The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2021 THE WOLVERINE 47 FOOTBALL RECRUITING Bowler. That really means a lot to me." If Anderson is Plan A at safety, then Garland (Texas) High's Chace Biddle is certainly Plan B. Biddle has Michigan in his top group along with Oklahoma, SMU and TCU, and loves the fact that Linguist is also from the Dallas area. In fact, Linguist is a native of Mes- quite, Texas, which is the first town directly east of downtown Dallas. The next town over is Garland. Need- less to say, Linguist understands where Biddle is from and can relate to him on a personal level. "He's from here [the Dallas area]," Biddle said. "He knows the environ- ment and what it's like down here. That's great. He played against Gar- land when he went to Mesquite. He knows us. It definitely boosts up Michigan. It might be far from home, but he'll make you feel at home." Like with Anderson, Linguist's pitch to Biddle has centered around his growth as both a player and person. Known as a developer of talent, Linguist put that on full display with the Dallas Cowboys last season when he helped Wilson, who he also coached at Texas A&M, become one of the best young defensive backs in the league. Linguist quickly pointed to Wilson when talking to Biddle, Ri- vals.com's No. 10 safety and No. 123 overall prospect nationally. "His biggest message to me has been taking my game to the next level," Bid- dle said. "He can help me in areas I didn't even know I could be helped at. It's different. We've talked about the little things, and he summed up how he wants to get me places. He told me it's going to be my will to play and that he's going to help me get there. "We talked a lot about Donovan Wilson. He was trained by Coach Mo. It was great to see how he played the game under his supervision." Of course, Michigan isn't forget- ting about its homegrown talent. West Bloomfield (Mich.) High is home to one of the most versatile prospects in the country in four-star athlete Dillon Tatum, who played running back, cornerback, safety and nickel en route to helping his team win a state title this past fall. Michigan is recruiting Tatum as a jack-of-all-trades in the defensive backfield and is in a strong position to add him to this class. After all, his primary recruiter happens to be his former high school head coach, new Michigan safeties coach Ron Bellamy. "It's like talking to a guy you've known for years," Tatum said. "We're just keeping the relationship that we've built before. I just want to see how he coaches the safeties. I feel like he'll do a great job. I feel like he's a great coach all around and can coach any position. "We just have good conversations. He jokes around and says he knows where I live and that he'll beat me up if I don't go to Michigan. It's just fun. He's a great guy." Tatum, the No. 18 athlete in the country, recently named Michigan in his final four along with Baylor, Michigan State and Notre Dame. He is looking to make a decision in April, and it would be quite the surprise if Tatum didn't pick the Wolverines. While Pollard, Anderson, Biddle and Tatum are all priority targets, Michigan is still actively recruiting a plethora of other talented defensive backs, includ- ing a familiar name in four-star Or- adell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic cornerback Jaeden Gould, the No. 28 cornerback nationally per Rivals.com. Michigan put an offer on the table for Gould when he was just a fresh- man and has been considered the favorite to land him for quite some time. Of course, the secondary board is still working itself out, but if the Wolverines push for Gould, he could still easily end up in the class. "Michigan has always been high on my list," Gould said. "That hasn't changed with the new staff coming in. It's still the same. Coach Linguist is a great dude. As soon as he got the job, he hit me up. He told me I was still important to them." Linguist also has Michigan in- volved with some talented prospects down in the Peach State like four-star Marietta (Ga.) Walton cornerback Marcus Allen, who recently included Michigan in his top 10. As Allen, Rivals.com's No. 34 cor- nerback nationally, continues to fa- miliarize himself with Linguist and Michigan, and vice versa, he could easily move up the board. "Michigan is a top school because of Coach Mo," Allen said. "I know he's a great coach and knows what it takes to get to the next level. He knows what he's doing. He's just talked about his experience and how he can help me." Linguist is shooting his shot with prospects committed elsewhere as well. Shortly after taking the job at Michigan, the coach put offers on the table for Rivals100 LSU pledge Lat- errance Welch and Rivals250 Texas verbal Jaylon Guilbeau. Of the pair, Michigan has the best chance to flip Guilbeau. In fact, Lin- guist was the first coach to offer Guil- beau way back in September 2019 when the former was still at Texas A&M. "We've been locked in since he was at A&M," Guilbeau said. "He re- cruited me well there. Now that he's at Michigan, I know he's going to re- cruit me well there, too. He was one of the first guys to recruit me, so that means a lot to me. I love his energy. "His experience is great. In order to go to the league, you have to have a good coach, and Coach Mo knows what he's doing." Linguist established himself as one of the best recruiters in the country during his time at Texas A&M. After a brief stint in the NFL, it's clear Lin- guist is back with a vengeance and has the Wolverines in play with the best of the best in the secondary this recruiting cycle. Again, Michigan's 2022 defensive back class is already elite. But with Linguist on board, it has the chance to be downright special. ❑ Beaumont (Texas) West Brook 's Bryce Anderson, the No. 4 safety and No. 43 over- all recruit in the country per Rivals.com, recently decommitted from LSU and is a top target for Michigan. PHOTO BY SAM SPIEGELMAN/COURTESY RIVALS.COM