While Coach Harbaugh and the Michigan football program have done a pretty nice job on the recruiting trail in their first five months on the job, June looks to be the official beginning of the high level recruiting that everyone expected.
All throughout the first month of the summer, the Michigan coaching staff will be extremely busy. From satellite camps across the country to hosting on campus visitors, they will be working their tails offs. And I believe the return will be very nice.
Arguably (not really an argument) the most important recruiting visit of the year will be taking place in June as the nation’s #1 player, Rashan Gary, will make a return trip to Ann Arbor with his mother, according to TMI’s Sam Webb ($).
Webb has been all over Gary’s recruitment and has let it be known that his mother is the biggest factor in his decision. The two are very high on education and relationships, so Harbaugh and Michigan have their chance to just to the top of his list (possibly for good) with another fantastic visit.
Visitors
Gary will not be the only big time, non-camping visitor heading to Ann Arbor this summer. I spoke with several top 2016 targets that have let me know that they will be visiting but not participating in the on-campus camp, including:
- Miami commit, S Devin Gil, told me that he and teammate Devin Bush Jr will be visiting. And according to his 247Sports’ page, that visit will happen on June 14th (the same day as the ExposureU camp). If things go well, Michigan has a great chance to land both Flanagan stars.
- WR Steven Smothers told me he won’t be participating in a camp but will be unofficially visiting campus on June 13th. There hasn’t been much heard about the electric receiver recently but with the staff’s recent success on the east coast, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them become a real factor in his recruitment after the visit.
- S JJ Givens let me know that he also will be visiting Michigan this summer, though a date has not been set just yet. But that date will be set “very soon”..
- RB Carlin Fils-Aime told me he’s planning to officially visit Michigan this fall.
- 2017 DT Fred Hansard also let me know that he will not be camping but will “definitely” visit Michigan. If it happens this summer or officially this fall, that has yet to be known
Who Else Could Join the 2016 Class?
Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz caught up with DB Lamar Jackson (Franklin, CA/Elk Grove) and he let him know that he and fellow Californian cornerback David Long Jr are two of the staff’s top targets ($).
“Michigan is definitely going to make my cut when I shorten my list,”
As for a couple recruits who I included in my latest Team 137 Best Guess Recruiting Class, OG JonCarlo Valentin and LB Jonathan Jones.
Valentin (Philadelphia, PA/Imhotep) is a mammoth of a offensive guard and would be a fantastic fit in Michigan’s power run game. He told The Wolverine’s Tim Sullivan that he was “jumping up and down” after meeting with and receiving his offer from Coach Drevno ($). He also said that he and teammate TE Naseir Upshur are planning to visit Ann Arbor this summer. Keep an eye on that
As for Jones, he also spoke with Sullivan and confirmed that he will be in Ann Arbor on June 17th and that a decision is likely to take place this summer ($). Michigan has long been at the top of his list, so this visit has a chance to be the final piece to the puzzle in him committing to the Wolverines.
Searching for Tight Ends
It’s no secret that the Harbaugh’s love their tight ends and they’re looking to turn Michigan into “Tight End U”. However, they’re having a little trouble on the trail. Out of all of the offers, Naseir Upshur is the only 2016 target that looks to be favoring the Wolverines.
So, the net has been expanded.
The latest offers are out to Brother Martin (New Orleans, LA) teammates, Irvin Smith and Peyton Aucoin.
Aucoin spoke with TMI’s Brice Marich about landing his offer and looks to be a very realistic choice for the class ($), as long as they heavily target him:
“It is one offer that I’m very excited about because it is a big time program and it is definitely a place I could see myself ending up at.”
Keep an eye on both Aucoin and Smith as they’ll be looking to visit Ann Arbor this summer.
Future Targets
– I spoke with the next big thing at Paramus Catholic recently and he let me know that Michigan is very interested. While the staff has yet to offer a 2018 quarterback, there’s a good chance he sees an offer if he shows out at the Ann Arbor camp.
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