The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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70 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2020 BY EJ HOLLAND M ichigan's 2020 recruiting class saw no major changes in February's signing period. The Wolverines locked up their class by the early signing period a few months prior and inked 23 pros- pects total. After signing 26 during the 2019 cycle, this class was a little on the smaller end from a numbers standpoint. Class sizes always seems to fluc- tuate, so it's tough to give an exact prediction of how many prospects the Wolverines will take in 2021. Ide- ally, it would be somewhere close to 25, which is considered by most as a "full" class. Michigan currently has two com- mitments in the 2021 class, so there is still a long way to go in terms of filling it out. While Michigan doesn't sit high in the Rivals.com team rank- ings at this point in the process, that obviously has to do with class size. However, the Wolverines are off to a fantastic start after landing a pair of top-50 national prospects. Of course, U-M can't be expected to keep land- ing only borderline five-star recruits, but the Wolverines are in a prime position to put together a truly spe- cial class. Over the last few cycles, Michigan has finished closer to No. 10 in the team rankings. If everything falls into place, Michigan could contend for a spot in the top five when it's all said and done. Here is a position-by-position look at Michigan's needs and where the Wolverines stand with top targets as the attention fully turns to the 2021 cycle: QUARTERBACK Scholarship Players In 2021: 4 Need: 1 Commits: 1 Michigan already has its man in Rivals100 La Grange Park (Ill.) Naza- reth Academy quarterback J.J. Mc- Carthy. The country's No. 5 pro-style quarterback and No. 31 overall re- cruit is a huge land at arguably the most important position in football. McCarthy committed to Michigan over offers from LSU, Miami, Mich- igan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and a slew of other major programs in May 2019. Since then, McCarthy has been completely solid and established himself as the face of Michigan's 2021 recruiting class. McCarthy is hard at work helping U-M lure talent to Ann Arbor and is A Look Ahead At The Class Of 2021 The Wolverines already have their quarterback for the 2021 class in four-star commit J.J. McCarthy, who is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 5 pro-style passer and No. 31 overall prospect. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM