Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Inside the Fish Bowl is Adding and Subtracting by the Week

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

Another day, another subtweet by Jim Harbaugh. What a time to be alive, am I right? While Harbaugh and the Michigan football program is enjoying their time at IMG Academy, Butch Jones tried to subtly throw shade at the UM coach. That didn’t go too well for the Vols head man as he clearly forgot what his program is going through right now.

Fun times.

On to recruiting, the Michigan coaching staff is busy coaching up their own guys but the recruiting crew is also busy sending out offers and setting up visits for the not-so-distant future. Check out who else is planning to visit Ann Arbor this year:

More Visitors

Speaking of visitors, I spoke with Glynn Academy (GA) ATH DeeJay Dallas about his recruitment and interest in Michigan. From everything I gathered, UM is in very good shape here. He’s expected to visit this spring or summer before cutting his list.

I fully expect Dallas to keep Michigan on his list when he slims it down whether he makes the preseason visit or not. He’s a top target for the staff as they see him as a versatile talent similar to Jabrill Peppers. Because of all of that, I’ll be adding him to my next BGRC.

The Latest on the Top Targets

For the first time in the Harbaugh era, Michigan’s top target on the recruiting board is from the Mitten. That would be Cass Tech (MI) WR Donovan Peoples-Jones. And thanks to that prioritizing, familiarity with the program and ties to the University from within his family, UM is in great shape and should be throughout his recruitment.

DPJ spoke with The Michigan Insider’s Josh Newkirk about his latest visit to Ann Arbor, his interest in Michigan and a decision timeline ($), which he says could come whenever he feels comfortable. At this point, I believe UM is right at the top for him. It should be awhile before he makes a decision but things look good at this point for the Wolverines.

As for a top target that could make his announcement soon, Flanagan (FL) CB Stanford Samuels III became a much more likely addition to Michigan’s class after his former head coach and mentor Devin Bush Sr. joined the UM coaching staff as a defensive analyst.

SSIII spoke with Scout’s Chad Simmons about his recruitment, interest in rumored favorites Florida State and Michigan, and also talked about a timeline:

After watching that video, Florida State still looks to be the choice for Samuels. However, it’s still very early and the UM staff has shown its ability to flip recruits in crunch time in their short time in Ann Arbor. Either way, SSIII looks like a recruit to watch closely for a possible decision.

Another name to watch moving forward is Clinton (MS) RB Cam Akers, who happens to be new to the open market after decommitting from Alabama on Thursday:

Akers is one of the top ranked running backs in the class and could jump to the top of the staff’s board (if he isn’t already) with the decommitment. According to Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz, Akers is planning on making an official visit to Michigan this fall after running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley reached out to him ($).

Odds are the top running back stays down south and chooses another SEC school like Ole Miss, Georgia or Auburn though the Michigan staff has proven to never count them out with nearly a year to go.

SEC country recruits are a favorite of the coaching staff but they’ve also taken a liking to the west coast and California in particular. One of the Golden State’s top talents is St. John Bosco (CA) OL Wyatt Davis and the versatile offensive lineman is expected to visit Michigan in the near future.

Davis spoke with Bleacher Report’s Tyler Donohue to discuss his interest in Michigan and had some great quotes about what he thinks about UM and Coach Harbaugh:

It was reported in the past that Davis may visit with friend and fellow Californian and top offensive line target Santa Margarita Catholic (CA) OL Brett Neilon. However, Neilon let me know that he didn’t think they’d visit together because of their schedules. But either way, both Neilon and Davis are top targets for the staff and two guys that could very well end up in this class and continue to pipeline out west for the Wolverines.

An Offer to Kill

Jim Harbaugh has made it a point to hire the best coaching staff possible at Michigan. He’s proven it in the first year of being the head ball coach in Ann Arbor by bringing in several top assistants in 2015 and then replacing them with more top options early on in 2016.

But is he finished this year?

According to the Star Tribune’s Sid Hartman, not just yet. Hartman is reporting that rumor has it that Kill has a spot available on the Michigan staff “if he wants it”.

If true and Kill takes Harbaugh up on that offer, that would be a fantastic hire. Kill turned Minnesota into a legit program in a short time and, though he had his health issues while in Minneapolis, an assistant/analyst/director job could do wonders for both himself and the Michigan program.

Quick Hitters

  • Michigan’s top 2017 commit Valor (CO) QB Dylan McCaffrey announced on Twitter that he’ll be playing in the 2017 Army All-American game.
  • One of the bigger pieces of recruiting news this past week was when Ann Arbor Pioneer (MI) ATH Antjuan Simmons committed to Ohio State. It’s still early but any way you cut it (whether he was high on the board or not) this was a bit of a blow to UM as Simmons is one of the top offered players in the country and right in their backyard.
  • As for a player that Michigan was definitely high on, Hawkins (CA) ATH Greg Johnson somewhat surprisingly committed to Arizona on Tuesday. This was a surprise because most saw this as a battle between USC (the heavy favorite), Florida and Michigan. However, things changed and RichRod landed one of the top players in the 2017 class. Great get for him.
  • Michigan extended, what I believe is, their first true fullback offer as Clearwater (FL) ATH Kane Taylor told Scout’s Corey Bender that UM likes him “at the fullback position” ($). Looking at the roster and you can see they clearly need to add some more fullbacks to the depth chart going forward. Question is, will Taylor, a player with plenty of offers at other positions, see himself at that position in college? After seeing what Sione Houma did in one year under Harbaugh, I’d think any fullback would jump at that chance.

Photo Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Garrett Fishaw
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