FL 3* Deshauwn Alleyne, two prospects who'd been on Michigan's radar a long time, are also pushed out unless something happens with the commits.

Happy Trails: Michigan is no longer recruiting 4* Jamari Buddin of Belleville, nor Belleville. Sam Webb has been all over the unfolding drama. If you're a 247 subscriber, it's summarized in this post($). If you're not, the interview with Buddin's dad and a discussion between Sam and Lorenz on the allegedly unrelated dustup with Belleville HC Jermain Crowell are both on their latest podcast. The short-short version as I understand it: Michigan led for a year but Penn State has several of Buddin's friends committed and MSU's new coaching staff put them back in the race over the winter. When Michigan had Hood and Colson ready to commit Buddin wasn't ready to make a decision, and that was that. Ohio State lost out on Donovan Edwards the same way this cycle. I won't touch the Jermain Crowell stuff here except to note Buddin's dad explicitly denied it had anything to do with that recruitment.

Viper

Not a Target Just a Guy Seth Likes
Player	State	Stars	Schools	Y/N	Previously
Maurice Freeman	VA	**.5	Ole Miss

Maurice Freeman is not being pursued by Michigan at all to my knowledge. A guy on the 247 message boards pointed him out, and I looked at the Hudl film and now I wish I had not done that. Freeman is outside the top-1000 on the composite with only Chris Partridge/Ole Miss showing any serious pursuit.

/nudge

The Spectrum:

END: This is a defensive line position that can share a depth chart with Anchor (e.g. Kwity Paye), bleed into SAMs (Josh Uche), or play any Taco or Chase Winovich in between.

EDGE: A pure extra pass rush specialist, was more prominent at BC. Can pull from the End, SAM, or Viper depth charts. Just has to be a guy so skilled at getting to the QB they can't double another rusher.

SAM: Think of your standard 3-4 outside linebacker. This is a specialty position for their three-line sets, which have become more prominent lately and figure to be more so with zone blitzers Bob Shoop and Brian Jean-Mary on staff. Ideally you get a guy like Josh Uche who's an elite pass rusher but can also carry a tight end wherever he goes or drop into zone coverage.

"VIPER": What Michigan is apparently calling the SAM position now because good words in football can never just mean what they mean.

ILB: The two inside linebacker positions share a depth chart.

MIKE: The middle linebacker. Michigan wants a Devin Bush or Cam McGrone who can diagnose, win any race to the edge, take on blocks and blitz. Must be able to take a wide zone and match with running backs in coverage.

WILL: Lately this position has begun to trend closer to the Viper, which is one reason Jordan Glasgow displaced Devin Gil last year. But it's still 85% standard linebacker (Mike McCray was here, and Josh Ross is expected to take over), matching in coverage with the RB and doing most of the things the MIKE does. Since they play him to the short side, they want a guy who can fly upfield.

VIPER(!!!): A half-safety linebacker who must set the edge of the defense, match up physically and in coverage against all kinds of tight ends, and have the athleticism to do linebacker things in safety-level space. Sometimes may be asked to play free safety in certain reactions to motions. Historically a blitzy position. This position may be trending back to linebacker-like as Michigan plays with two safeties back more often.

"VYPER": This is not a Michigan position it's what Notre Dame now calls their LB/DE hybrid, I guess because recent studies show "Drop End" doesn't resonate with the kids.

NICKEL: A cornerback-like safety who comes in as a dime back for the 3-2-6 package. Usually it goes to a young safety, but it's also been a cornerback in the past.