The latest on football and recruiting to go with this morning's ITF HOOPS EXTRA ...
Michigan feels like it is in a great spot with Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East four-star athlete AJ Henning and for good reason. The 5-10, 183-pounder has been viewed as one of Michigan’s top offensive targets in the 2020 cycle for some time and he’s being treated that way. Not only is Henning receiving a lot of attention from the Michigan coaches, some of U-M’s most vocal and high profile commits are also targeting the No. 2 player in Illinois.
The U-M staff was all in for Port Huron (Mich.) Northern three-star strongside defensive end Braiden McGregor and as soon as he committed, he mentioned how he is going to be all in for Henning. When asked who he was going to recruit, McGregor did not hesitate to name Henning first. It was more of the same when Belleville (Mich.) High four-star cornerback Andre Seldon was asked who he wanted to bring with him to Ann Arbor. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, fellow Illinoisan and friend JJ McCarthy is working extremely hard on Henning. McCarthy and Henning were in Ann Arbor together with the 2021 quarterback committed to the Wolverines and immediately Henning started thinking about what life would be like in Ann Arbor with McCarthy.
Some close to the situation think that Michigan is definitely the team to beat for Henning’s services. Others still believe it’s Notre Dame that has the edge. It does feel like it’ll be one of those two schools for Henning, with Ohio State and Stanford in the mix as well. The Wolverines seem to have more working in their favor right now, but Henning is doing a good job at keeping his deepest thoughts to himself.
June 21 is shaping up to be an absolutely massive visit weekend. The Wolverines staff is going to be hosting several official visitors as well as a ton of unofficial visitors. Current Wolverine commit expect their class to grow that weekend and a few prospects are perhaps more likely than others.
Henning will be in Ann Arbor that weekend for an official visit but he doesn’t quite seem like he’ll be ready to pull the trigger yet. Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic four-star safety Jordan Morant, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall Campus four-star outside linebacker William Mohan and Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal 2021 safety Bryce Steele all should be watched closely, however. None of the three have said that they’ll be on commit watch over that weekend necessarily, but Michigan is believe to be leading for all three and stellar visits combined with the vibe they get around commits and the staff could result in any or all of them getting the itch.
Morant has an absolutely loaded offer list of more than 30 tenders including from Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State and more and would be the biggest coup of the group. Mohan has 14 offers from some pretty big programs including Miami, Nebraska and Ohio State among others and would be a great get for the Wolverines because of how well he fits the viper mold. Steele is just a rising junior but even he already has double digit offers from schools like Nebraska, Notre Dame and Penn State among others. He would be another great addition to a class that is already off to a great start with McCarthy and Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson offensive tackle Giovanni El-Hadi, who will both be four stars when the initial 2021 rankings come out.
Finally, a little more information on the tight end picture in the 2020 class. As we’ve already been reporting it seems like San Antonio (Texas) San Antonio Christian four-star tight end Nick Patterson is looking around. As more time has passed we’re now quite confident that Patterson’s verbal commitment to Michigan is waning in a big way. That’s also evidence by a few new offers going out to tight ends in the 2020 class.
Over the past week, tight ends coach Sherrone Moore has offered two more tight ends that could potentially fill the expected two spots in the 2020 group. The first went to Southlake (Texas) Carroll three-star Blake Smith, a converted quarterback. The 6-5, 240-pounder is nearing 30 offers after getting extremely hot on the recruiting trail this spring. All of the big boys want him and Michigan is squarely in that mix. Just four days after offering Smith, Michigan made the cut as a part of his loaded top ten. Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, N.C. State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Washington will now battle it out for his services. He’s already been bonding very well with Moore and hopes to study business in college. Both of those are big pluses for the Wolverines.
The most recent offer to a tight end happened just yesterday when Moore extended one to Burke (Va.) Lake Braddock three-star Matt Hibner. The 6-4, 228-pounder really impressed Moore during a recent evaluation visit and now feels like a very realistic target for the Wolverines. The Virginia native is hoping to check out Michigan in a little over a week but doesn’t quite have those plans finalized yet. He’s also bonding with Moore in a hurry and would like to study business.
Both tight ends feel like very real targets for Moore and Michigan but likely check in behind Windsor (Ontario) Holy Names four-star Theo Johnson and perhaps Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder three-star Joe Royer as well in terms of their position on the recruiting big board. However it shakes out, it looks like Patterson will be out and at least one of the four previously mentioned tight ends might be in at some point.
More recruiting ...
Baltimore St. Frances running back Blake Corum is not only one of Michigan’s top backfield targets in the entire 2020 class, but one of their top targets overall. He is arguably No. 1 on their list among running backs — along with Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep four-star Jalen Berger — and reciprocated the love recently when he provided an update on where the Wolverines stand in his recruitment.
“Michigan is the top choice for me,” he revealed. “They’re in my top five with LSU, but I’m not sure yet who the other three are because I haven’t taken all my visits.”
Corum explained that Michigan currently stands so high on his list because of the relationship he’s built with several of the coaches, along with the offensive transition under Josh Gattis.
“Coach Jay Harbaugh is recruiting me extremely hard right now, and we have such a good connection,” he revealed. “We talk at least twice a week, and he’s just an all-around down to earth good guy. I’ve spoken with Coach Jim Harbaugh a few times as well, along with their offensive line coach [Ed Warinner] and the strength and conditioning coach [Ben Herbert] — he’s super intense, but I’m all about intensity. Michigan has obviously been doing pretty well under him and a lot of that comes from what they’ve been doing in the weight room.
“I feel like I could really fit into their offense with Coach Gattis there now and the different types of sets he’s running. I’ve actually talked to him a lot since they hired him, because I’ve known him since I was in eighth grade when he was at Penn State. He tells me how he’d use me out of the backfield, and how he wants to run the inside and outside zone. He also says he wants to get me the ball in space and that I’d fit perfectly in their spread offense. I like that Michigan is moving to a spread because it will allow them to do so many more things and yet still be effective. It will also keep defenses on their toes.”
Two of Corum’s teammates at St. Frances — four-star linebacker Osman Savage and three-star offensive tackle Micah Mazzccua — are actually already committed to Michigan, and the running back admitted they’ve both been in his ear about the Maize and Blue.
“They’re recruiting me hard every day,” Corum laughed. “They’re trying their best to get me to go to Michigan. Micah is on me harder, since I’m a running back and he’s an offensive lineman. We live in a house at school together so we’re always around each other, and he just talks about how he could continue blocking for me in college as well. It won’t be much of a factor though, because I just have to do whatever fits me best. I guess them trying to convince me might play a small role, but that’s about it.
“Coach [Biff] Poggi actually talks to me about Michigan as well. He explains how I could succeed there both athletically and academically, and how it would be a great choice for me. He also makes it clear I should go wherever I fit in best though.”
Corum revealed he will be back on Michigan’s campus for an official visit sometime in June, and that he doesn’t yet have a final decision date in mind.
****
A football note ...
Iowa sources reached out last night to let us know that receiver Oliver Martin was leaning toward putting his name in the transfer portal, and that this time the Iowa coaches were made aware. We have not confirmed this, but this is not the first time this has been brought up. Folks in Iowa (on this board) said Martin is torn between his commitment and love for the U-M program and wanting to play more. As you all know, Michigan has several talented receivers.
We'll see where this one goes, and we clearly hope Martin sticks it out.
****
Finally, a few more basketball notes ...
Another impeccable source told us since this morning's ITF HOOPS EXTRA that German Franz Wagner is "very much in play." We'll continue to follow that one closely in addition to Oakland U. transfer Javein Cumberland. The shooting guard was considering Cincinnati ... since then, the Bearcats have gotten his cousin, Jarron Cumberland, back and signed two other guards for 2019.
On recruiting, Rivals.com national basketball recruiting analyst Corey Evans recently discussed how he thinks Juwan Howard will perform on the recruiting trail during his time at Michigan, and provided some insight on the areas he’ll hit hardest and a few specific targets he may pursue in 2020.
Evans first answered whether or not he thinks Howard will hit the ground running or whether it’ll take some time to win recruits over first.
“It heavily depends on who he hires on his coaching staff,” the analyst noted. “Next year is null and void — it’ll be impossible to do it in this 2019 class. If they can hire the right guys, it probably still won’t be a Penny Hardaway type of class that’s No. 1 in America, but I think he can pull in a top-25 class in 2020.”
As for the specific areas and players Howard may target:
“Chicago is trending upward right now,” Evans said. “It has been somewhat down the last few years, and that’s why you saw a program like Illinois struggle. Juwan’s son, Jace, is playing with the Mac Irvin Fire travel program this summer and is teammates with Adam Miller, a top-35 guard out of Morgan Park.
“I think he automatically becomes one of the top guys in 2020 for Michigan. Will they get back involved with Micah Peavy, who they were one of the top programs for? I think Chicago definitely will be a priority for Michigan from here on out.”
Evans also gave his take on how he thinks Howard’s teams will perform on the court at Michigan.
“They’re going to take a step back next year with who they’re losing and not a whole lot coming in,” he said. “I think Juwan can coach though, even though he’s never had a great chance to do so. He’s a pretty polished character and the kids will play for him. His voice still resonates and I think Michigan will do pretty well under him.”
Michigan feels like it is in a great spot with Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East four-star athlete AJ Henning and for good reason. The 5-10, 183-pounder has been viewed as one of Michigan’s top offensive targets in the 2020 cycle for some time and he’s being treated that way. Not only is Henning receiving a lot of attention from the Michigan coaches, some of U-M’s most vocal and high profile commits are also targeting the No. 2 player in Illinois.
The U-M staff was all in for Port Huron (Mich.) Northern three-star strongside defensive end Braiden McGregor and as soon as he committed, he mentioned how he is going to be all in for Henning. When asked who he was going to recruit, McGregor did not hesitate to name Henning first. It was more of the same when Belleville (Mich.) High four-star cornerback Andre Seldon was asked who he wanted to bring with him to Ann Arbor. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, fellow Illinoisan and friend JJ McCarthy is working extremely hard on Henning. McCarthy and Henning were in Ann Arbor together with the 2021 quarterback committed to the Wolverines and immediately Henning started thinking about what life would be like in Ann Arbor with McCarthy.
Some close to the situation think that Michigan is definitely the team to beat for Henning’s services. Others still believe it’s Notre Dame that has the edge. It does feel like it’ll be one of those two schools for Henning, with Ohio State and Stanford in the mix as well. The Wolverines seem to have more working in their favor right now, but Henning is doing a good job at keeping his deepest thoughts to himself.
June 21 is shaping up to be an absolutely massive visit weekend. The Wolverines staff is going to be hosting several official visitors as well as a ton of unofficial visitors. Current Wolverine commit expect their class to grow that weekend and a few prospects are perhaps more likely than others.
Henning will be in Ann Arbor that weekend for an official visit but he doesn’t quite seem like he’ll be ready to pull the trigger yet. Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic four-star safety Jordan Morant, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall Campus four-star outside linebacker William Mohan and Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal 2021 safety Bryce Steele all should be watched closely, however. None of the three have said that they’ll be on commit watch over that weekend necessarily, but Michigan is believe to be leading for all three and stellar visits combined with the vibe they get around commits and the staff could result in any or all of them getting the itch.
Morant has an absolutely loaded offer list of more than 30 tenders including from Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State and more and would be the biggest coup of the group. Mohan has 14 offers from some pretty big programs including Miami, Nebraska and Ohio State among others and would be a great get for the Wolverines because of how well he fits the viper mold. Steele is just a rising junior but even he already has double digit offers from schools like Nebraska, Notre Dame and Penn State among others. He would be another great addition to a class that is already off to a great start with McCarthy and Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson offensive tackle Giovanni El-Hadi, who will both be four stars when the initial 2021 rankings come out.
Finally, a little more information on the tight end picture in the 2020 class. As we’ve already been reporting it seems like San Antonio (Texas) San Antonio Christian four-star tight end Nick Patterson is looking around. As more time has passed we’re now quite confident that Patterson’s verbal commitment to Michigan is waning in a big way. That’s also evidence by a few new offers going out to tight ends in the 2020 class.
Over the past week, tight ends coach Sherrone Moore has offered two more tight ends that could potentially fill the expected two spots in the 2020 group. The first went to Southlake (Texas) Carroll three-star Blake Smith, a converted quarterback. The 6-5, 240-pounder is nearing 30 offers after getting extremely hot on the recruiting trail this spring. All of the big boys want him and Michigan is squarely in that mix. Just four days after offering Smith, Michigan made the cut as a part of his loaded top ten. Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, N.C. State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Washington will now battle it out for his services. He’s already been bonding very well with Moore and hopes to study business in college. Both of those are big pluses for the Wolverines.
The most recent offer to a tight end happened just yesterday when Moore extended one to Burke (Va.) Lake Braddock three-star Matt Hibner. The 6-4, 228-pounder really impressed Moore during a recent evaluation visit and now feels like a very realistic target for the Wolverines. The Virginia native is hoping to check out Michigan in a little over a week but doesn’t quite have those plans finalized yet. He’s also bonding with Moore in a hurry and would like to study business.
Both tight ends feel like very real targets for Moore and Michigan but likely check in behind Windsor (Ontario) Holy Names four-star Theo Johnson and perhaps Cincinnati (Ohio) Elder three-star Joe Royer as well in terms of their position on the recruiting big board. However it shakes out, it looks like Patterson will be out and at least one of the four previously mentioned tight ends might be in at some point.
More recruiting ...
Baltimore St. Frances running back Blake Corum is not only one of Michigan’s top backfield targets in the entire 2020 class, but one of their top targets overall. He is arguably No. 1 on their list among running backs — along with Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep four-star Jalen Berger — and reciprocated the love recently when he provided an update on where the Wolverines stand in his recruitment.
“Michigan is the top choice for me,” he revealed. “They’re in my top five with LSU, but I’m not sure yet who the other three are because I haven’t taken all my visits.”
Corum explained that Michigan currently stands so high on his list because of the relationship he’s built with several of the coaches, along with the offensive transition under Josh Gattis.
“Coach Jay Harbaugh is recruiting me extremely hard right now, and we have such a good connection,” he revealed. “We talk at least twice a week, and he’s just an all-around down to earth good guy. I’ve spoken with Coach Jim Harbaugh a few times as well, along with their offensive line coach [Ed Warinner] and the strength and conditioning coach [Ben Herbert] — he’s super intense, but I’m all about intensity. Michigan has obviously been doing pretty well under him and a lot of that comes from what they’ve been doing in the weight room.
“I feel like I could really fit into their offense with Coach Gattis there now and the different types of sets he’s running. I’ve actually talked to him a lot since they hired him, because I’ve known him since I was in eighth grade when he was at Penn State. He tells me how he’d use me out of the backfield, and how he wants to run the inside and outside zone. He also says he wants to get me the ball in space and that I’d fit perfectly in their spread offense. I like that Michigan is moving to a spread because it will allow them to do so many more things and yet still be effective. It will also keep defenses on their toes.”
Two of Corum’s teammates at St. Frances — four-star linebacker Osman Savage and three-star offensive tackle Micah Mazzccua — are actually already committed to Michigan, and the running back admitted they’ve both been in his ear about the Maize and Blue.
“They’re recruiting me hard every day,” Corum laughed. “They’re trying their best to get me to go to Michigan. Micah is on me harder, since I’m a running back and he’s an offensive lineman. We live in a house at school together so we’re always around each other, and he just talks about how he could continue blocking for me in college as well. It won’t be much of a factor though, because I just have to do whatever fits me best. I guess them trying to convince me might play a small role, but that’s about it.
“Coach [Biff] Poggi actually talks to me about Michigan as well. He explains how I could succeed there both athletically and academically, and how it would be a great choice for me. He also makes it clear I should go wherever I fit in best though.”
Corum revealed he will be back on Michigan’s campus for an official visit sometime in June, and that he doesn’t yet have a final decision date in mind.
****
A football note ...
Iowa sources reached out last night to let us know that receiver Oliver Martin was leaning toward putting his name in the transfer portal, and that this time the Iowa coaches were made aware. We have not confirmed this, but this is not the first time this has been brought up. Folks in Iowa (on this board) said Martin is torn between his commitment and love for the U-M program and wanting to play more. As you all know, Michigan has several talented receivers.
We'll see where this one goes, and we clearly hope Martin sticks it out.
****
Finally, a few more basketball notes ...
Another impeccable source told us since this morning's ITF HOOPS EXTRA that German Franz Wagner is "very much in play." We'll continue to follow that one closely in addition to Oakland U. transfer Javein Cumberland. The shooting guard was considering Cincinnati ... since then, the Bearcats have gotten his cousin, Jarron Cumberland, back and signed two other guards for 2019.
On recruiting, Rivals.com national basketball recruiting analyst Corey Evans recently discussed how he thinks Juwan Howard will perform on the recruiting trail during his time at Michigan, and provided some insight on the areas he’ll hit hardest and a few specific targets he may pursue in 2020.
Evans first answered whether or not he thinks Howard will hit the ground running or whether it’ll take some time to win recruits over first.
“It heavily depends on who he hires on his coaching staff,” the analyst noted. “Next year is null and void — it’ll be impossible to do it in this 2019 class. If they can hire the right guys, it probably still won’t be a Penny Hardaway type of class that’s No. 1 in America, but I think he can pull in a top-25 class in 2020.”
As for the specific areas and players Howard may target:
“Chicago is trending upward right now,” Evans said. “It has been somewhat down the last few years, and that’s why you saw a program like Illinois struggle. Juwan’s son, Jace, is playing with the Mac Irvin Fire travel program this summer and is teammates with Adam Miller, a top-35 guard out of Morgan Park.
“I think he automatically becomes one of the top guys in 2020 for Michigan. Will they get back involved with Micah Peavy, who they were one of the top programs for? I think Chicago definitely will be a priority for Michigan from here on out.”
Evans also gave his take on how he thinks Howard’s teams will perform on the court at Michigan.
“They’re going to take a step back next year with who they’re losing and not a whole lot coming in,” he said. “I think Juwan can coach though, even though he’s never had a great chance to do so. He’s a pretty polished character and the kids will play for him. His voice still resonates and I think Michigan will do pretty well under him.”
