The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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50 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2020 BY EJ HOLLAND R ivals.com released its new top 250 national football recruiting rank- ings during the month of December. A number of Michigan commits in both the 2020 and 2021 classes made the lists, which shows the future in Ann Arbor is bright. The highest-rated commit regardless of class is La Grange Park (Ill.) Naza- reth Academy quarterback J.J. McCar- thy. The four-star 2021 prospect came in at No. 28 nationally, and was listed as the No. 6 pro-style signal-caller in the country. McCarthy had a sensational junior campaign, throwing for more that 3,000 yards and leading Nazareth Academy to a state title appearance. He committed to U-M in May and is completely locked in with the Wol- verines. The highest-rated Michigan commit in the 2020 class is four-star Baltimore St. Frances running back Blake Corum, who jumped up an eye-popping 69 spots to No. 67 overall. Corum, the No. 8 running back na- tionally, had a monster senior cam- paign for St. Frances, which finished the season ranked No. 4 in the country by MaxPreps.com. St. Frances plays a true national schedule, so Corum's big performances came against some of the best high school defenses in America. Michigan wide receiver commit AJ Henning of Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East and linebacker pledge Kalel Mullings of Milton (Mass.) Academy ranked inside the top 100 for 2020 at No. 86 and No. 91, respectively. Hen- ning moved up one spot, while Mull- ings shot up 17 slots. Henning is a dynamite playmaker that can line up at wide receiver and running back. He is expected to be an early difference maker for the Wolver- ines. Mullings is being recruited as a Mike linebacker, but is a tremendous athlete, so his skill set may prove to be best utilized at the viper position. Fellow linebacker commits Osman Savage of Baltimore St. Frances and Cornell Wheeler of West Bloomfield (Mich.) High were also ranked inside the top 250. Savage moved up eight spots to No. 166, while Wheeler came in at No. 245. Two other 2020 Michigan verbal pledges were also featured in the Ri- vals250 rankings in four-star Cam- bridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols offensive lineman Zak Zinter (No. 149) and Belleville (Mich.) High cornerback Andre Seldon (No. 232). Four-star Michigan offensive line commit Giovanni El-Hadi of Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson was ranked No. 154 in the 2021 Rivals250. COACHING STAFF SEES TOP UNDERCLASSMEN Michigan is getting a jump start on the 2021 recruiting class. In the days following a tough loss to rival Ohio State in "The Game," the coaching staff hopped on the recruiting trail and saw several of its top under- classman targets. In fact, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh made a big swing through California to see four-star 2021 Bell- flower (Calif.) St. John Bosco wide re- ceiver Beaux Collins, the No. 22 over- all prospect and No. 4 wideout in the country per Rivals.com. Collins visited Michigan in the spring and has the Wolverines in his top group. An elite level talent, Col- lins will be a tough pull from the West Coast, but Michigan is working hard to get him back on campus. While in California, Harbaugh also made his way to Santa Ana (Calif.) Ma- ter Dei to see 2021 Rivals100 prospects Raesjon Davis and Jaylin Davies. Davis is the No. 48 overall prospect and No. 3 outside linebacker in the country, while Davies is the No. 70 junior regardless of position and No. 6 cornerback nation- ally. Both Davis and Davies have yet to visit Michigan, but both have discussed making a trip out to Ann Arbor. Elsewhere, Michigan defensive co- ordinator Don Brown made a big run through New England. This first pros- pect he saw was four-star 2021 Need- ham (Mass.) St. Sebastian's tight end Louis Hansen, the No. 65 overall re- cruit and No. 2 prospect at his position in the country. Hansen was supposed to visit Michi- gan last month but had his travel plans derailed. Instead, he will make his way to Ann Arbor this offseason. Michigan is considered the favorite in his recruit- ment early on. While in the Boston metro, Brown checked in on elite 2022 Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nich- ols linebacker Tyler Martin and offered 2023 athlete Preston Zinter, brother of 2020 Michigan commit Zak Zinter. Michigan running backs coach Jay Harbaugh was pretty busy himself. Harbaugh made the short trip over to West Bloomfield (Mich.) High to see top 2021 running back target Donovan Edwards, the No. 58 overall recruit in the country for next cycle. The No. 3 running back in the junior class is con- sidered a Michigan lean early on. Harbaugh also ventured out to Vir- ginia to see four-star 2021 Hopewell (Va.) High running back Treveyon Henderson, the No. 64 overall recruit and No. 4 running back in the land for next cycle. Henderson visited Michigan over the summer and hopes to make a return visit soon. NEW OFFERS GO OUT The first two weeks of December are always busy for college coaches since they mark the beginning of the contact period. Coaches spend most of their time on the road hitting several high schools MICHIGAN RECRUITING U-M Commits Featured In New Rivals Rankings Rivals rates U-M pledge J.J. McCarthy of La Grange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Academy as the No. 6 pro-style quarterback and No. 28 overall player in the class of 2021. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM