The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 37 MICHIGAN RECRUITING polished than anyone else in the 2021 class. He makes field goals look easy and won the kickoff competition at the Kohl's Underclassman Challenge. Doman is currently the best overall combo kicker/punter in the 2021 class and is a D-1 scholarship player with a bright future in college." Doman committed to Michigan in April over offers from Army, Air Force, Boston College, Colorado State and Washington State. Both the All-American Bowl (pre- viously known at the Army Bowl) and the Under Armour All-America Game are set to take place in January. COMMITS MAKE SELF-GUIDED VISITS The NCAA has extended the dead period through Sept. 30, which means that recruits are still not al- lowed to make visits to Football Bowl Subdivision programs. But that hasn't stopped Michigan's commits from making their way to campus. Three-star Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall offensive tackle Tristan Bounds drove all the way from his home in Maryland to Ann Arbor to get his first look at campus in May before pulling the trigger and committing to Michigan a couple of weeks later. Since then, a couple of other U-M commits have followed in Bounds' footsteps. Three-star Clayton (Ohio) North- mont defensive back Rod Moore doesn't live too far from Ann Arbor, but he still didn't get a chance to make a visit to Michigan before he gave the Wolverines a verbal pledge in May. Moore took matters into his own hands and drove to campus with his family this summer. While he was prohibited from meeting with the coaching staff, he did enjoy his first time at Michigan. "It was nice," Moore said. "The only visit I took was to Wisconsin. Michigan was nicer and bigger. I ac- tually got to go in The Big House. "I've never been to such a big sta- dium. I liked the street with all the restaurants. I was at The Brown Jug, and [redshirt sophomore quarter- back] Joe Milton walked in. He told me how much he liked Michigan. It was all really cool." Three-star Bolingbrook (Ill.) High outside linebacker Tyler McLaurin visited Michigan just before the dead period. But he wanted to get another look at his future home. McLaurin lives just outside of Chicago and had a relatively short drive to Ann Arbor, and, like Moore, took his own self- guided tour. "I went just to view the campus," McLaurin said. "You see people there relaxing in the quad — the environ- ment that's there is something I love. It feels like a family environment. "My parents loved the campus. We went to The Brown Jug, which is al- ways a good spot to eat. I had the meatball sandwich. It's one of the best I've had." With positive feedback from Moore and McLaurin, more Michigan com- mits are considering doing the same thing. The dead period has been in effect since mid-March and has been con- tinuously pushed back. At this point, there does not appear to be an end in sight. Self-guided tours are quickly becoming the new normal. MICHIGAN LINEBACKER COMMITS NAMED TO BUTKUS WATCH LIST The 2020 high school watch list for the Butkus Award (given annually to the nation's best prep linebacker) was recently released, and the Mich- igan Wolverines' football program was well represented on it. U-M has four linebackers com- mitted — Brentwood (Tenn.) Raven- wood four-star Junior Colson, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aqui- nas three-star Jaydon Hood, Boling- brook (Ill.) High three-star Tyler McLaurin and Dedham (Mass.) Noble & Greenough School three- star Casey Phinney — in its 2021 re- cruiting class, and all four made the 51-member watch list. Colson is the highest-rated mem- ber of the bunch, with Rivals listing him as the No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 83 overall prospect nation- ally, and has been named to the All- American Bowl. Hood may be just a three-star re- cruit and the No. 35-ranked athlete in the country, but he is extremely underrated. Hood is an Under Ar- mour All-American and notched 115 tackles with seven sacks as a junior. Hood was also a Palm Beach Post Small Schools (4A-1A) first-team selection and qualified for the state championships in wrestling. Hood committed to Michigan over offers from Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, South Caro- lina, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and a number of other major programs in late May. McLaurin is ranked as the No. 30 outside linebacker nationally and is one of the best overall prospects in the Chicago area this cycle. He played a key role in helping Boling- brook reach the Class 8A state quar- terfinals last season. McLaurin picked Michigan over of- fers from Boston College, Iowa, Mich- igan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Virginia and others in May. Phinney, the No. 8-ranked pros- pect in Massachusetts, is perhaps the most unheralded defensive commit in Michigan's 2021 recruiting class. A throwback inside linebacker, Phinney is a fierce hitter in the middle and also doubled as a fullback for Noble & Greenough last season. He picked Michigan over UMass in April. Butkus Award semifinalists are ex- pected to be named Nov. 2, finalists Nov. 23, and winners on or before Dec. 8. ❑ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Though Dedham (Mass.) Noble & Greenough linebacker Casey Phinney is only ranked as a three-star recruit and the No. 8 senior in his home state, he was among the 51 named to the high school watch list for the Butkus Award, which is annually presented to the nation's top prep linebacker. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM