Inside the Fish Bowl is Pondering More Crystal Balls

Michigan has been taking care of business on and off the field heading into the final stages of the 2016 season. The team is 9-0 and has set itself up for a shot at the Big Ten and National Championships. And thanks to the team’s performance, the coaching staff is using their hard work and resumes to pair with it to give Michigan a very realistic shot at signing one of the best recruiting classes in rankings history.

The 2017 Michigan class is in striking distance of the top spot, held by Ohio State. However, it’ll need to have a very hot finish. And, when you look at where things stand with several of the nation’s top players and the staff’s top targets, that’s looking more and more likely.

To see where the Wolverines sit with the top targets, check out our latest Michigan recruiting update:

Close to Crystal

Earlier in the season, there were two players from SEC territory that I knew Michigan loved as prospects. However, it looked like they were long shots to end up in the Maize and Blue, at best. Those players were Starkville (MS) OLB Willie Gay and Lafayette (KY) OL Jedrick Wills.

Well, thanks to their official visits to Ann Arbor, both have gone from long shots to now looking pretty good to join the Wolverines’ class.

Gay made his way to Michigan for his official visit for the Illinois game on October 22nd and things couldn’t have gone any better.

The talented linebacker quickly decommitted from Ole Miss, who he’d been committed to since June, told the Clarion Ledger that he “fell in love” with UM during his trip and named the Wolverines his new leader.

But could that just have been an overreaction from the visit afterglow?

Well, that doesn’t look to be the case as Gay spoke with Scout’s Chad Simmons about his new leader and what separates Michigan from everyone else ($):

So, Gay is all about Michigan. But will he be able to commit to and sign with the Wolverines? That’s a legit question at this point.

First reported by Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz, Gay was a “non-qualifier” for Michigan heading into his official visit and had some work to do in the classroom before UM could take him ($).

But that doesn’t look like it’s stopping Michigan from pushing for him and working with him. Which is saying a lot, according to TMI’s Sam Webb.

In normal occurrences of recruits having bad grades, Michigan will postpone the recruit’s visit. But UM didn’t do that with Gay. And Webb’s gut believes the fact that the staff is pushing hard for him even with the issues means Michigan has faith that Gay can get his grades in order ($) and they can sign him to this class.

With Webb feeling very good about Michigan’s chances, it’s hard to not be optimistic. I’m watching this recruitment closely and could be close to putting in a Crystal Ball for Gay to the Wolverines. Just waiting to gather a little more information.

As for Wills, the big man looked to be one of the biggest “locks” in the class. All signs pointed to him committing to Alabama, which is where my Crystal Ball once sat.

But thanks to his official visit to Michigan for the Wisconsin game and the staff’s pursuit of the best offensive line prospects in the class, I’ve switched my CB to Foggy and am very close to putting my prediction in for the Wolverines.

Besides the official visit, one big reason I put Wills in my latest class prediction and am close to a CB is thanks to Alabama viewing the big man as an offensive guard ($), according to Steve Lorenz.

If Alabama sticks with that mindset and Michigan keeps pushing for him to play anywhere along the line, I believe good news could come sooner rather than later.

Making Moves with Maryland Visitors

Michigan hosted another very nice group of recruiting visitors this past weekend to watch the Wolverines dismantle another B1G program. That included some of the top names on the board, including a former commit and a four star receiver the staff looked to lock down during the trip.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the biggest visitors and how the trips went for them:

2017 Lee County (GA) DT Aubrey Solomon
- Solomon was one of the staff’s biggest recruiting wins over the summer after Michigan received his surprise commitment during his June unofficial visit to Ann Arbor. But that didn’t stick as it looked like his mother’s unfamiliarity with the program led to him leave the class. Well, making her familiar with the program, staff and university was the goal of this official and it looks like Michigan did that in bunches.
- Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz reported that Michigan “killed it” during the trip thanks to Solomon’s player host being Rashan Gary and Gary’s mother hitting it off with Solomon’s mom ($).
- Lorenz also put together some great intel on Michigan’s recruitment of Solomon’s mother and how momentum may have swung back towards UM ($).
- Both TMI’s Sam Webb and Allen Trieu were also hearing very positive things about Solomon’s trip ($).
- Webb broke down pretty much Solomon’s entire visit and which Michigan people were used to help sway him and his mother. And thanks to that, Michigan “is in this thing strong” ($).
- The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown was hearing things went so well on the trip that recommitting crossed through Solomon’s mind before deciding to hold off and ride out his recruitment ($).
- 247Sports’ Ryan Bartow caught up with Solomon after his trip and the big man had some extremely positive things to say. That included him saying “it would be hard to beat (Michigan)” and mentioning that Georgia’s taken their foot off the gas a bit ($).
  - For my take, I’ve taken my Crystal Ball off of Georgia and moved it to Cloudy. And I’m not too far from putting it back on the Wolverines. The staff has shown that they are never to be counted out with the players they want most and Solomon is obviously one of those players.
2017 Clay-Chalkville (AL) WR Nico Collins
- Collins made his way back to Ann Arbor for 5th time but, this time, for his official visit. And, like expected, things went extremely well and looks to still have every Michigan recruiting analyst feeling very confident about UM’s chances heading into the final stretch.
- According to The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown, people inside the program feel like Michigan is “way out front” for Collins ($).
- Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz is also hearing that it would be a “major upset” if Collins chooses anyone but Michigan ($).
- LandOf10’s Brandon Justice spoke with Collins after his visit, with the big receiver telling him his game day experience was the “greatest atmosphere” he’s ever seen.
  - It’s hard to bet against Michigan here. They’ve been the public favorite for months now. As long as nothing crazy happens, he should be donning the Maize and Blue on NSD.
2017 El Cerrito (CA) OL Aaron Banks
- Banks is a player that Michigan looked to (possibly) be leading for after his visit for the BBQ but things cooled off between the two parties during the fall. And even after the visit, things look to be up in the air between the two parties.
  - The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown believes things will cool off between Michigan and Banks after seeing him in person for the visit ($).
  - According to Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz, Michigan will likely continue to recruit Banks until his announcement, which is expected to take place in December, though he wasn’t hearing much on UM’s chances ($).
    - If I were a betting man, I’d go home. Banks could end up staying out west or possibly going to Notre Dame. All I know (or think I know) is that he won’t be signing with Michigan.
2017 Highland Springs (VA) OT Mekhi Becton
- Becton is a player I’ve been keeping tabs on for awhile now. At 6’7″+ 325lbs, he’s another mountain of a recruit that the staff wants to work with. And now it looks like they may have that chance.
  - The Wolverine’s Brandon Brown was all over this one. Soon after the trip he reported that not only was Becton a “take” for the staff but he nearly dropped during the trip ($).
  - Wolverine247’s Steve Lorenz is hearing very similar things as Brown, including Becton being a full blown “take” right now ($).
    - With Michigan’s offensive line board still full of legit options, I’m likely going to slow play this one in terms of a Crystal Ball prediction. I really like Becton’s potential but it’ll be interesting to see if he remains a take up until NSD.

Quick Hitters

2017 Pensacola (FL) OT Alex Leatherwood is easily one of Michigan’s top targets heading into the final stretch and things are starting to heat up even more thanks to a recent call from Leatherwood to the UM staff, according to TMI’s Sam Webb ($).
2017 Calabasas (CA) CB Darnay Holmes is another prioritized five star recruit for Michigan and, like Leatherwood, looks like he could actually end up in this class. Holmes spoke with Rivals’ Adam Gorney about his upcoming official visit for mid-December, saying that it could “be a momentum-changer” ($).
To go along with Holmes’ visit, Sam Webb is hearing that the December 10th visit could be another big visitors list ($), which may include the top in-state targets, with Donovan Peoples-Jones and Ambry Thomas being two top targets for the staff to get on campus.
According to multiple reports, 2017 IMG Academy (FL) C Cesar Ruiz is expected to announce his commitment on December 18th. I’d be absolutely shocked if he didn’t pick Michigan.

Photo Credit: Bryan Fuller/MGoBlog

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Garrett Fishaw

Marketing Manager and Communications Director by day, Owner and Managing Editor of MGoFish.com by night. Detroit resident. Played soccer and graduated from Seton Hill University.

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