The 2025 Recruiting Board: Fall 2024 Update (2025)

Happy November. In a month there's a Signing Day-like substance, except there's nothing to sign anymore. Penn State and Alabama want to poach two of Michigan's four top-100 commits. Michigan just added a 5-star tackle, is closing in on an elite corner or four, and has several schools bemoaning the halcyon days when Michigan wasn't in the NIL business, including the school with the top player in the class committed to it. Time to update The Board.

What this is: This is our sticky recruiting board for 2025. When Alex or I finish a major update (happens quarterly-ish), it will be reposted to the top of the site. Otherwise it will be under the "Useful Stuff" tab.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Where we are.]

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Bars: Delineate prospects that I think are currently most present of mind/generating the most Michigan-related content. It's not exactly a "top targets" board as, say 247 defines it, nor is it in any way an accurate representation of the program's actual interest. More of a "would I click on a neutral article about this guy?" line.

The Guys:

Players are ordered by our best guess at their priority level and likelihood of coming. Schools listed are prioritized by threat, with those in parentheses an as-yet unreciprocated favorite.

A Note on Premium Info: No illicit sharing of said material will appear on this site. Players are listed with interested schools in their profiles; this information is public. Commitments are by definition public. If you want a clearer picture than what can be gleaned from free browsing, subscribe to the services.

A Note on Needs and Scholarship Numbers: We're largely ignoring the 85-man limit these days because NIL can cover the cost of attendance for any player, e.g. a transfer, not subject to the rules governing scholarships for recruits who go through the process (see "blueshirting"). Expect Michigan's class to be between 23 and 28 players as usual.

Quarterback

Needs: 1-2. You want one every year, but as you can see we are desperate.

Latest (November 2024): Buckle up, because the five-star recruitment is on. There's a lot of smoke that Michigan's making a full run at Bryce Underwood. Sam says Michigan's gone "All in" ($, info in title) and that it's not going to come down to money. A report from Allen Trieu says Underwood's visiting, On3 has a quote from his school that he's not, the Underwoods aren't giving comments.

Meanwhile Carter Smith has decommitted. Eep!

June 2024: Michigan says they're happy with Smith, who's moving up the rankings a bit. They also have their 2026 quarterback committed in 4.5* Brady Hart. That doesn't mean the potshots that Belleville's Bryce Underwood has been taking at us hurt less. Michigan's going to recruit him to the bell.

April 2024: MI 5* Bryce Underwood is the #1 player in the country and playing just down the road at Belleville. He's a cultural, academic, athletic, and systemic perfect fit for Michigan, likes OC/QB coach Kirk Campbell, has visited a zillion times and grew up a fan. But LSU offered him $3 million/year for 3 years (money is always exaggerated) and Michigan doesn't like to make those kinds of commitments to freshmen.

Michigan hasn't put all of its eggs in the Underwood basket, taking a commitment from 3-star Carter Smith and treating him like the QB of the class. Insiders say they're going to keep on Underwood, and that his commitment to LSU isn't in stone, but M is adamant they don't pay for guys who haven't proven it. I'd argue if you're the #1 guy in the class you've proven it.

Old Guess: Michigan pursues the committed Underwood to the ends of the Earth but ends up with Smith and portal.

The Board:

Best Guess: Call me a pessimist, but gun to head they lose Underwood, not for NIL reasons but because Kirk Campbell's performance scares him off, and then have come back hat in hand for Carter Smith.

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Running Back

Needs: 2. Hart left a loaded depth chart. Even after you expect Edwards and Mullings to leave after this year, Benjamin Hall looks like a find, Cole Cabana is an Edwards-in-waiting, and Michigan added 4.5-star Jordan Marshall and another possible gem in Micah Kaapana last year. Keep the train rolling, though, because there will be attrition once carries shake out.

Latest (Nov 2024): The only change on the board is that Parker and Johnson have both moved up as prospects. Michigan isn't losing either of them and Davis/Davison haven't budged, so this is how it's going to shake out.

Last Time (June 2024): Michigan was shocked when Marquise Davis chose Kentucky, but quickly moved on to LA 3* Jasper Parker (Hello), a large, versatile RB with good feet that Hart left on the board. Most recently they picked up IMG 4-star Donovan Johnson, an early class elite who missed the 2023 season and was reportedly not a take to any of his pre-injury top-5 of elites until they saw how he came back. Michigan had Johnson on campus right before his commitment, meaning they probably know more about Johnson's recovery than the field. Johnson also goes way back with RB coach Tony Alford.

Since Michigan poached Alford from Ohio State to replace Mike Hart, and since OSU and Michigan were in a three-way battle for Jordan Davison in the status quo ante-Alford, inevitably this class is going to be measured against what Ohio State brings in. Ryan Day replaced Alford with Oregon RB coach Carlos Locklyn, who was the prime reason for Davison's interest in the Ducks. Locklyn has since taken commitments from 4-stars Bo Jackson Jr. and Isaiah West, but their RB room lost a lot to the portal when they picked up Quinshon Judkins and held Treyveon Henderson out of the NFL, so the path to playing time for Davison in Columbus is probably easier than fighting through Hall, Cabana, Marshall, and Kaapana at Michigan. Sam says M can take a 3rd ($, info in title) (as can OSU).

April 2024: This was already going to be a Michigan-Ohio State showdown before Michigan took Ohio State's RB coach. The CA 4* Jordon Davison recruitment is going down like a 5-star battle, and both want OH 4* Marquise Davis to be the 2nd guy in the class. Also there's a Bo Jackson Jr. out there. Michigan was already prying Jamarion Parker out of Arkansas's class, and Hart really liked Iverson Howard so there are options if OSU wins either of those recruitments.

Old Guess: Davison is a pick 'em, Davis is more fungible, guessing Michigan ends up with two of the top three and OSU is satisfied with Bo Jackson Jr.

The Board:

Best Guess: Johnson and Parker and on to 2026 top target and last name doubletake Savion Hiter.

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Wide Receiver

Needs: 3-4. Michigan needs bodies here, especially big ones. It would be nice to get (and keep) some larger individuals after Bellamy suffered a string of transfers (Anthony, Clemons, English) of guys we could use.

Latest (Nov 2024): Michigan won Phillip Wright then lost him to LSU, his hometown school, when they called. That's less of a deal now that Andrew Marsh, their top WR target and a guy they think can help them immediately, committed. They're also in good shape to flip NC State 3-star Jamar Browder, a basketball player/ATH type. It's possible things could rekindle with Wright Derek Meadows, both LSU commits,if they flip Underwood. I have Belleville ATH Elijah Dotson with the cornerbacks right now but he's another possibility at receiver.

June 2024: Receiver recruiting (and retention) was an uphill battle since Michigan put the passing game away for a couple of late games last year. To start the climb Bellamy went back home to his native Louisiana, picking up a biggish body from his old high school (where his coach still coaches) in Jacob Washington, who's expected to be joined by 3* Phillip Wright as their slot bug but Georgia might have something to say about that.

They did not, in fact, beat out OSU for top-50 Quincy Porter, but have a shot with a few other elites. Their best chance for a breakthrough would be if Bellamy can close with Andrew Marsh, a top-50 athlete who can jump out of the building despite a slight stature. Fellow Texan Taz Williams is a longtime, Ronnie Bell-like target. Like I'Marion Stewart last year, Taz's recruitment seems like a marathon that Michigan's been pacing the whole way; they're currently sweating out the aftermath of visits to PSU and hometown A&M, with an announcement due July 13th that might be trending to A&M. They've also closed the gap between themselves and ND for jumbo Bishop Gorman target Derek Meadows, who's friends with I'Marion Stewart, but Meadows also blew up into a 5-star in the process, so that's seeming less likely now. Also 5-star target Jerome Myles recently decommitted from Ole Miss, with Michigan among the schools of interest that supposedly induced that.

April 2024: Bellamy classes always have a Ronnie Bell type at the top that you're pretty sure will end up in the class eventually, and this year that's Taz Williams. They'd love to beat OSU for a Quincy Porter one of these days. After those guys it's a spray approach to see if any big types are interested, with some just-a-guys down the chart in case they whiff.

Old Guess: Taz, some big guy, and sure, Quincy Porter, because even Ohio State's hatred for Michigan can't keep them waiting around for a 4-star receiver when all the 5-stars are banging down their door, especially when this fall reveals OSU has another round of mutants to sit behind for the foreseeable future and Michigan has a path directly to the field.

The Board:

Best Guess: Marsh, and Washington, and Phillip Wright, and they'll keep trying with Taz and Meadows at least for a fourth.

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Tight End

Needs: 2. Michigan's struggles to fill a receiver depth chart are ameliorated by their eye for tight end talent. Want to see a couple of swings at a Loveland every class and if there's an H-back around grab him too.

Latest (Oct 2024): The big question is over whether Michigan can retain Olesh, who since committing has acted more like an open target. James Franklin flew a helicopter to his school and got him on campus for PSU-OSU. Alabama was pursuing until they filled up with Pritchett. Notre Dame is getting a visit this month as well. Olesh says Casula and he are still super tight but we're going to be sweating this one.

June 2024: Steve Casula zoomed in on top target PA 4.5* Andrew Olesh and seems to be close to winning him over TE recruiting bête noire Penn State. They might be waiting on word from Olesh before moving onto their other top targets, the 6'9" freak basketball convert Dakotah Terrell or UNC commit Marshall Pritchett, from Marlin Klein's (U.S.) high school Rabun Gap-Nacoochee. Those both sound like very fun alternatives.

April 2024: They got an early commit from Eli Owens, who seems more like a blocky Bredeson type than the usual jumbo receivers they go after. That leaves room for two jumbos, and Hayden Bradley is a good candidate to be that if Casula can get him to stop visiting Ole Miss. The rest of the board is opaque, but we'd be remiss if we didn't moon over 6'9"/215 basketball player Dakotah Terrell. Dusty May has open scholarships, just sayin'.

Old Guess: Bradley and Owens, who then turns out to be more of a receiver than we thought, because Michigan knows how to find them.

The Board:

Best Guess: Olesh and Owens, but they may swing back around on someone if they lose Olesh.

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Offensive Line

Needs: 4. Michigan's strength since 2021 has been the experience of its OL. Projecting OL is hard, and Michigan's success in the portal doesn't seem sustainable. While you've got the reputation as the most OL-friendly program in the country, and the 85-man limit isn't really relevant anymore, you might as well go get the best OL in the country. Trading 3- and 5-man classes does tend to leave gaps, so with the program on stable footing they'd probably like to pick up four every year.

Latest (Oct 2024): Michigan received a pledge from Andrew Babalola, the highest-rated OL they've recruited as far as my database (which goes back to 1990) is concerned. Other targets have gone off the board but they've been pursuing a different Wisconsin lineman, OH 3* Nolan Davenport for a flip. Davenport's a Frey type, a baseball-playing tight end who's converting to tackle.

June 2024: Yes, Avery Gach committed. Not only that, he won't even be the first Groves dude at Michigan. He will still be the first Shir Shalom dude though. Michigan's tightening OL board still has Andrew Babalola at the top of the tackles, and 5* Douglas Utu rose up there for a minute, though Utu's more of a priority to Tennessee, and seems likely to end up there.

For the other two interior spots they seem close to getting MA 4* Hardy Watts (announcement July 1st) finally, and recently picked up their top target at C from IMG in Kaden Strayhorn, who—get ready for this—is the son of MSU's radio analyst Jayson Strayhorn, just in case the Blaha-Strayhorn broadcasts weren't already delicious. Other options seem like longshots; Michigan would love to pry Will Black out of Notre Dame's class but I don't think it's going to happen. They also took a swing at riser Ziyare Addison before he committed to Oregon. If they whiff on all of these guys, they had Jack Lange (who's still taking visits after committing to Mizzou in April) on campus, as did Wisconsin and Nebraska.

April 2024: MI 4* Avery Gach is Sherrone Moore's #1 interior and #1 OL target in this class, and has been for about two years. Gach also goes to Birmingham Groves, which has never sent a scholarship football player to Michigan, and his family sent their kids to The Learning Center preschool of Temple Shir Shalom, which probably isn't getting another shot at sending a scholarship football player to Michigan anytime soon.* As one of many Groves alumni, and one of two sons-in-law of much beloved TLC director Marsha Mitnick, this is as critical a recruitment for me as it is for Michigan. MSU is the main threat; Gach's father is an MSU alum, and they're taking in spring practice in East Lansing this week. Since the Gachs live where they can send their kids to the best public high school in America, and pray where they can send their kids to the best preschool in America, State has more reason to sweat the education factor than Michigan does the legacy factor.

I am considerably less informed as to the state of the rest of the board. The shape of OL recruiting since Sherrone Moore took it over from Ed Warinner has been to target a mix of elites and high-floor program guys. They hit on most of their favorites last year, and are on track to fill up before they run out of A targets again. National 5-star OT Andrew Babalola has had Michigan a tenuous favorite for awhile, and Michigan's chances with fellow top-of-the-board OT Jack Lange went up when Notre Dame won the recruitment of the other M-ND battle, Owen Strebig. If they miss on either, Michigan also loves a couple of Eastern tackle prospects on the rise that they got in with early in Rowan Byrne in New York, and Hardy Watts of Massachusetts. If they take another interior prospect besides Gach it's because they won a head-to-head with Penn State for Pennsylvanian Michael Carroll. Michigan's also staying in touch with a few more national prospects, with Nevada's Douglas Utu a name to keep an eye on as a riser who might be too good not to make a priority. Texas track athlete Marcus Garcia is another in that vein. I may have missed one or a dozen other guys Michigan "leads" for because, with good reason, if you throw a stone at a high school offensive lineman these days he'll say he wants to commit to Michigan.

* [I wouldn't rule out a softball player in 7 years though.]

Old Guess: Gach, one of Babalola/Lange, one of Watts/Byrne, and one of Utu/Carroll/Garcia. Gun to head: Gach, Babaola, Watts, Utu.

The Board:

Best Guess: Babalola, Gach, Watts and Strayhorn. With talk of Babalola playing early though I wonder if they're still expanding the board.

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Defensive Interior

Needs: 2-3. Michigan picked up four DT prospects in 2024, but they're going to lose Grant and Graham to the NFL after this year, and there's quite a gap between their understudies and two guys older than them that they passed to get there. An impact 2025 freshman will have as much opportunity as Wafle/Hammond/Palepale/Beigel of getting on the field behind Rayshaun Benny, Trey Pierce, and Ike Iwunnah when that time comes.

Latest (Nov 2024): Michigan wanted three tackles in this class but missed on a bunch of wider targets with all of the changes in coaching. The two commits are sticking, and a recent board expansion got two promised visits from late riser Christian Ingram out of Georgia, and Syracuse commit Quante Gillians. Gillians just visited for MSU but is expected to be at Syracuse in late November.

June 2024: Of the new hires Lou "Phil not Tony O" Esposito has been off to the hottest start, adding #236 Jaylen Williams for the 3T role, and shoring up a once-softening commitment from now-rising (up to #383 on the composite) Bobby Kanka.

They're about to get top-150 DT Maxwell Roy, a prospect people have known about for a long time, on campus for a second time in three weeks, and there are some crystal balls leaning that way despite Larry Johnson working on Roy a long time. (Update: the day I posted this those balls flipped hard to OSU). I admit I didn't have much hope when I saw that DJ Sanders goes to Bellville, but fortunately that's Bellville, TX, not Belleville down the road from Ann Arbor, which means Esposito has a shot to pull the Chris Hintonesque disruptor out of the clutches of the local SEC schools. Sanders visited Michigan in late May; they're sweating out trips to College Station and Austin the last two weekends.

April 2024: Michigan got an early commitment from MI 3.5* Bobby Kanka, a high-floor/high-motor type who's a coveted OL target to some other schools—Tennessee's OL coach made a run at Kanka in February. Kanka's also moved up the rankings quite a bit since his commitment, earning a 4th star in the composite if not yet to 247 itself.

The rest of the DT board looked considerably more optimistic, if not materially different, before they lost (OH 4*) Mike Elston* to the NFL, then quickly had to jettison Greg Scruggs. Two Illinois prospects have led the top of the board since it was made, Nate Marshall and Jaylen Williams. Michigan and Illinois have been after Marshall forever, and Elston seemed close to getting a commitment at one point, but wasn't there to close the deal before the nation got its hands on Marshall's junior film. Esposito was another early believer so there's some optimism Michigan can regain their momentum and close the deal this summer. Espo already has a strong relationship with Williams, a 6'6/265 DE/DT that Ryan Walters has recruiting since Illinois. Walters has been extremely salty since Michigan snake-oiled Jyaire Hill out of his grasp, so winning that battle would be extra delicious.

The one post-Espo target of interest thus far is TX 4* DJ Sanders, a Chris Hinton-like heavy DE in high school who was down to Texas or Texas A&M before suddenly scheduling a mid-April trip to Ann Arbor. We'll see if that changes anything.

The coaching shakeup was more evident outside of Chicagoland. TN 4* Ethan Utley went from a Vols/Wolverines battle to committed to Tennessee (Michigan's done). IMG (Florida native) 4* London Merritt committed to Ohio State (Michigan's not done). FL 4* Myron Charles and GA 4* Kevin Wynn seem to be down to Florida schools. Penn State gained a tenuous lead and Ohio State gained a foothold in the race for 6'3/270 PA 4* wrestler Maxwell Roy, and another year's removal from Biff Poggi has distanced Michigan from the talk two years ago that two sophomore starters at St. Frances might play together at Michigan or Clemson. One of them—Trent Wilson—isn't even at St. Frances anymore, and is close to committing to Brent Venables. The other, MD 3* Darrion Smith, seems OSU-bound if they have room for him, and a Maryland-PSU battle if they don't. Lou Esposito is a great hire, so while you may hear the other candidate (the Illinois DT coach that Walters tried to bring with him to Purdue) may have been favorable from the perspective of current recruiting needs, long-term I think this is going to work out.

Old Guess: If Esposito can win a gone-national recruitment for Nate Marshall we're in business. I'm going to hedge for now and say they get Jaylen Williams, add someone not yet on the board, and use the portal a bit while Espo establishes himself with 2026 prospects.

The Board:

Best Guess: Williams, Kanka, and Gillians. Not sure any of them are pure nose tackles.

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Edge

Needs: 2. As with DT, Michigan brought in a bunch of edges last year, of various shapes and sizes, for two positions. The program is using "Open" and "Heavy" for what's basically a standup DE who drops into coverage up to 40% of the time (Jaylen Harrell) and an SDE who's at least 260 pounds, super long, and lines up outside of the tight end (Mike Morris), respectively. There's also a DE/DT job that could use more of a Wormley after a few years of running out 3rd DTs for it.

Latest (Nov 2024): Well they lost Marshall to Auburn in August, and it looks like that ship has sailed since they flipped Benny Patterson from a commitment to Cincy (USC was the other school trying).

June 2024: Composite #41 Nate Marshall is committed but should be considered a soft one after he took an Auburn visit and said "it's either Michigan or Auburn." If your betrothed says "I'm either staying with you or this other person I just met, and leaning you" it's not a good thing, but Marshall is buds with Williams, who says he's not concerned, so Sam isn't.

For the rush/OLB edge Michigan is still working Dye and Jones. The most notable addition is Harrell-esque athlete Julius Holly from Georgia, who saw Michigan before a tour of three SEC schools. If Georgia wants Georgia probably gets.

Old Guess: Nate Marshall stays and they add Julius Holly and/or Marco Jones, and also probably some athlete that claims to be a DE/Nickel/Shooting Guard/Outfielder hybrid that Michigan suddenly has a spot for in their defense. I'm only half kidding about the

April 2024: If the DT focus has been in Illinois, the two edges most associated with Michigan recruiting for the early part of this cycle were both from Indiana. 4* Damien Shanklin is a pass-rusher still being called underrated despite cracking the top-50 on 247 and nearing the top-100 in the composite. A ND-Michigan battle that spilled into a national one, Ohio State used Michigan's winter lull to move up to a slight leader. Mariyon Dye is the other IN 4* that's looking like a Michigan-OSU-Others battle royale where Michigan's making up ground lost from losing Elston. In both cases M is trying to get the 5th visit from guys with four locked in.

Options past the two hoosiers are mixed, and probably incomplete. CA 4* Marco Jones fits the profile of a lengthy multi-sport athlete. KS 4* Jayden Woods is a three-sport (wrestling, track) athlete who popped in for an unofficial in March, but that was when we had Scruggs, who was also recruiting Woods at Wisconsin. IMG's Dylon Worthen seems like a gettable option. Michigan may also try to turn a couple of PSU-bound guys towards a more successful program, raid Illinois, or look at some of the LBs that Brian Jean-Mary was involved with at Tennessee.

The Wolverines don't seem to be involved with 5* Jared Smith, the nation's top pass-rusher. After holding onto none of the three J.Smiths committed to them in 2024 I too am beginning to revise my opinions about J.Smith involvements.

Old Guess: The board is not the board. Let's see how these recruitments look like after Esposito's been here for more than a couple of weeks, and who gets added to the board. I expected a few Anchor types given that's been his specialty to a degree I haven't seen since Don Brown.

The Board:

Best Guess: With an OLB and a Heavy they're probably done.

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Linebacker

Needs: 3. Since we made the board Michigan lost Semaj Bridgeman, Hayden Moore, and Jeremiah Beasley to the portal, and only Cole Sullivan from the last class looks to stay at LB, so this is now a major need again. Brian Jean-Mary may have different tastes than George Helow and Chris Partridge, and some of the guys on the roster who've been through a lot of LB coaches are greater portal risks because of it.

Latest (Nov 2024): The fight for IMG's Owusu-Boateng has OSU, USC and Texas—mostly Texas—involved still but it still looks like a Notre Dame-Michigan battle, with the edge to the Irish. Michigan loves the scheme fit and is going all-out, Notre Dame has the brother and the last visit. NOB, Michigan awaits a visit from Duke commit Bradley Gompers, a 4-star out of Pennsylvania who's gotten a handful of better-than-Duke offers (YTM, PSU), and FL 3-star Cameron White, who was committed to UCF before they fired their DC and is planning on being at Michigan for the Oregon game.

June 2024: BJM landed Chase Taylor, who hasn't gotten a ratings bump yet but probably will given the interest in him this offseason. Their competition for the Hun School's KamarArchie shifted from Clemson+PSU to Clemson+Rutgers, meaning it's Clemson. Elijah Melendez seemed a likely flip from Miami (YTM) but had to reschedule his official to Michigan in early June so his parents could attend. He's originally from Gary, IN, and Kenneth Grant is part of the recruitment team. Auburn and Oklahoma are now fighting for him as well, and got officials this month, as did Miami. Seems like a top-top target for Michigan though.

The big recent development is moving up with IMG's Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, a Michael Barrett type from the Baltimore area whom they may see as a hybrid safety/edge like Mason Curtis last cycle. Notre Dame, where NOB's brother played, had a big lead until Owusu-Boateng visited for Victors Weekend with his teammates then started making noises like he's going to announce a commitment soon, which tends to favor the school most recently visited. Another bit from the Owusu-Boateng recruitment is OSU message boards think Michigan is paying the going NIL rate.

Old Guess: Taylor and Owusu-Boateng. May stay on Archie in case Schiano's program looks really bad this fall.

April 2024: NJ 4* Kamar Archie has been a big name on their board for a few LB coaches now, and a lack of wobble over that time suggests he's not just a NJ 4-star who was interested in Michigan for Partridge. GA 3* Chase Taylor received a flurry of SEC/ACC offers in February and seems to be reciprocating Michigan's the most strongly, with a visit and a slew of articles generated from it—expect him to be a top target and to get a rankings bump somewhere since Sam compared him to Sainristil and OMG($). Also in that article is Michigan's pursuit of Miami (YTM) commit Elijah Melendez, which now finally has a LB coach to head it after director of recruiting Sam Popper kept the flame going for a few months. Another recruitment that suffered between Partridge's firing and BJM's hiring was that of GA 4* Tavion Wallace, an FSU vs SEC battle that Jean-Mary partaking in. Michigan's also been the natural leader for a long time for IL 3* Christian Pierce, the little brother of sophomore DT Trey; OSU is poking around there and getting some traction.

Old Guess: I'm feeling an optimistic vibe from the LB stories that may be Brian Jean-Mary projecting, or a reflection of the fact that Michigan somehow remained in good shape with a few B+ tier guys despite not having a permanent linebacker coach for a big chunk of the cycle. Give me Chase Taylor, Eljijah Melendez, and then going way out on a limb and saying Dawson Merritt.

The Board:

Best Guess: Taylor for sure—they love him, even if he doesn't get talked about much. The Owusu-Boateng thing feels like if he was going to Notre Dame he would have by now. I think it's one of those deals where Michigan flips him in the end. Gompers and White are relatively new recruitments so hard to get a read on them.

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Safety

Needs: 2-3. They only have one from each of the last two cycles, Hillman didn't redshirt, and only he and Zeke Berry will still be around as early as next year unless Rod Moore choose to run it back again (update: Mangham's on board now and we'll see if Mason Curtis sticks at safety but point remains). If Morgan's up for it, there's room to get an elite or two, and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a Q-Jo or two to redshirt as well.

Nov 2024: There are two elite commits but they've been battling to keep Ivan Taylor in the class after Alabama laid out the red carpet when they played Georgia. That fear might be abiding after Taylor visited Ann Arbor the MSU game and doesn't have plans to return to Tuscaloosa. Michigan got the final visit and will be one of the three hats with Clemson and NC State for elite WR/S athlete Jordan Young, who's announcing tomorrow (Saturday 11/2) at 5PM. If they miss I think they'll move on Dotson as a safety, though I think his upside's at corner.

June 2024: Michigan got their nickel for the class by beating Penn State for speedster top-50 blue chip Kainoa Winston, who could be a Rod Moore-ish free safety as well, so we'll put him here for now. They would still really like to get the supersized JaDon Blair; Sam said on our recent Roundtable that Notre Dame's did a good job on selling him on being the next Kyle Hamilton while Michigan was exchanging staff, but Michigan is still treating that as a 5-star recruitment. There's an announcement date on July 5th and the only crystal ball is Tom Loy's, which means nothing.

Michigan's playing a little offense on ND by offering their elite already-commit Ivan Taylor but Lorenz thinks that's unlikely to get anywhere. ND also has top-100 Dallas Golden committed, so that might be a speculative in case they lose Blair. LaMarr Morgan added some corners to the board who might also be safeties, and has Michigan the third wheel in an ACC faceoff for NC 4.5* Jordan Young, but until they hear from Blair it's hard to know what their plans are.

April 2024: The one elite on the board is NC 4* JaDon Blair, who's been in close contact with Ron Bellamy throughout his recruitment, was the rare recruit that Jesse Minter was involved with personally, and whom we're told the new staff believes they can secure. As it was in the days of Brown and Mattison and Hermann, Notre Dame and Penn State are the top competition for Michigan's top safety target. PSU can sell an excellent track record at safety in recent years, and ND is somehow more desperate for warm bodies than we are, but even Tom Loy acknowledges Michigan held a tenuous lead prior to a visit to ND that included meeting the AD.

The rest of the board at this point is "Elite guy everyone wants" where Michigan isn't standing out in any meaningful way. LaMarr Morgan's first offer was to NC 4.5* Jordan Young, which adds to the young Sherrone vibe you get from Morgan where he thinks he can just leap into 5-star recruitments and probably will win a few a few once he has the chance to be involved in them for more than 9 months. I'm intrigued by Kendall Daniels and how he reacts to Bama's offer, since DeBoer would often hop into recruitments that Washington had no business in when a guy was dramatically underscouted.

Trey McNutt is the #2 prospect in Ohio and son of 1999-'02 OSU CB Richard McNutt, which makes Trey sort of and Evil Will Johnson. There was a point when WJ was strongly considering OSU, and there's a path here for Michigan as well, but they probably need Donovan Edwards to blaze through it for 75 and 85 yards again if they're gonna use it to escape with McNutt.

Old Guess: Blair and another, probably someone Morgan adds to the board. The ND visit didn't seem to change things for Blair, which has me cautiously optimistic Michigan comes out ahead even if it means Blair has to turn down some upfront money in the process.

The Board:

Best Guess: Michigan seems to be hanging onto Taylor (nice try, Court), with Winston as their nickel. Guessing Clemson gets Young and Michigan takes Dotson as a "we'll figure out what you are later" athlete with the 3rd spot.

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Cornerback

Needs: 2-eleventybillion. Don't ask me I am incapable of believing there's such a thing as too many cornerbacks. But Will Johnson is NFL-bound after this year, and last year's freshmen have passed everyone on the roster save perhaps Ja'Den McBurrows in a room that also lost its longtime position coach to the NFL. We'll see what they get from the 2024 freshmen, but indicators are strong that they 2025 class is going to have a pretty open depth chart before them.

Nov 2024: The Morganized board has come into focus, and that focus is YOWZA. They took TN 4-star Jayden Sanders right before a massive rise to near the top-100, as well as a growth spurt that's seen him hit 6'3. They also got VA 5* Georgia commit Shamari Earls to ignore pleas from the Dawgs to not visit Ann Arbor before showing up for the MSU game and even coming to Sam Webb's tailgate before the game. People think he's close to flipping, based on that and how Georgia suddenly got very involved in the recruitment of Morgan target Donovan Starr. Things don't end there of course. Michigan has picked things up considerably with Pitt ATH commit Elijah Dotson, a longtime Clink connection mentioned twice already in this piece but brought up again because he visited, and also got a recent LSU offer. Sam Webb wants M to take Dotson regardless—you can't pass up a Detroit corner man. But Michigan's also still in it with IMG's Alex Graham, another Michigan native who's been soft to Colorado a long time. They're also going to take their shots at flipping Oregon commit Brandon Finney, and got Graceson Littleton to decommit from Clemson so he could visit Michigan.

June 2024: This is the board most affected by the loss of the old staff, as Clinkscale had a bunch of guys he was recruiting for awhile, and some guys who weren't considering Michigan until Morgan started pushing.

Former top target Alex Graham, a Detroit cat playing at IMG,pledged to Colorado, but people think that's soft so I'm leaving him on the board. The reason he's moved down is Morgan is obsessed with VA 4* Shamari Earls, one of the brightest and most candid guys Sam said he'd ever interviewed. Sam also said Earls wasn't interested in Texas A&M because they have a lot of 4-star cornerbacks and Earls wants to go somewhere he's needed. That will be Michigan or Georgia; his South Carolina commitment is merely a placeholder at this point. Can Michigan win an elite corner from Georgia? When they have the Will Johnson spot wide open? Maybe?

Speaking of 4-star cornerbacks at Texas A&M, Morgan offered a pair of them, as well as a Clemson commit, a Baltimore kid who was down to OSU, Oregon, PSU, and South Carolina, and two guys (one a commit) who were expected to wind up at Auburn. We'll see if any of those bear out. Lorenz thinks they're still after Tre (son of Hank) Poteat, but that Tennessee is in the way. A few nickels, notably sparkplug Jahmari DeLoatch (to Cincy), went off the board after they got Winston. Dawayne Galloway, a track star from Columbus, was probably in the class if Clink was still fighting the Ohio War, but the new staff weren't as high on him and let him go to Kentucky (he commits soon). Morgan is also still swinging at a couple of fences, though nothing is likely to come from him trying to turn around ND commit Mark Zachery IV or Bama commit Chuch McDonald.

Old Guess: I end up trimming this list as we get a better sense of what Morgan can do. Right now it's too cloudy. He does have some traction with Earls. The rest I have no idea. The fact that he's offering a lot of guys already committed elsewhere is encouraging if can win a couple of those battle, but at the moment there's little more to appreciate than the audacity.

April 2024: Michigan seems close to a pair of Tier 1 commits who were high on Clinkscale and have reacted well to Morgan. OH 4.5* Dawayne Galloway is from Columbus, and one of the fastest players in Ohio, but for whatever reason hasn't been associated with Ohio State since the early days of his recruitment. Michigan's fending off a late push from PSU after lengthening a lead over Kentucky, Purdue, and Syracuse over the course of the cycle, and will probably get a commitment in time. FWIW Allen Trieu comps Galloway to Ambry Thomas.

The other near commit is Alex Graham, who was playing at Cass Tech until someone told him you have to be a 5'6 to do that (I'm guessing) and Graham went to IMG. Bellamy has been tight with him the whole way, and once Graham's done taking a free visit to Boulder people think he's going to end up in Michigan's class as well.

The top nickel on the board for awhile has been VA 3* Jahmari DeLoatch, but chatter from recent visits to VT and Virginia seem to indicate Michigan's dropped off since losing Clink. On the surface this is a Michigan guy: a speedy/jumpy track star who brings up "academics and good ball" to recruiting reporters. I don't know whom they're pursuing for nickel instead but I'd like to see them ping NJ 4* CB/RB Jahmir Joseph, who keeps bringing up Michigan on his own. Joseph is a D-I caliber hoops guard with football visits scheduled to Stanford, Penn State, and Notre Dame. The basketball focus has him (and his suitors) all way behind where they'd be normally in the recruiting cycle.

Another target that Clink may have valued more than his successor is MI 3* Elijah Dotson, a tall bump-n-run type at UofD who used to be getting mentions in Michigan/PSU sweeps and now comes up primarily in MSU and Pitt articles. Hank's son Tre Poteat is another of those if you substitute Tennessee for PSU and Iowa State/Wisconsin for MSU/Pitt. Either may be more likely than making up ground for ND's Benjamin Morrison-esque top target Mark Zackery IV, but Michigan has basketball scholarships available and may try to interest the leaper in playing both. Former 5-star Chris Ewald was committed to this class for awhile, but people were always like "Are you suurrrre?" with that one before he started taking visits during Michigan's championship run. Ewald's since dropped to the edge of 3-stardom on 247, is still listed at 165, and seems to be choosing between Louisville and Miami.

Old Guess: Galloway, Graham, or both may be Michigan's next commits, which will probably do it for outside. I don't want to downgrade DeLoatch because I like him, but Michigan may have moved on. Interested to see what Morgan does with nickel.

The Board:

Best Guess: Sanders, Earls, and one of Littleton/Graham/Finney with Dotson as an ATH.

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Specialists

Needs: 1?

Nov 2024: Michigan wasn't in on anybody for this class until August when they offered the guy committed to Iowa, TX 3-star Scott Starzyk, who was the #1 K at the time. He's now the #3 K. A flip seemed imminent last month after a took a Michigan official, but things have been quiet since.

Best Guess: Starzyk flips before Signing Day without fanfare.

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PROJECT THE CLASS RIGHT NOW

Don't you dare hold me to this (bold=committed. Link to Hello post):

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REVISIONS LIST

• 4/9/24: Launched (Seth)
• 4/22/24: Moved Nate Marshall to committed (Seth)
• 5/3/24: Moved Avery Gach to committed, added some new targets (Seth)
• 6/14/24: Moved Kainoa Winston to committed (Seth)
• 6/15/24: Moved Jasper Parker to committed (Seth)
• 6/25/24: Full update, reposted to front page (Seth)
• 7/9/24: Bunch of updates from recent commitments here and elsewhere (Seth)
• 7/28/24: Brody Jennings mostly.
• 11/1/24: Full update, reposted to front page (Seth).