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Interest Level: Cold
Michigan offered four-star 2016 NC OT Landon Dickerson last week, per The Wolverine's Brandon Brown ($). As is the norm with a touted recruit hailing from south of the Mason-Dixon line, Michigan will not only have to overcome offers from several powerhouses, but also concerns about the weath-- wait, what?
Right now Dickerson is the No. 16 guard in the country and just a three-star prospect, but with an offer list that includes schools like Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, South Carolina, and Tennessee among others, his ranking is likely to get a boost. Still even with all of those high-profile offers, the Maize and Blue appeals to him.
"Geographically Michigan is probably a great place for me," he said with a laugh. "I'm a cold-weather kind of guy. I'm the guy that when it's 25° outside I don't have a shirt on and I'm in flip-flops. I don't think it could be any better geographically.
If you grew up in a place like Michigan, you not only know people like this exist, but that they're the exact type of person you want playing offensive line for your football team. Dickerson is a long way from making a decision, though he says Virginia Tech and Tennessee have stood out to him. If he wants to get that warm, fuzzy feeling of advanced hypothermia, however, he may seriously consider his new offer.
Dickerson isn't the only rising senior O-lineman to nab an offer of late. Three-star PA OT Johncarlo Valentin* added an offer last week, and he told TMI's Brice Marich he's already familiar with the program ($):
“They offered me after they watched me work out,” Valentin told The Michigan Insider. “I was overly excited. Not really did I see it coming. I am very interested in Michigan. I like everything about them.”
“I already have visited them. I was there last summer and it went wonderful. I do want to visit again, but I just don’t know when yet.”
Michigan joins Arizona State and Virginia Tech as significant offers on Valentin's list, and he's fielding interest from several other top programs. Valentin is high school teammates with one of M's top tight end targets, Naseir Upshur, and the two have spoken about playing together at the next level.
Michigan also offered 2017 four-star MD OT Jordan McNair, who told Marich he's "very interested" in the Wolverines ($).
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Enis Sets Visit
Three-star 2016 IN ATH Kiante Enis, a remarkably productive—as in, rushed for 3,189 yards and 49 touchdowns last season productive—running back and 10.53 100-meter dash speedster, has set a visit to Michigan for May 30th, per 247's Steve Lorenz. Enis added an offer this month, with Michigan looking at him at several different spots, according to his high school coach ($):
“I had a great conversation with Coach Fisch,” Jones said. “They love him. They think he can play immediately. They’re not sure where that would be. Running back would be where he started. They love him at safety and wide out and think he can do a lot of different things.
Enis won't be the only major visitor that weekend; Lorenz says five-star WI OT Ben Bredeson, three-star Paramus Catholic WR Donald Stewart, and 2017 four-star QB Dylan McCaffrey are also expected to be on campus.
In-State Junior Day Set
On the afternoon of June 2nd, Michigan will host a recruiting event for the nine in-state 2017 prospects currently holding offers; the junior day of sorts, which has been widely discussed without a confirmed date in recent weeks, will be the first of a few events focusing on top Michigan prospects, per Lorenz. The nine recruits with offers are:
- Five-star Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
- Four-star Oak Park OT JaRaymond Hall
- Four-star OLSM ILB Josh Ross
- Four-star Detroit King CB Ambry Thomas
- Four-star Cass Tech S Jaylen Kelly-Powell
- Four-star St. Joseph WDE Corey Malone-Hatcher
- Three-star OLSM WR KJ Hamler
- Three-star Brother Rice TE Carter Dunaway (Michigan commit)
- Unranked Warren De La Salle RB Allen Stritzinger
It's a strong class for the state in terms of top talent—I'm a big fan of both Hamler and Stritzinger, two of the lower-rated prospects (for now) on the list—and it's clear the coaches are making it a huge priority to lock down as much of it as they can.
Worth Monitoring
The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan made his way down to Alabama to talk to Michigan RB commit Kingston Davis, who's added some noteworthy offers—Florida and LSU chief among them—since his commitment. In a video interview, Davis told Sullivan that while he's firmly committed to Michigan, he plans to take visits to other schools, and he'll do so with permission from the coaching staff ($).
This is notable for a couple reasons. First, Michigan should probably keep an eye on Davis' commitment; with multiple other offers out to running backs, they won't be caught off-guard. Second, it appears Brady Hoke's no-visit policy is D-E-D dead. Discussion of it will not be missed.
Etc.
Four-star 2016 UT WR Simi Fehoko plans to make a decision "sooner rather than later," but first he "absolutely want[s] to visit Michigan" before making his choice, per Brandon Brown ($). Michigan is in his top five along with BYU, Stanford, Utah, and Washington.
Michigan made the top 12 for four-star 2016 CA DT Boss Tagaloa.
Happy trails to top-100 IL DE Josh King, who will choose between Michigan State, Penn State, and USC on June 6th, per 247's Steve Wiltfong. Michigan had consistently been mentioned among his top schools, but never seemed like a threat to land him.
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[*Or perhaps JonCarlo—there's a pre-fame Stauskasian inconsistency in how the services spell his first name, with Scout omitting the 'h'.]