Five-Star Planning Visit, Maybe Two?
2015 five-star CA CB Iman Marshall has mentioned Michigan as one of his planned official visit destinations. According to 247's Steve Lorenz, that's not the only visit to Ann Arbor in the works for the nation's #2 corner ($):
Yesterday, 247Sports National Analyst Ryan Bartow reported that Michigan is expected to receive an official visit from Long Beach (CA) Poly 2015 five-star cornerback Iman Marshall. Per his father, that will not be the only visit he will make to Ann Arbor as they are planning a late July visit.
"Yes, it's looking that way," the elder Marshall said. "It'll be a dead period between school and football after the Opening. That will be a perfect time for us to visit Ann Arbor."
Marshall is reportedly in frequent contact with freshman receiver Freddy Canteen; they worked out together during the offseason and struck up a friendship. It's obviously huge news that Marshall plans to pay his own way to visit campus next month.
In looking at Bartow's original report($) and a free Scout article on Marshall posted on Saturday, however, I'm a little skeptical the original planned official is set to go—when asked about which schools he plans to use officials on, he mentioned Florida State and Notre Dame, but not Michigan. That's not to say he doesn't plan on taking one, just that it isn't set in stone yet. Regardless, the planned July unofficial is a big deal.
The Latest On KLS
Five-star CA WDE Keisean Lucier-Southreleased a top 11 over the weekend; as expected, Michigan made the cut. KLS told Lorenz that he talks to Michigan "almost every day," and he's already hearing the U-M recruiting pitch from their latest 2015 commit ($):
"I hear from Alex (Malzone) and Darrin (Kirkland) almost every day," he said. "Chris Clark got in touch with me only a couple hours after he committed. I hear from Garrett Taylor quite a bit too. I know most of their guys will be at the Opening, so I'm looking forward to meeting them in a few weeks. We'll also all be taking our official visit the week of the Penn State game, so I'll get to spend some time with them then as well."
Clark wasn't kidding about wanting to get a jump start on recruiting before The Opening.
While KLS has called Michigan his "dream school" at times in his recruitment, UCLA is thought to be the team to beat, and after a recent trip to that other school in Los Angeles, another in-state threat looms, per Rivals' Adam Gorney ($):
"I'm starting to like SC a lot," Lucier-South said. "I'm feeling the vibe. It's kind of like the old SC when Pete Carroll was there.
"I think coach Sark is doing a really good job with the program and I especially like the d-line coach, coach Wilson. He's a great guy and he used to coach in Georgia and do big things so I really like SC right now."
While KLS told Lorenz that U-M "will be in it the entire way," it won't be easy to pull him from his home state.
Other 2015 Updates: Michigan, ND "Neck And Neck" For Bilal
Four-star IN LB Asmar Bilal entered his weekend unofficial to Michigan with Notre Dame at the top of his list. Per 247's Steve Wiltfong, he left with Notre Dame in the same position, but with new company ($):
The decision-making process just got more difficult for the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Bilal, who would like to have his mind made up before the fall.
He says Michigan is neck and neck with the Irish moving forward.
“They’re both, I’m juggling with both right now,” Bilal said. “They both have a good academic program and good football program.
Bilal wants to make a decision before the fall, and he doesn't have any other visits scheduled right now, so this looks like a two-team battle, and U-M may have the momentum.
Michigan made a top group of six schools for four-star TX WR AD Miller, but they've got work to do to land an eventual commitment, per Rivals' Jason Howell ($):
"I'm favoring Miami, Arizona State, Cal, Michigan, Ohio State, and Illinois, and I'm leaning towards those schools because they all give me an opportunity to play early, they all have great coaching staffs, and I get along with all the coaches, and I feel like all the academic standards are at a high level," Miller said. "They're good programs."
Three of those programs have begun to separate from the others.
"Yeah schools starting to take that lead are probably Miami, Illinois, and Cal," Miller said.
Yes, I also did a double-take at "Illinois".
Per TomVH, four-star Washington (DC) Gonzaga athlete Marcus Lewis, a Florida commit, plans to visit Michigan next month. He's listed in various places as a wideout, corner, and safety—I assume U-M would want him at corner to replace Shaun Crawford.
2016 Updates: Leads Don't Always Last
The last recruiting roundup contained the encouraging news that blue-chip 2016 OH OT Liam Eichenberg named Michigan as his leader after camping in Ann Arbor. That lead turned out to be short-lived:
2016 OT Liam Eichenberg just told ISD that after camping at #notredame yesterday, the Irish are his new leader. The reason? Harry Hiestand.
— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) June 22, 2014
Hiestand is ND's O-line coach, FWIW.
Per Steve Lorenz, Michigan is set to host a four-star receiver whose name I'm just gonna copy-and-paste, if you don't mind:
Suwanee (GA) North Gwinnett 2016 four-star wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe has set a visit date to see Michigan, he tells me.
"I am planning on visiting on the 24th of June right now," he said. "I will be visiting with my brother and mother."
Imatorbhebhe received an offer back in May.
247 updated their 2016 rankings. Tackle commit Erik Swenson moved up two spots to #231, while Messiah deWeaver climbed five spots to #238.
Happy trails to the nation's #1 overall 2016 recruit, TX OT Greg Little, who committed to Texas A&M.