The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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66 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING dova (Tenn.) St. Benedict prospect Walter Nolen; the No. 1 defensive tackle and No. 4 overall prospect is be- coming increasingly interested in the Wolverines and recently listed them among his top 10 schools. Nolen is impressed with the job U-M is doing recruiting his home state, and U-M co-defensive coordinator Maurice Lin- guist has ties throughout the South. Two high-level prospects in Indi- ana that Michigan is in on are Caden Curry and Joe Strickland. Both are listed as defensive ends but can slide inside. Curry, the No. 1 strongside defensive end and No. 19 overall prospect nationally, is considered an Ohio State lean early on, but Michi- gan is working on him and recently offered his teammate, four-star quar- terback Tayven Jackson. Strickland, the No. 14 strongside defensive end and No. 213 overall prospect nationally, has been high on Michigan for a while, and if the Wol- verines make a strong push, he could easily land in Ann Arbor. Strickland made his own self-guided tour of Ann Arbor a few months ago. That said, it looks like Penn State is mak- ing a concerted effort to land him and may be emerging as the favorite. Two names to keep an eye on in Florida are Nick James and Hayden Schwartz. James, the No. 13 defensive tackle and No. 199 overall prospect, played with 2021 quarterback signee J.J. McCarthy at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and he named U-M a top school. Schwartz, a three-star listed as the No. 30 defensive tackle nationally, is from Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles and is building a connection with area re- cruiter and Jacksonville native George Helow, U-M's new safeties coach. Linebacker Need: 3 Commits: 0 Michigan kept Brian Jean-Mary on staff this offseason but brought in a new defensive coordinator in Mike Macdonald, who was most re- cently with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Jean-Mary is a known com- modity on the recruiting trail, while Macdonald brings youth and energy. Both are primed to tag-team and land some top talent at the linebacker position and are going all in for Tra- verse City (Mich.) Central's Joshua Burnham, the No. 4 inside linebacker and No. 145 overall prospect in the country. Burnham recently released a final three of Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, and is looking to make a decision soon. The Wolverines are considered the leader at this time. U-M is also strongly in the mix with another Midwest prospect in Evanston (Ill.) Township's Sebastian Cheeks, the No. 13 outside linebacker and No. 105 overall prospect nation- ally. This recruitment is quickly turn- ing into a Michigan-Notre Dame battle. Cheeks visited South Bend in the fall, but wants to check out Ann Arbor before making a decision. Jean-Mary and Macdonald are try- ing to take advantage of Michigan's recent success in Tennessee and re- cently extended an offer to Summit (Tenn.) Spring Hill's Keaten Wade, the No. 16 outside linebacker and No. 140 overall prospect nationally. Wade listed Michigan in his top group shortly after receiving the scholarship offer and is friends with incoming U-M linebacker and fellow Nashville- area product Junior Colson. Macdonald, who served as a grad- uate assistant with Georgia, still has ties to the Peach State and recently offered Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County's Jaron Willis, the No. 19 outside line- backer and No. 174 overall prospect, and Fitzgerald (Ga.) High's EJ Light- sey, a three-star recruit. Defensive Back Need: 5 Commits: 2 Michigan has some new coach- ing blood in the secondary. Michael Zordich and Bob Shoop are out, and Maurice Linguist and George Helow are in. The latter two are young and aggressive, and are already making an impact for Michigan's recruiting efforts on the back end. Linguist dipped down into Tennes- see and pulled a pair of four-star pros- pects just a few weeks after offering them. Both Cross Plains (Tenn.) East Robertson's Taylor Groves and Ger- mantown (Tenn.) High's Kody Jones sided with the Wolverines on Feb. 5, two days after National Signing Day. Groves is ranked as the nation's No. 41 wide receiver, but the Wol- verines love the four-star 's athletic ability as a safety. He is a springy athlete with a ton of upside. On the flip side of the coin, Jones is ranked as the No. 13 safety nationally but was recruited as a cornerback/nickel prospect. Jones brings plenty of ver- satility and has a chance to be an early impact player in Ann Arbor. While Michigan is off to a nice start in the secondary, there are some big fish still left out in the open water. Five-star Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South five-star prospect Will Johnson, the No. 4 cornerback and No. 11 overall recruit nationally, is the biggest of them all. A U-M legacy, Johnson is down to Michigan, Ohio State and USC, and is slated to make a decision the spring. Landing him is an abso- lute must for the Wolverines. U-M is also making a strong push for Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic's Jaeden Gould, the No. 23 cornerback and No. 247 overall prospect nation- ally. Gould has visited Michigan more than any other program and has the Wolverines in his top group. U-M is in a great spot to close with him early on. The same could be said about Dil- lon Tatum, the No. 22-ranked athlete in the country. The four-star prospect has been considered a Michigan lean for a while and played for new assis- tant Ron Bellamy at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High. The Wolverines are making him a top target at safety. ❏ Five-star cornerback Will Johnson of Grosse Pointe (Mich.) South is down to Michigan, Ohio State and USC, and is slated to make a decision the spring. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN