The Best Players In Michigan...
...well, at the very least, they're getting offers from Michigan.
Tuesday's MSU game gave Michigan the opportunity to host several in-state prospects and dole out some offers. 2016 four-star Southfield RB Matt Falcon received one, though with Tennessee as his stated leader it'll be an uphill climb to gain his commitment, per MichiganPreps.com's Branden Hunter ($):
"It was pretty sweet seeing two quarterbacks on their way to the league. Something special," said Falcon. "I really enjoyed spending time with the coaching staff, and getting to know everyone and how they operate. I think Coach Harbaugh has his team headed in the right direction. He will do big things with the Wolverines. I could see myself playing there, but I don't know if that will happen. I still have to enjoy the process."
While there's plenty of time to catch up to Tennessee, the Vols are in strong position right now. Michigan should get more traction with a couple more offers from the evening. Three-star Farmington WR Desmond Fitzpatrick, a Louisville commit, grew up a Michigan fan, and his father told Allen Trieu that the offer meant a lot to him ($):
"As he got older," Fitzpatrick continued, "and watched the program struggle, it appeared those childhood feelings faded. When he received the offer last night, his reaction surprised me. He was a little emotional."
Fitzpatrick remains committed to Louisville, but it sounds like he's quite open to the possibility of playing closer to home. So is four-star Cass Tech DB Demetric Vance, who also added an offer Tuesday night, per GBW's Josh Newkirk ($):
“I was real excited,” Vance said of Michigan offer. “I really liked the coaching staff. They made really think I want to go there. It was just a good experience. For me to meet the new coaching staff, it seem liked I already knew them for so long. It feels good.”
Vance plans to decide after the summer. Michigan's main competition should be MSU, though Pitt and Tennessee are also involved. Vance's teammate, elite 2017 WR Donovan Peoples-Jones, could hardly talk when Harbaugh offered him, per The Wolverine's Brandon Brown ($):
"It happened at halftime of the basketball game," Peoples-Jones explained. "Coach [Jim] Harbaugh came and talked to me one on one and told me that I had a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan.
"I was honestly at a loss for words. I managed to say, 'Thank you coach, I really appreciate it.' It felt great to know that I could possibly be coached under a man with so much success."
Peoples-Jones is a national-level prospect and his recruitment could very well come down to a Michigan-OSU battle.
M also hosted a couple prospects already holding offers. 2016 Farmington Hills Harrison four-star DE Khalid Kareem is now seriously considering the Wolverines, his father told 247's Steve Wiltfong ($):
“It was amazing. It was a good atmosphere. It was my first time going up there with the new staff, and to be honest with you it was probably one of our best visits. We had the opportunity to get a lot of 1-on-1 time with Coach (Greg) Mattison and Coach (D.J.) Durkin. When we got there they kind of immediately gravitated towards us, ate with us, took us in the meeting room, watched film, saw how Khalid fit in their defense, different body types, things like that.
“It opened up his mind to the idea of playing for Michigan.”
Kareem previously committed to MSU for all of two days before his parents helped convince him it was too early to make a commitment. Let's hope this goes the way of Lawrence Marshall.
Rounding out the Cass Tech contingent was 2016 four-star OG/DT Michael Onwenu, who told 247's Steve Lorenz that the coaches were jokingly fighting over which side of the ball he'd play in Ann Arbor ($).
2016 Southfield LB Will Small self-reported an offer, but that's been refuted by multiple outlets.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
New Offers: Offense
Yes, Michigan is still handing out offers at such a rate that putting them all in one section is the first step in constructing the Great Wall of Text. I'll start with the offers for offensive prospects, and hopefully won't perish before reaching the defense.
Top-100 CA WR Steffon McKnight currently has a top five comprised of Pac 12 schools, but he told The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan that Michigan "can most definitely hop inside of my top five" after Jay Harbaugh recently extended an offer ($). He's considering using either an unofficial or official visit to check out Ann Arbor.
Not long after four-star CA OT Frank Martintold GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz he'd visit Michigan if they were to offer, the Wolverines came through with one, per Sullivan. Martin is getting a good deal of national attention. Tim Drevno recruited Martin while at USC, so he's got a prior connection with the current coaching staff.
Sullivan also reports that Michigan offered three-star TX OL Chris Owens, who holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, and Oklahoma.
Harbaugh didn't take long to start going after 2017 quarterbacks. Today, Michigan offered the first of them: CO QB Dylan McCaffrey, son of former Broncos WR Ed McCaffrey. So far McCaffrey's only other offer is from Colorado.
New Offers: Defensive Front Seven
Four-star TX DT Chris Daniels, who camped at Michigan back when he was a freshman, got the Wolverine offer he'd been waiting for, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($):
"I grew up a Michigan fan," he said. "You could say that they're the school I was waiting on an offer from. My mom's whole side of the family is still up in Michigan and I know they'll be excited to know that I have an offer to play for them. I'm definitely pumped about the possibility of playing for the Wolverines."
Daniels played his freshman year in Muskegon before moving to Texas, so there's a better shot here than normal for a highly touted Texas prospect. He's eyeing a summer visit.
Greg Mattison offered four-star TX DE Levi Onwuzurike, who's considering an unofficial this summer but is more likely to wait until he can take an official visit in the fall, per Sullivan ($).
The Wolverines are the latest to offer three-star IL DT Naquan Jones, who told Scout's Beth Long he'll visit Ann Arbor after he takes the ACT in a couple weeks ($). Jones has received recent offers from South Carolina and Kentucky, and he's been offered by most of the Big Ten.
Ascending four-star NC LB Julian Okwara tweeted Tuesday that he added a Michigan offer. The Wolverines also offered four-star CT LB Koby Quansah, who told MnB's Anthony Broome that he may take a visit later this month.
New Offers: Secondary
It's clear defensive back is a major priority in the 2016 class, as offers to secondary prospects continue to go out at a remarkable rate.
The headliner is five-star TX S Deontay Anderson, who told GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz it's an honor to be recruited by Harbaugh ($):
“I had one great conversation with Coach Harbaugh and then the defensive line coach and the defensive back coach like twice,” Anderson said.
“They’re great,” added Anderson,” and it’s a great honor to have Coach Harbaugh, who was in the NFL, for him to come to this school and recruit me. That’s a great feeling.”
He's considering a visit, though as one of the most sought-after prospects in the country, he'll be a very hard pull for Michigan.
Top-100 MS CB Nigel Knott can be safely considered a longshot due to being from the black hole that is Mississippi, but he told Lorenz that there's a Michigan connection for him ($):
Knott is seriously considering visiting Michigan sometime this spring or summer because of a chance visit his mother happened to make to the area in the past.
"I have aunts and uncles and cousins who live in Michigan," he said. "But my mom has seen Michigan's campus. It was only when I told her I was offered, so she didn't go into it in-depth yet, but she said it was a beautiful place and that I wouldn't want to leave after I visit there. The coaches told me the same thing, so I guess you could say I am interested in seeing it myself (laughs)."
Knott already boasts a who's-who offer sheet; just getting him on campus would be impressive. In that same vein: Michigan also offered top-100 TX CB Jared Mayden, per his Twitter.
Finally, M extended an offer to three-star VA S JJ Givens, who told Maize n Brew that the Wolverines are among the schools sticking out to him:
“At this moment the schools that are standing out are Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Notre Dame, along with Michigan," he said.
Givens has previous connections with fellow Virginians Wilton Speight and Derrick Green, which can't hurt.
Earlier today, the Wolverines offered three-star PA S Andrew Pryts, whose early offers from Alabama, Stanford, and Penn State suggest he might be better than his ranking.
Michigan offered a couple elite 2017 recruits who project to the secondary. VA five-star ATH Devon Hunter will have his choice of top programs, and Michigan's recruitment of his 2016 teammate could give them an edge, per Lorenz ($):
Hunter is current teammates with 2016 Top150 linebacker Jaquan Yulee, who was also offered by the Wolverines recently. The two have already been discussing a potential visit.
"Jaquan and I try to visit programs that we both hold offers from," he said. "Michigan was a school we were already talking about right after they offered him. Now that they've offered me, we're definitely working to get up there this summer."
Yulee told Sam Webb this week that Michigan had moved up in his top group, and he's looking to visit soon ($). It'd be quite a bonus if Hunter joined him.
M also offered 2017 five-star ATH Jeffrey Okudah, who told Lorenz it was a "surprise" to get one from them this early in the process ($). Okudah, like Hunter, projects to safety and has just about every school in the country in pursuit.