Photo Credit: Brian Stumpf/Elite11

Inside the Fish Bowl is Working with the Quarterbacks

Posted onAuthorGarrett Fishaw

With the official start of summer coming up, the world of college football recruiting is about to go into overdrive. The Elite 11 is now in the rear view mirror, the Opening is coming up on June 28th-July 3rd, and, with school off, most of the nation’s top players have put together a long list of unofficial visits. And that’s especially true for a lot of Michigan’s remaining targets.

Check out how the Elite 11 went for Michigan’s quarterback targets, who’s expected to visit Ann Arbor this summer and much more on the latest Michigan football recruiting news and rumors:

Early Look at a Future Quarterback Competition?

After having back-to-back quarterback commitments being named to the Elite 11 (2016 Brandon Peters, 2017 Dylan McCaffrey), there’s a chance Michigan has at least one, maybe two, in the 2018 class alone.

Commit QB Joe Milton

The lone quarterback commit (at this time) did pretty exactly what all Michigan fans expected him to do at the Elite 11; show off his arm strength. But he also looked to struggle a bit with his consistency, which is expected from players as naturally gifted but technically raw as Milton:

Missing out on the Elite 11 is far from the end of the world. Milton has all of the physical tools but still has got a ways to go to reach his ceiling. This was just another step in that direction. As or one more step, the big quarterback commit went directly from the Elite 11 to up-close work with his future coaches, Jim Harbaugh and Pep Hamilton, at the satellite camp in Boca Raton. And Milton clearly had a good time:

What an experience and advantage for Milton. And for the Michigan coaches. All parties involved are able to learn more about each other.
Top Target QB Tyler Shough

As for a name that is a part of the Elite 11, Shough is uncommitted at the moment but is looking more and more like an eventual Michigan commit. He received a lot of love throughout the weekend and found himself in the upper echelon of the rankings by the time it was over:

Shough, who visited Michigan for the first time a couple weeks ago, also caught up with Scout’s Blair Angulo at the Elite 11 to talk about his top teams and where things stand with Michigan ($):

At this point, I still feel very confident with my Crystal Ball for Shough to Michigan. Though Cal looks like a team that could end up becoming a real factor, his love for Michigan and the academic opportunities in Ann Arbor continue to look like the game changing factors. With him mentioning a decision possibly coming this summer, he’s a very real candidate to be the next addition to the class.

Summa Time Visitors

The summer is always one of the hottest times of the year on the recruiting trail. Players are out of school, recruiting camps are going on, most guys have a solid top three and plenty of guys are looking to make their decisions before the start of their senior seasons. So, it’s big that Michigan is set to host a very nice group of visitors throughout the summer.

Here are just some of the names that are expected to/planning on visiting this summer, and two that already have:

2017 transfer OT Sunny Odogwu

Odogwu started 14 games at right tackle for Miami (FL) and could answer, probably, the biggest remaining question on the offensive line: the right tackle position. According to multiple reports, this looks to be a Michigan-UCLA battle. And he’s already visited both schools. We’ll see where the 6’8” 325lbs offensive tackle will play his final year of eligibility.

2018 OG James Ohonba

Ohonba is a (near) top 300 offensive lineman and a big one at that. As you can see in his pictures, the big man is listed at 6’5” 320lbs. But, even though Michigan sits in his top four, Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz isn’t too confident in Michigan’s chances here ($).

2018 DT Alim McNeill 

According to TMI’s Sam Web, McNeill will visit Michigan “later this month” ($) and, like previously mentioned before, he’s a top target for the coaching staff. He’s a guy who’s been a part of my BGRC in the past and, with the push from the coaching staff and visit coming up, there’s a very real chance he’s included in my June class prediction.

2018 DE Eyobi Anoma 

Wolverine247’s Isaiah Hole caught up with Enoma after his performance at the Bowie State University satellite camp. The top 50 recruit doesn’t get a ton of pub on the Michigan side of things but is a name to keep an eye on moving forward as he’s planning on visiting Michigan this month ($).

2018 DE Tyreke Smith

For awhile now, it’s looked like Ohio State was the clear cut favorite and eventual landing spot for Smith. However, per Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz, Smith is actually a California native ($). With a good visit to Michigan already in the books, another good visit could really put the Wolverines in good shape here.

2018 TE Lee Payton

According to TMI’s Brice Marich, the River Rouge (MI) three star product is heading to Ann Arbor to camp ($) . Though the staff looks set on adding multiple tight ends in this class, Payton may be more of a backup plan to Mustapha Muhammad and Jeremy Ruckert.

2018 RB Mychale Salahuddin 

According to his interview with Wolverine247’s Isaiah Hole, Salahuddin called Michigan a “dream school” and is planning on visiting this summer ($).

2019 RB Noah Cain 

Michigan’s running back recruiting has been pretty good so far under Jim Harbaugh. But he’s yet to land a five star talent. Could 2019 be the year? According to TMI’s Evan Petzold, 2019’s top ranked running back will visit Michigan later this month ($).

2019 LB Charles Thomas

According to LandOf10’s Brandon Justice, Thomas will visit Michigan on June 24th. And this could be a visit to pay attention to as the IMG Academy linebacker has been showing a lot of love to Michigan for quite sometime now. He’s a guy that will likely be on my first 2019 class prediction that should be out later this month.

2019 LB Anthony Solomon

As for a guy that will 100% be on my first 2019 BGRC, Solomon has long been a heavy lean to the Wolverines. And now, according TMI’s Evan Petzold, the four star linebacker is planning another visit to Michigan this summer ($). With this (possibly) being his third visit, which included the five day visit for the Spring Game, all signs continue to heavily point to him being one of, if not, the first commits of the class.

2019 WR Theo Wease 

According to MaizenBrew’s Evan Petzold (now with TMI), with an offer in hand, Wease is planning on making a trip up to Michigan this summer. As one of the top ranked players and receivers in the class, getting him on campus early on would be huge.

2019 QB JT Daniels

On top of getting the top 2019 running back on campus this summer, Michigan will get the top quarterback as well. As Daniels confirmed his A4 camp visit to 247Sports Tom Loy ($). Though pulling Daniels off of the west coach will be tough, Daniels is clearly a fan of Harbaugh. This trip should firmly put UM among his favorites.

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Photo Credit: Brian Stumpf/Elite11/Twitter

Garrett Fishaw
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