Inside the Fish Bowl: Early February Recruiting Update

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

Outside of a surprise decision from Roquan Smith in favor of \’Michigan University\’, the end of the Mike Weber drama all but wraps up the 2015 recruiting cycle and all eyes are turned towards 2016.

2016 Quarterback Recruiting

As the first full year of recruiting, fans and analysts alike are expecting big things from Jim Harbaugh and his elite Wolverines coaching staff. The class has two commits at the moment (OT Erik Swenson and LB Dele Harding) but are looking for an elite quarterback to really get the ball rolling, and they have their eyes set on four guys in particular:

  1. KJ Costello
    • The name that every Michigan fan seems to want, Costello is a big, strong armed, athletic quarterback out of California that nearly committed last summer on his visit. He\’s expected to visit later this month along with several other elite 2016 targets and there\’s a chance he pulls the trigger on that trip.
  2. Jacob Eason 
    • The #1 QB in the class has been committed to Georgia since last July but is rumored to be looking around a bit after offensive coordinator Mike Bobo left Athens to take over Colorado State. And Harbaugh wasted little time getting out to Lake Stevens,WA for a visit. If he can land a spring visit, it\’s possible a flip could happen.
  3. Brandon Peters
    • Meet the new \”most likely QB to end up in the class\”, Brandon Peters. He\’s a big, accurate, mobile quarterback that looks the part and has very impressive tape. After landing his offer from the Wolverines, he let The Wolverine\’s Brandon Brown know that Michigan is now his top team ($). He\’s looking to visit this spring and could be the first name to drop……if the coaches take the commitment with Costello looking very possible as well.
  4. Dwayne Haskins
    • Haskins is the #5 QB in the class (according to 247Sports) and is the latest quarterback to land an offer from Michigan. He has the size, athleticism and mechanics to be a very good QB and looks like he\’d fit Harbaugh\’s offense very well. However, he\’s the least likely name on the list at the moment but if a visit is set up, things could chance quickly.

Other possibilities: Shea Patterson, Malik Henry (FSU) and Jarrett Guarantano

The staff will likely hold out until their top options decide since they will likely only bring in one quarterback in 2016 thanks to having five legit options already on the roster.

Spring Visitors

Michigan has quickly targeted and offered multiple elite prospects for 2016 and several of them have or are planning to visit Ann Arbor within the next two months.

The California kids (KJ Costello, Dylan Crawford, Theo Howard and David Long Jr) are the names most are hoping to get on campus soon and Long updated Wolverine247\’s Steve Lorenz on his plans ($). Lorenz is also very close to putting a Crystal Ball prediction in for Long to Michigan after speaking with him about the staff making him their #1 cornerback target ($):

\”Michigan is recruiting me harder than anybody right now,\” he said. \”I am literally hearing from them in some capacity every day.\”

If Michigan gets them all on campus later this month and one commits, a snowball effect could take place and give the staff the perfect start to the 2016 class.

Speaking of top positional targets, Michigan has four star athlete Jordan Fuller at the top of the safety board, according to Steve Lorenz ($). He also let him know that he\’s looking to visit in the not-so-distant future.

It looks like Michigan has a very real chance in this one. Fuller is a name to watch moving forward.

As for a top targets looking to visit this spring, the list includes:

Next in Line for Offers?

Garrett Fishaw
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