A Very Short Week
Many of us are returning to work after a long weekend, but one Michigan target will have an even shorter week than most. Three-star NJ OL Will Fries is taking a two-day unofficial visit to Michigan today and tomorrow, per Scout's Brian Dohn ($). Dohn considers this a huge visit for Fries; if all goes well, he could see Fries' recruitment wrapping up soon after the trip. The main competition for Michigan appears to be Penn State and Rutgers, with Northwestern and Duke also factors—Fries has maintained, and his top schools show, that academics are very important in his recruitment. That should help Michigan's chances as Fries gets his first look at campus this week.
Michigan may also get one last shot at impressing four-star Indiana prospects DE Auston Robertson and WR Austin Mack this weekend. Robertson has Michigan in his top three along with Michigan State (the heavy favorite) and Notre Dame, and he told TMI's Josh Newkirk about his tentative visit plans ($):
"Going to Michigan changed the whole game," he said. "It was better than what I expected. They just popped in my top-three right then and there. I got a pretty good relationship with some of the coaches down there. I might go down there on May 30th with Austin Mack. But I'm not sure yet. But I am trying to get to all three of the colleges before I commit. I'm also trying to bring my mom there so she can potentially see where I am going to play at the next level.
If Robertson makes the trip—and, critically, if his mother accompanies him—then Michigan has an outside shot at surpassing their in-state rivals. There's less optimism with regards to Mack, who's long been considered an Ohio State lock; he's even rumored to be a silent Buckeye commit. Both prospects will announce their decision on June 7th, so it's now or never for the Wolverines to make a move.
One confirmed visitor for this weekend is top-50 2017 CO QB Dylan McCaffrey, who'll fly in on Friday and stay until Sunday, per 247's Steve Lorenz ($). McCaffrey is a Stanford legacy—both his father, former Denver Broncos receiver Ed McCaffrey, and his brother Christian chose the Cardinal—but thus far they haven't joined Michigan, Penn State, Colorado, UCLA, and Duke in offering him.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Gary Sets Visits
Last Thursday's roundup featured a lengthy section on #1 overall 2016 prospect Rashan Gary and his tentative plans to visit Michigan in June accompanied by his mother. The Paramus Catholic defensive tackle has set that and several other visits, per 247's Michael Foti ($):
As for their upcoming plans, Gary and his mother will be taking a return trip down South in about 3 weeks. They will visit Ole Miss on June 11th, Alabama on June 12th, and Auburn on June 13th. Following those visits, Gary will return home to New Jersey to finish school on June 23rd. They won't have much down time as they'll be making a trip North on June 25th with plans to hit Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. It's possible that a visit to Maryland may be squeezed in, although Gary's mother may make that trip by herself.
Talks of visiting schools west of the Mississippi are on hold for now; it's easy to glean from the comments of Gary's mother that she'd prefer him to stay closer to home. Gary plans to take all five of his official visits before deciding at the Under Armour All-American Game, so there's a long way to go here.
Checking In On California
One gets the impression the satellite camp loophole isn't long for this world, but it sure could pay dividends for Michigan while it's still on the books. The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan caught up with five-star CA OLB Caleb Kelly, who'll attend the Michigan camp in his hometown of Fresno, the sole purpose of which is totallynot to recruit Caleb Kelly ($):
"They're having one of their satellite camps in Fresno, I feel like it's basically just for me," he added with a laugh. "They're coming down, and I'll be out there hanging out with all the coaches. It was crazy how it happened too, because I told them, 'you should have a camp in Fresno,' and they were basically like, 'let's do it' when we were out there. It was cool how it came about. It is special to have all those coaches come."
Okay, maybe a little bit.
Four-star CA OLB Camilo Eifler told Scout's Brandon Huffman that Cal, Michigan, Oregon, UCLA, and Washington are the schools currently standing out to him ($). Oregon is a recent addition after offering a couple weeks ago.
Rivals' Adam Gorney caught up with top-100 CA ATH Jack Jones to discuss his recent Texas A&M offer, but the most interesting tidbit regards which school is standing out to Jones ($):
The Poly two-way standout said he remains open to all programs but admits Michigan does stand out in his recruitment.
The article also mentioned Jones won't name any leaders at the moment, but this isn't the only indication Jones is a serious contender to end up in the class—247's Texas A&M reporter, Brian Perroni, made an out-of-the-blue Crystal Ball pick for Michigan and told Steve Lorenz that Jones "raved about Michigan" when they'd spoken with each other ($). Most expect Jones to end up at USC, but the Trojans recently picked up Josh Imatorbhebhe at wide receiver and are in on several other top prospects at the position; if Jones extends the process—and he plans to take officials—then USC may not have a spot for him.
New Offers
Michigan offered three-star 2016 Canadian WR Chase Claypool last week, and Tim Sullivan reports Claypool has tentative plans to visit, despite hailing from British Columbia. Claypool boasts a few impressive offers, including Oregon, and you can see him dominate his competition in the video above.
Michigan's other recent 2016 offer also went to a wideout, four-star Florida prospect Freddie Swain, per 247's Ryan Bartow.
A few offers went out to underclassmen, including five-star WA OT Foster Sarell, who added Michigan to his list when Jay Harbaugh dropped by his school last week, per TMI's Brice Marich ($). Four-star 2017 WA OT Henry Bainivalu and 2018 OK OT Brey Walker also picked up offers, perSullivan.
Etc.
Michigan and Stanford are the top two schools for four-star MD OT Devery Hamilton, per Scout's Dave Lomonico ($). Hamilton wants to make a decision before the season, which bodes well for Michigan's chances; he's already visited Ann Arbor and Palo Alto.
Michigan made the top ten for four-star TX DT Chris Daniels.
Happy trails to three-star TX OG Tope Imade and three-star MI OG Cameron Kolwich, who committed to Texas and Northwestern, respectively.