Nico Collins Update: M Still #1
Another week, another positive Nico Collins update. This time, the top-100 receiver from Alabama told AL.com that Michigan still leads for him. Collins has built a rapport with Dylan McCaffrey, who's targeting Collins with both passes and recruiting pitches:
McCaffrey and Collins are on Team Alpha Pro at The Opening with more targets that the Wolverines are after. The two have thrown together plenty in the first two days of competition.
"Every day we're up here, he's having a conversation with me about Michigan," Collins said. "We were walking through the headquarters and we saw some Jordans. He said, 'You'll get these every day if you come to Michigan.' It's just the little stuff. We're getting to know each other out here, running routes."
McCaffrey has put on his recruiting hat at The Opening; 247's Isaiah Hole reports he's also working onDonovan Peoples-Jones and four-star CA TE Josh Falo—that is, when he's not dealing with the perils of being a McCaffrey:
But being in the shadow of Christian McCaffrey has its...challenges, the younger McCaffrey says.
"I have plenty of girls asking me, talking to me--cute girls--and they'll be like, 'Hey! Can you introduce me to your brother?'"
Chin up, kid. Michigan quarterbacks have done okay in that regard.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Ambry Thomas Drops A Hint
247's Steve Wiltfong caught up with four-star MI CB Ambry Thomas, who mentioned Arizona, Notre Dame, Pitt, and Florida as schools he's hearing from in addition to the two in-state programs before going into detail on the latest between him and Michigan:
"I'm starting to understand their defense more every time I get up there," he said of Don Brown's schemes. "It's going real smooth with them. Me and JD (Jourdan Lewis) have gotten some work in on the field. We talked about what they've been learning up there."
Wiltfong mentioned in the comments that he's feeling "more confident than ever" that Thomas will wind up at Michigan. When Scout asked a number of prospects about the renewal of the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry, Thomas appeared to give a strong indication of where he's leaning:
“I like it a lot, actually. Most likely I’ll be looking forward to that game a lot.” – Notre Dame and Michigan safety target Ambry Thomas
I like that a lot.
Wiltfong also talked to Donovan Peoples-Jones, who continues to play it coy regarding any leaders; he did mention a few schools he's looking to see on official visits:
Peoples-Jones answered about potential official visits.
“USC, Florida, Florida State, some of the farther schools that aren’t as close to because I can get to Michigan and Michigan State and Ohio State any time.”
Peoples-Jones plans to enroll early. Michigan still holds the majority of his Crystal Ball picks.
The Opening Updates: Bama On Top For Ruiz
With the finals of The Opening underway, a lot of updates are coming out on top-tier prospects. Unfortunately, not all of them contain good news for Michigan. Four-star IMG C Cesar Ruiz, Michigan's top target at center, told 247's Hank South that Alabama has overtaken Michigan as his favorite school, though he left open the possibility for them to flip again:
While the Wolverines are no longer on top, Jim Harbaugh and staff aren't going anywhere in Ruiz's recruitment.
"Michigan will push Alabama the most," Ruiz said.
This is why the hand-wringing after Michigan took commitments from Andrew Stueber and Joel Honigford was unnecessary; even though M is in good standing with several top-100 O-line prospects, they're all from out of state, and it's tough to assume recruitments won't change shape over the course of several months.
The aforementioned four-star TE Josh Falo told Scout he'll take an upcoming visit to Michigan and Alabama; he's already been to Oregon, Texas A&M, UCLA, and USC this spring.
Nebraska and UCLA are the two schools out in front for five-star CA CB Darnay Holmes, who told 247's Alex Gleitman he'll take officials to Nebraska, Michigan, and Ohio State. Those schools have time to make up ground; Holmes doesn't plan to announce his decision until the Army AA game.
Four-star GA DE Malik Herring, a strong Georgia lean who didn't include Michigan in a recently released top seven, told 247's Ryan Bartow he plans to take an official to Ann Arbor. It doesn't seem like much will come of that.
We Interrupt This Recruiting Roundup For BOUNCE
#Michigan commit O'maury Samuels just vertical jumped 44.3 inches!
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) July 8, 2016
Michigan commit A.J. Dillon vertical jumped 38.2 inches
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) July 8, 2016
We now return you to your regularly scheduled recruiting roundup.
Yoink Watch 2017
Michigan is in the mix for a number of prospects committed to other schools. Foremost on that list is five-star FL OT Alex Leatherwood, who told 247's Hank South that he plans to take an official visit to Michigan, though the Wolverines have a couple other programs to catch before the Tide:
A pair of programs are neck and neck behind the Crimson Tide.
“Right now it’s tied between SC and Florida,” Leatherwood said.
Florida has long been considered the Tide’s top competition in holding onto the elite tackle’s commitment.
Let's go ahead and call that a relative longshot.
According to The Wolverine's Brandon Justice, Michigan could get a summer visit from five-star FL CB Shaun Wade, one of Ohio State's top-ranked commits:
"I'm trying to get up there for the BBQ at the Big House," he said. "I'm just trying to figure out the travel plans."
Wade mentioned commit Chase Lasater, his high school teammate, is pushing for him to make that trip.
The Crootin Quote of the Week comes from four-star CA DE Hunter Echols, a UCLA commit who visited Michigan and Notre Dame last month:
“I could definitely see myself at Notre Dame in South Bend or Ann Arbor,” said Echols. “I’m solid with UCLA though. Right now, there isn’t any better place than UCLA.”
Finally, four-star MS OLB and Ole Miss commit Willie Gay told Scout he plans to take an official to Michigan.
Etc.
2018 five-star PA DE Micah Parsons, a Penn State commit, told Maize n Brew he'll visit Ann Arbor for the BBQ at the Big House on August 6th, and he's open to the possibility of flipping his commitment. It sure doesn't sound like he's solid with PSU:
“I was caught up in the moment,” the defensive lineman said regarding his early commitment. “I believe in James Franklin bringing winnings seasons back and I wanted to help. It is close to home. I could have enjoyed more of the process.”
2017 three-star OLB James Houston, who hails from the same Florida high school as Kai-Leon Herbert and TJ Slaton, is also looking at visiting for the BBQ, per TMI's Brice Marich.
The top-ranked receiver in 2018, Los Angeles Hawkins WR Jalen Hall, told 247's Ryan Bartow he's still wide open in his recruitment, but did mention that "the whole school was a good vibe" when he visited Michigan over the summer.