The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2019 THE WOLVERINE 55 MICHIGAN RECRUITING him on campus for an official visit it could change things." Wommack and other people close to the situation feel like Kentucky is in the driver's seat with Louisville in second, leaving Georgia and the Big Ten schools chasing. The Georgia offer is the newest, but Young obviously likes what's hap- pening in Athens as evidenced by the Bulldogs remaining in the mix despite offering less than a week be- fore he dropped his finalists. Young, Rivals.com's No. 24 offen- sive tackle and No. 214 overall pros- pect nationally, is a big-timer from the state of Kentucky. At 6-6 and 295 pounds, the USA Today Kentucky All- State first team pick has good size and a nasty demeanor, which is why so many big-time programs are after him. MICHIGAN BREAKS 2020 OFFER SEAL ON TWO STATES The Wolverines have sent out nearly 300 offers in the 2020 class, but had not extended one in either Utah or Nebraska until Feb. 28. On the last day in February, Michi- gan offered Omaha (Neb.) Burke three-star wide receiver Xavier Watts. Ten days later, the Wolverines ex- tended an offer to Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon three-star strongside defensive end Van Fillinger. The staff didn't offer any prospects from ei- ther in state in 2019 and only one throughout the entire cycle in 2018. Watts is just the No. 88 wide re- ceiver in the country, but he's re- ceived offers from Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Tennes- see and Wisconsin, among others. At 6-1 and 180 pounds, Watts shines on both sides of the ball in high school, but Michigan sees him as a wide re- ceiver. Burke head coach Paul Limongi touched on what makes Watts such a dynamic player at receiver. "Offensively, he's a great route run- ner, has great hands, makes the clutch catch and runs with it well after the catch," Limongi said. "Xavier has the ability to break tackles and has the speed to get away from any threats. "Once he gets the ball in the open field, there's a pretty good chance that he will go for six." Watts being from Nebraska makes most people think he'll end up a Husker, but new Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis evaluated and offered the junior in late Febru- ary to make sure he's thinking about the Wolverines. New defensive line coach Shaun Nua's fingerprints are all over the Fillinger offer. Nua has deep roots in the western part of the country and certainly played a role in the 6-4, 245-pounder's tender. Fillinger is the No. 2 player in Utah per Rivals.com and has offers from the home-state Utes along with Boise State, Cali- fornia, Colorado, LSU, Oregon and UCLA, among others. Michigan is the only Midwest- ern school involved, and Fillinger seems to like the fact that U-M took a chance on him. "Michigan has been my dream school ever since I was a little kid. When they offered it was a dream come true," he explained. "It made me think all my hard work is paying off. I've been following Michigan for- ever, and I'm aware of the program. "It's a school that is very competi- tive and has a winning culture. That definitely sticks with me." Fillinger has been keeping an eye on U-M from afar and has also started to bond with Nua because of the defensive coach's previous stops. "My relationship is good with them," Fillinger said. "The only person I've talked to so far is Coach Nua, and I've known him since he was back at Arizona State." Getting over to Ann Arbor would be big for Fillinger since he hasn't really seen any schools from the east- ern part of the country. If U-M really is his dream school, it seems likely that a visit would happen. Traveling from Utah won't be easy, but Fill- inger has most of spring football to try and see how Harbaugh runs the show in Ann Arbor. MICHIGAN OFFERS ANOTHER 2020 QUARTERBACK` Despite having a commitment in place from Phoenix Pinnacle four-star pro-style quarterback JD Johnson, the Michigan coaching staff decided to extend an offer to Gainesville (Fla.) Eastside three-star dual-threat quar- terback Anthony Richardson. The 6-4, 230-pounder was com- mitted to Florida from July of last year until early February this year. The Gators are still in the mix, but he wants to let his recruitment play out. Because of that, Michigan decided to get involved March 1 because they really like his skill set as a big, ath- letic quarterback. "My coach called me and told me that someone from Michigan was go- ing to call me and offer me," Richard- son explained. "I contacted Coach [Ben] McDaniels, and we talked and he offered me. "He feels like I'm the guy who can fit right into the program. Now he just plans on talking to me more and telling me more about the program in the future." As a Florida kid more than 1,000 miles away from Ann Arbor, Rich- ardson doesn't have a lot of knowl- edge about Michigan as a school and program or the surrounding area. Now that he has an offer, he intends to change that. "I don't really know much," Rich- ardson said with a laugh. "That's why I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone and everything better." Obviously the process is brand new between Rivals.com's No. 9 dual-threat quarterback in the coun- try and Michigan, and he's not sure when he'll visit Ann Arbor or if he even will. If the coaching staff pushes for a visit and it materializes, then he'll be worth paying attention to on a much closer level. Until then, it's still all about Johnson at quarterback for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines. ❏ The Wolverines have extended an offer to Gainesville (Fla.) Eastside three-star dual- threat quarterback Anthony Richardson, who was committed to hometown Florida from July of last year until early February this year. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM