The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2019 BY BRANDON BROWN T hree major targets in the 2020 class cut their lists down in March, and Michigan is still in the mix for all three — Cen- tennial (Colo.) Eaglecrest three-star offensive tackle Reece Atteberry, Southlake (Texas) Carroll four-star safety RJ Mickens and Christian Academy of Lou- isville (Ky.) four-star offen- sive tackle John Young. Between the three of them a total of 48 schools were removed from con- tention, but U-M made it through. Atteberry most recently visited Notre Dame, so it's not surprising that the Irish made the cut. Notre Dame — along with Duke, Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State — will be bat- tling it out for the 6-5, 275-pounder's services moving forward. Atteberry was slated to take a trip to Ohio State in late March, and he is also slowly working on scheduling some official visits possibly starting in the spring, which could include Michigan. As a Colorado kid, it's worth not- ing that his top five is completely comprised of schools out of his re- gion. Nebraska is the closest to home, but Lincoln is still almost 500 miles from Centennial. He's obviously giv- ing schools in the Midwest a shot, and Michigan is one of them. "It's the tradition there," Atteberry said of U-M. "Jim Harbaugh and them have it really set up nice there. They have a great, great setup with Jumpman, and all the facilities there are first-class. And it's a pretty dang good education." As the No. 45 offensive tackle in the country, Atteberry appears to be underrated based on the makeup of his offer list and his group of fi- nalists. He was first-team Colorado Class 5A (largest schools) All-State as a junior and sophomore, and was named to the USA Today Colorado All-State first team this past season. Mickens, Rivals.com's top safety and the No. 42 overall prospect na- tionally, still considering Michigan, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. The 6-0, 187-pounder only has one Texas school on his list, and Michi- gan seems to have as a good a chance as anyone. That's exactly how Rivals. com Texas/Louisiana recruiting ana- lyst Sam Spiegelman sees it. "Mickens, a top-50 prospect in the Rivals100, noted that Michigan is a school in regular contact with him along with the rest of his top group," Spiegelman said. "Of all the Texas players open to leav- ing the state, Mickens is among the most likely." Mickens, a second-team USA Today Texas All-State selection as a junior, still has a lot of big-time pro- grams on his list, but he did eliminate 16 schools according to his profile. It's going to be tough for Michigan to go toe to toe with the Alabamas and Clemsons of the world, but the Maize and Blue are still in there, and that's saying something at this stage of the 2020 recruit- ing cycle. For a while it looked like a condensed battle for Young between Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State, but late offers came in from Auburn and Georgia. It ended up being a little too late for Auburn, but Georgia made the cut for Young when he took his total from 23 down to six. The other five are Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue. Rivals.com Southeast recruiting analyst Woody Wommack has fol- lowed Young's recruitment closely and sees Michigan battling it out down the stretch despite probably not being in the lead in mid-March. "Young is a prospect coveted by many programs around the coun- try, and he also fits the Wolverines academic profile, making him a prime target," Wommack said. "In- state school Kentucky is going to be tough to beat, but if Michigan can get MICHIGAN RECRUITING Three Big Targets Include Michigan In Their Top Group 2020 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Kalil Branham WR 6-1 190 Columbus, Ohio (Northland) JD Johnson QB 6-4 187 Phoenix (Pinnacle) Micah Mazzccua OT 6-5 330 Baltimore (St. Frances) Nick Patterson TE 6-3 215 San Antonio (San Antonio Christian) Osman Savage LB 6-2 220 Baltimore (St. Frances) Andre Seldon DB 5-9 154 Belleville, Mich. (Belleville) Cornell Wheeler LB 6-0 229 West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield) Southlake (Texas) Carroll four-star RJ Mickens — the No. 1 safety and the No. 42 overall player in the country per Rivals.com — has listed a top group of Alabama, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM