The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1212135
72 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2020 talent, including four-star Clarkston (Mich.) High guard Rocco Spindler, the No. 2 guard and No. 55 over- all prospect in the country. Spindler has visited Michigan more than any other school, and the Wolverines are in the pole position. U-M is also in a great spot with fel- low in-state prospects like Oak Park (Mich.) High's Rayshaun Benny, the No. 14 tackle and No. 83 overall re- cruit; Detroit Cass Tech's Raheem An- derson, the No. 2 center and No. 139 overall recruit; Clarkston (Mich.) High's Garrett Dellinger, the No. 22 tackle and No. 155 overall recruit; and four-star Beverly Hills (Mich.) Country Day tackle Caleb Tiernan. Of course, Michigan is also work- ing hard on out-of-state recruits like Olney (Md.) Good Counsel's Landon Tengwall, the No. 5 tackle and No. 27 overall recruit; and David Davidkov, the No. 24 tackle and No. 190 overall recruit. Both have visited U-M. DEFENSIVE LINE Scholarship Players In 2021: 15 Need: 4-5 Commits: 0 Michigan absolutely has to land a true defensive tackle this cycle after missing out in 2020. The Wolverines have four im- portant targets in Belleville (Mich.) High's Damon Payne, the No. 3 de- fensive tackle and No. 27 overall re- cruit; Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic's Tywone Malone, the No. 4 defensive tackle and No. 41 overall recruit; Highland Springs (Va.) High's Kevin Gilliam, the No. 9 defensive tackle and No. 104 overall recruit; and Westlake Village (Calif.) Westlake's Victory Vaka, the No. 13 defensive tackle and No. 143 overall recruit. All four have visited Michigan re- cently, and it is clear the Wolverines are squarely in their respective top groups. However, U-M isn't the out- right leader for any and will need to continue to work hard on all of them as the cycle runs its course. Away from defensive tackle, Mich- igan has zeroed in on highly touted defensive ends like Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy's Aaron Armitage, the No. 6 strongside defensive end and No. 113 overall prospect; and Suffield (Conn.) Academy's KeChaun Ben- nett, the No. 13 weakside defensive end and No. 245 overall recruit. LINEBACKER Scholarship Players In 2021: 11 Need: 2-3 Commits: 0 Michigan landed a special line- backer class in 2020, so the Wolver- ines don't have too many targets at the position. Expect this group to be a smaller one. With that said, U-M is in a great spot with a pair of their top targets in Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood's Junior Colson, the No. 4 outside line- backer and No. 80 overall prospect; and Belleville (Mich.) High's Jamari Buddin, the No. 14 outside line- backer and No. 219 overall recruit. Colson is an athletic backer that can play multiple spots, while Bud- din is a terrific viper candidate. Both visited on multiple occasions last year and will be back on campus in the near future. DEFENSIVE BACK Scholarship Players In 2021: 14 Need: 3-4 Commits: 0 U-M lost safeties coach Chris Par- tridge to Ole Miss, so it's tough to re- ally gauge the state of safety recruiting. Right now, the Wolverines don't have a ton of targets on the board. However, new position coach Bob Shoop recently offered Kennedale (Texas) High's JD Coffey, the No. 5 safety and No. 112 overall recruit; and Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth's Andre Turrentine, the No. 12 safety and No. 166 overall prospect. Michigan would like to land an elite-level corner this cycle and re- cently threw its hat in the ring for St. Louis De Smet Jesuit's Jakailin John- son, the No. 2 cornerback and No. 33 overall recruit. U-M will work to get him on campus this offseason. Michigan is also working super hard on Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei's Jaylin Davies, the No. 6 cor- nerback and No. 70 overall recruit; Omaha (Neb.) Westside's Avante Dickerson, the No. 14 cornerback and No. 201 overall prospect; and four-star Kalen King of Detroit Cass Tech ❏ Belleville (Mich.) High's Damon Payne is ranked as the country's No. 3 defensive tackle and No. 27 overall recruit by Rivals.com. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN