It's time for another wholesale recruiting update! Three weeks ago I set the stage for all the official visits, now with 3/4 of the big recruiting weekends in June done, I felt it was time to check back in, especially with a handful of more commitments in tow. This time we're not going to do a full position by position breakdown, but merely check in on the big races and talk about various updates across the board that have occurred in the past three weeks. This should quench the thirst of our readers for recruiting content and provide more context for the upcoming commitment dates in early July. 

 

The Aaron Chiles Saga and what it means for LB recruiting 

Let's start with the bad. Saturday night saw the most surprising development of this recruiting cycle, when 4* LB Aaron Chiles, who had long been a strong Michigan lean, committed to Florida while on a visit. Apparently there had been a few murmurs about Chiles and Florida in the days beforehand (I didn't see these until after the fact), but certainly nothing to suggest that anything like this was remotely possible. When I saw the news tweeted out by Chiles, I was completely shocked, and it seems like the coaching staff ($), and by extension the insider class ($), were as well. Even those who were familiar with Chiles' nibbling on what Florida was selling before the visit felt it was extremely unlikely that Chiles would commit on a visit. The surprise was so great that two Rivals national recruiting experts deemed Chiles --> UF the biggest surprise of the 2024 cycle nationally. 

The experience of Chiles choosing Florida out of the blue seems to have outraged the Michigan staff and inevitably the next question fans had was "will they keep recruiting Chiles?". Not to get too far into the "haha, we'll see what Chiles does when Florida goes 4-8 and fires Napier!! 🤣🤣" discourse, but you have to plan for all contingencies and yes, Florida is not exactly slated to be a juggernaut this fall. A kid who makes a (seemingly) rash decision like that is also one who profiles as likely to reconsider, so there are plenty of reasons to keep poking around, but at this time it's not clear if Michigan will do so. 

[EJ Holland/On3]

Insiders have been divided on what comes next, from some saying that the Chiles decision has burned all bridges and has rendered him persona non grata to the coaching staff ($), while others have said that they may continue to keep an open dialogue ($). Regardless, my reading of the reports makes it clear that they aren't expecting anything and are planning to take the commitment of 4* in-state LB Jeremiah Beasley and then call it a day. Beasley is set to commit next week and all signs are pointing to the Wolverines on this one. He would technically be the only true ILB in the class, but Michigan has a number of LB-ish athletes in this class and theoretically you could move one to ILB.

I wrote in the Cole Sullivan Hello that they plan to start him at MIKE, while I've also heard that Jaden Smith could be an ILB candidate too. Reporting suggests they like these raw balls of clay enough to stick with them + Beasley and wrap it up at LB in '24. It sucks to lose Chiles, because he was an awesome prospect, but given the presumption that a massive NIL offer was what tipped the scales and the manner in which the player conducted that process, perhaps he was not a great fit for Michigan and the culture they're building. Alas, we may never know. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Happier discussion]

 

RB Pursuit Over?

This will be a bit redundant if you read the Micah Ka'apana Hello on Tuesday, but I wanted to mention it in this piece. The last time I covered recruiting, one of the biggest storylines was the Taylor Tatum vs. Ka'apana/Dupree debate and now we likely have our answer. With Ka'apana in the class, the chance Michigan lands Tatum is now extremely low, mostly because of math. You can only use so many RBs in a game and Michigan took two RBs in 2023 and now have two in 2024. Tatum, being a high level RB, is the sort of player who could easily come in and be a bellcow at most programs in year #1. Is he going to come to a program where he'd be fighting against that many backs on the depth chart, including two his age? Probably not. I'd say this one is likely over. 

USC had begun to pick up steam for Tatum in the last couple weeks, which may have played a role in Mike Hart taking Ka'apana now (also heard Oklahoma for Tatum). Also playing a role is the fact that Michigan really likes Ka'apana and feels he meshes well with Jordan Marshall (something I covered in the Hello). The raw speed is real and he's an underscouted prospect playing on his own loaded depth chart at national power Bishop Gorman. When he's gotten a chance to play, Ka'apana has shown superb raw tools and posted cartoonishly great YPC clips. Michigan feels very comfortable with a Marshall/Ka'apana tandem and so they decided to lock in stability now, rather than fight to the end for Tatum. Is it what I would have done? Not sure, but I'm a blogger, not an RBs coach. Star-gazers may nay-say this choice, but given the track record, we have to trust Hart here, and there's a lot to like with Ka'apana. 

 

[Justin Wells/Inside Texas]

How many OL is Michigan taking???

The question coming out of the most recent recruiting weekend was about whether Michigan could take seven OL in the 2024 recruiting class. As you may recall, the Wolverines already have five committed, all of whom are locked in. Those names are Blake Frazier, Luke Hamilton, Ben Roebuck, Jake Guarnera, and Andrew Sprague. The plan had been to take six, with the sixth being a blue chip prospect. For a while it seemed like Max Anderson would be the guy, but Anderson and Michigan drifted apart, with Anderson now looking at joining the Tennessee class. Instead two new names have appeared, 4* tackles from Texas Bennett Warren and Michael Uini. 

Prior to this past weekend, Warren seemed like the favorite, with Uini on the backburner. However, Uini's visit reportedly went incredibly well ($) and the crystal balls rolled in. Meanwhile, Michigan still holds the ballz for Warren meaning that yes, as of this moment, Michigan holds commitments from or leads for seven different offensive linemen. Is it possible to take all seven? Some of the rumblings suggest that since Warren and Uini are both such high level prospects, the staff would not say no if both wanted to put their name down to join the class ($). As of this moment Warren is ranked 145th in the composite and Uini is ranked 127th. It's awfully hard to say no to either guy when they would be the two highest rated OL recruits in your class (both Sprague and Frazier are top 200, though slightly lower). 

It also seems that processing one of the five committed is a total no as well, so if you want to take Warren and Uini, you have to take seven. I don't think it's a crazy proposition- you can never have too many OL- and in a world where scholarship limits are seemingly fake thanks to NIL, why not? In theory the biggest impediment would be what I mentioned with the RBs, too many players on a depth chart scaring off future recruits, but if neither Uini nor Warren get scared off, that quiets that concern. Michigan hasn't taken too many OL recruits in recent years either, and some that they've taken are major stabs in the dark like a Connor Jones and a Alessandro Lorenzetti.

After the 2023 season you're looking at Keegan/Zinter/Barnhart/Jones/Nugent/Henderson all possibly leaving. Transfer portal is always a plug and play option, but a lot of your depth will be hollowed out. Replenishing it with arguably the best OL class in the nation, overflowing with players and talent, isn't the worst way to go about things. They've taken just three OL in each of the last two classes, so there's room in '24 to go big... seven OL and five of them being 4* (four in the top 200) is as big as it gets. I still don't think it's likely that they end up with seven OL, but it does seem like a possibility now and if Uini and Warren both want in, it's likely happening. 

 

[EJ Holland/On3]

Clarity on the EDGE board

The other main storyline besides Taylor Tatum from my last recruiting update was the chaos of Michigan's EDGE recruiting, which at the time had zero commits and six prime targets. The board hasn't cleared up too much yet, but we are starting to get a bit more of a cohesive picture of what the path forward is at this positional group. The team picked up its first commitment at EDGE this week in 3* Devon Baxter, who Seth Hello'd on Monday night. Baxter was a player I hadn't heard a ton of recent buzz about before his visit, which went swimmingly and sealed the deal. One down, three to go?

The names from the last update are largely still the names in this update, but we are getting a better idea of who is more likely. 4* Dominic Nichols left his visit with Michigan strongly in command ($), the Wolverines having slingshot back ahead of Wisconsin. There have been a few whispers about Clemson but Michigan still feels very good and are expecting a commitment soon. 4* Elias Rudolph's recruitment had the lingering dark cloud of OSU holding the final visit hovering over it, until we got word earlier this week (from the player himself) that Rudolph is not visiting the Buckeyes. In that case, Michigan should be considered to be the overwhelming favorite ($) for his services when he commits on July 3. 

The fourth-most likely prospect remains 4* Jacob Smith from Connecticut, twin brother of Jerod, a DL commit already in this class. Jacob has been less enthusiastic about Michigan than his brother but the closer we get to commitment day (not set but "around 7/4"), the more likely it seems that Michigan will get this one done. They hold all the predictions for Smith and he will be back on campus this weekend in an unofficial capacity ($). Nebraska and Kentucky have both been poking around, but signs still seem to indicate the Wolverines. 

[Jacob Smith/Twitter]

In all likelihood, those four players will be Michigan's EDGE class for this cycle, a very nice collection of talent. The three names once under discussion have all faded, Brian Robinson, Darien Mayo, and Marquise Lightfoot. Robinson's saga is a strange one and I have little idea what exactly happened there. Robinson visited Michigan a zillion times and all the crystal balls projected Michigan to land him, but the commitment never came. Pressure seemed to be applied to secure a commitment but there was some other element of this recruitment that wasn't made public, hinted at by insiders but never disclosed. Regardless, it seems like it's not happening and both sides have moved on. Huh. 

Mayo was Michigan's top target on the board, a player they regarded as a 5* talent and would hold a spot for regardless of numbers. However, with news of Mayo canceling his visit to Ann Arbor this week ($), it seems that Mayo will be headed to Clemson (or elsewhere) and this one is probably over. Lightfoot is the final name, a player Michigan liked a lot and a teammate for this season with WR commit I'Marion Stewart, but the Wolverines are not at the front of the pack. For now, bet on Baxter, Nichols, Rudolph, and Jacob Smith being the EDGE class, a quality and respectable bunch.

 

[247Sports]

DB Developments 

The final area worth updating is defensive back, where there are no new commitments but some important nuggets to cover. 4* DB Boo Carter picked Tennessee last weekend, which was always the most likely outcome for an in-state kid. This one isn't over, Michigan will continue talking to him up until signing day ($), but it is not something I'd consider likely. Attention has now turned to the pursuit of 4.5* Ohio corners Aaron Scott and Bryce West, both of whom recently visited Ann Arbor. Optimism is high for both coming out of the visits, especially with the rumors of West's reported return visit to Michigan before heading to Columbus. It's not clear if he's actually making it to AA this week ($), so I won't comment too much on that speculation. That the Buckeyes retain the last visit for both still makes this a bit of an uphill climb, but the consensus is that the coaching staff has given it their best shot and have come very far. The feeling remains that Scott is more likely to end up in a winged helmet than West, but the interest from West in Michigan is more real than many have framed it. 

Do I think Michigan is going to get either guy? Probably not, simply because I refuse to believe it until I see it... the ole emotional hedge. But it feels a lot more plausible than it did at any point in the cycle. Someone posited on a message board that it may be more likely that Michigan gets both rather than just one. As in, it could be all or nothing, either both come or neither, simply because landing one (or losing one) will be such a powerful recruiting tool on the other. I'm not sure how much I believe that, but it's definitely worth thinking about. Scott's decision is reported to come sometime in July, while I haven't heard a timetable for West. With both visiting Columbus this weekend, it's officially Grit Your Teeth O'Clock. 

Elsewhere in DB recruiting, Ondre Evans rocketed up the boards since my last update and promptly picked LSU. Oh well. Ohioan Terhyon Nichols (4*) remains a plausible backup option to Scott/West while we wait for more updates in that saga, but I haven't heard too many CB names beyond these four. At safety, Michigan left an official visit with Jordon Johnson-Rubell (4*) feeling surprisingly good ($), but that one remains a tough pull out of Texas. Marquis Gallegos (4*) visited but I haven't heard much about him. If there's one remaining spot in this recruiting class I'd love to get more clarity on, it would be DB. Unfortunately, a big part of that is finding out what happens with West and Scott and for now, we wait. 

 

Three quick final notes

I'll cover these real quick in bullet point fashion: 

• Nose tackle Deyvid Palepale is set to announce on 7/1 and despite Michigan's long-standing love of him as a prospect relative to his rather low recruiting profile, it seems like PSU's efforts to keep the PA kid at home may be winning it out. The winds are blowing towards the Nittanys and some crystal balls recently flipped to the blue and white. Not sure what comes next if Palepale goes to PSU
• 5* DT Justin Scott was a big topic of discussion after his visit to Ann Arbor, with the feeling being that things had gone very well. It seems at this time like the question is region: if Scott is willing to leave the Midwest (and right now it seems he is), Miami or UGA are going to win out ($). If he wants to stay closer to his Chicagoland home, then Michigan feels like they can best OSU and Notre Dame. 
• At the WR position, the insiders continue to feel good about 4* Jordan Shipp, teammate of Channing Goodwin and Jadyn Davis. He's visited several times and the hope is to have him nailed down before the start of his senior season in August. Other WR targets aren't terribly close at this time, but we'll see if that changes.