Ambassador Long Already At Work
Jim Harbaugh called David Long a potential ambassador for the program, and that appears to be coming to fruition already. Five-star CA CB Darnay Holmes hasn't been mentioned much around here, but that's about to change, per 247's Steve Lorenz:
“Michigan is for sure moving up in things," Holmes told Huskers Illustrated analyst Mike Schaefer over the weekend. “Coach Jim Harbaugh is building a monster up there. My best friend David Long is going up there in June. Dylan Crawford is up there. A lot of California guys go up there. That shows Ann Arbor isn’t a bad place to go."
There are a few promising things to note here. Holmes plans to take an official visit to Ann Arbor in the fall. Long is quoted in the article saying Holmes is "like a blood brother," and he's been talking to both Holmes and his father about Michigan. Perhaps most tellingly, Holmes talked up Michigan to a Nebraska reporter.
Lorenz added a report today that provides a new layer of intrigue. Yesterday, Jim Harbaugh contacted Desean Holmes, Darnay's cousin and a 2015 four-star receiver who didn't enroll at San Diego State for personal reasons. Desean could visit soon, and if he winds up at Michigan, Lorenz "strongly believe[s]" that would move Michigan up Darnay's list. Desean could fill a major 2017 need with Chesson and Darboh outgoing and help deliver a five-star corner. Sounds good to me.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
2017 Updates: Wilson Sets Officials
Five-star NY OT Isaiah Wilsonannounced the five schools he'll take official visits to on his Twitter account yesterday: Georgia, Alabama, LSU, and USC join Michigan on the list.
The Wolverine's Brandon Justice, who's moving on up after an excellent run at Maize n Brew, caught up with four-star CA WDE Deonte "DJ" Johnson, who said Michigan is near the top of his very impressive list of offers:
Johnson is a 6-5, 240-pounder that has the Wolverines high on his radar.
"The level of play and family they have," Johnson said, regarding what stands out about the Maize and Blue to him. "They're near the top of my top-10 schools."
While Johnson doesn't have a campus visit set up yet, he'll be at the Sacramento satellite camp.
Allen Trieu's latest feature in the Detroit News is on the prospect who could very well be Michigan's next commit, four-star WDE Luiji Vilain. He gets a glowing evaluation in his writeup:
“First of all, he’s all of 6-foot-4, 240 pounds,” Scout analyst Michael Clark says. “He’s one of the more physically impressive guys you’ll see at the high school level. He’s chiseled, super athletic, moves well, gets after the passer and can also play sideline to sideline. He’s the complete package at defensive end and might even be able to play outside linebacker in some schemes, but he’ll play at 260-270 and the sky’s really the limit.”
Of note: Scout ranks Vilain about a hundred spots lower than any of the other recruiting sites. Vilain would be a heck of a pickup. Also of note: both Trieu and Sam Webb have issued gut feelings (or, in Trieu's case, his equivalent) that Vilain won't be the only early June commit for Michigan. This should be an eventful month.
Three-star Cass Tech CB Donovan Johnson told MLive he's still hoping for offers from Michigan and Michigan State. Michigan has enough corners on the board that a Wolverine offer would probably arrive late if one arrives at all; even though Johnson is a little undersized for their style, I'm surprised MSU hasn't extended one yet.
Yes, We're All Old
Michigan has offered 2017 three-star FL DE Robert Porcher IV, son of the Detroit Lions great. I guess this shouldn't alarm me as much as it did given Barry Sanders' son was in the class of 2012, but... yeah.
TMI's Brice Marich reports a couple of offers went out to big-time 2018 prospects. Top-50 SC SDE Stephon Wynn, a Clemson legacy, said he is "very" interested after receiving his Michigan offer, but also wasn't sure if he'd visit campus. Four-star CA WR Marquis Spikerlanded an offer from Jedd Fisch; he has family in Michigan and seems like a better bet to at least take a visit down the road.