The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2019 THE WOLVERINE 77 MICHIGAN RECRUITING West Virginia and Wisconsin make up his offer list. LINEBACKER Scholarship Players In 2020: 7 Need: 2-3 Commits: 2 Michigan will be a touch thin at line- backer heading into the 2020 season, but already has two verbal pledges in four stars Osman Savage and Cor- nell Wheeler. Neither Wheeler nor Sav- age is very long, so adding a lengthy athlete to the mix would be a perfect complement for the various linebacker positions. Michigan will try to do that with play- ers like: Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High five-star outside linebacker Me- khail Sherman Sherman included Michigan in his top seven along with Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Penn State. He's a specimen at 6-4, 225 pounds and is the No. 2 outside linebacker and No. 18 overall prospect nationally. Sher- man has stated that he'd like to commit during the summer of 2019. Cincinnati Princeton four-star out- side linebacker Jaheim Thomas At 6-5, 218 pounds, Thomas is exactly the type of player that would fit in with U-M's two commits. He's the No. 10 outside linebacker and No. 152 over- all prospect nationally, but curiously doesn't have an offer from Ohio State. If the Buckeyes offer, they'd likely be hard to beat. Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne four- star inside linebacker Jordan Banks Even though he's listed as an inside linebacker, Banks has good length at 6-4, 245 pounds. He's bulky but still has more length than Savage and Wheeler. He just picked up his Michigan offer in early February, so things are just getting started between him and the Wolverines. DEFENSIVE BACK Scholarship Players In 2019: 16 Need: 1-2 Commits: 1 The Michigan coaching staff has built tremendous depth in the secondary by hitting on guys like Ambry Thomas, Benjamin St-Juste, Brad Hawkins and J'Marick Woods in 2017. In 2018, the staff inked five players who haven't seen the field yet and just signed five more in 2019, including five-star safety Daxton Hill. There are still some really good de- fensive backs on U-M's board, and the staff already has a commitment from three-star cornerback Andre Seldon. Michigan appears to be in pretty good shape with a few others as well: Oak Park (Mich.) High four-star cor- nerback Enzo Jennings It doesn't feel like Jennings is a top target for Michigan, but he is rated as the No. 11 cornerback and No. 93 over- all prospect nationally. He has great length at 6-2, 178 pounds and boasts 26 offers because of it. He doesn't give much away, but as a local kid, U-M will be there. Cedar Hill (Texas) Trinity Christian four-star cornerback Dwight Mc- Glothern McGlothern seems to like all 17 schools that have offered him, and Michigan is one of them. The Wolver- ines do appear to be closer to the top of his list, but the 6-1, 166-pounder defi- nitely likes the recruiting process. As the No. 6 cornerback and No. 70 overall prospect nationally, he is wanted by lot of teams but maybe none more than Texas A&M. West Bloomfield (Mich.) High four- star safety Makari Paige Even though he never gives much away, Paige, many feel like, will even- tually end up at Michigan. The 6-3, 185-pounder is best friends with U-M pledge Cornell Wheeler and, as an in- state talent, he's a priority. He's currently listed as the No. 11 safety and No. 229 overall player nationally. Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe four-star safety Lathan Ransom Even though he's more than 2,000 miles away, Ransom made his way to Ann Arbor this past season, indicating that he's very interested. The 6-1, 185-pounder is the No. 8 safety and No. 123 overall prospect in the country. He's been linked to pro- grams like Arizona, Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and UCLA throughout his recruitment. SPECIAL TEAMS Scholarship Players In 2020: 2 Need: 0-1 Commits: 0 Michigan didn't sign a specialist in 2019 and probably doesn't necessarily need to in 2020 either, given the emer- gence of Jake Moody at kicker and with Brad Robbins still on the roster as a scholarship punter. Michigan also has a couple of other guys committed as preferred walk-ons from the 2019 class who will compete for various specialist positions. ❏ Michigan made the top seven for five-star Mekhail Sherman of Washington (D.C.) St. John's College High — the nation's No. 2 outside linebacker and No. 18 overall player according to Rivals.com — along with Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Penn State. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM