The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2022 THE WOLVERINE 49 FOOTBALL RECRUITING 285 pounder from Rock Island, Ill., who is the On3 Consensus No. 78 player in the country — is right at the top of the tackle board. ATH/EDGE NYCKOLES HARBOR Washington (D.C.), Archbishop Carroll On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 13 over- all recruit and No. 1 edge rusher in the country Early Contenders: Michigan, Okla- homa, Penn State, Maryland, Oregon, South Carolina, USC, North Carolina Where Michigan Stands: A freak ath- lete, Harbor runs a 10.31 100 meters at 6-4, 220 pounds and can literally play any position he wants. The Wolverines see a ton of upside as an edge rusher and are making Harbor a top overall priority. He seemed to be favoring Oklahoma early, but the Sooners underwent a staff change that left the door wide open. Michigan has taken advantage. The Wol- verines hosted him for a visit this fall and are in line for a spring return trip. On top of that, Harbaugh is slated to be in D.C. to see him at his school. Harbor does like programs like Penn State, USC, Oregon and South Carolina, but Michigan is emerging as the team to beat early on, especially after the Wolver- ines' fabulous season. EDGE KEON KEELEY Tampa (Fla.) Berkley On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 22 overall recruit and No. 2 edge rusher nationally Early Contenders: Committed to Notre Dame Where Michigan Stands: Keeley gave Notre Dame an early verbal commitment last summer. However, Michigan is in a good spot to flip him from the rival Irish. After all, the Wolverines just hired defen- sive line coach Mike Elston, who served as Keeley's primary recruiter, away from South Bend. Elston and Keeley have a great relation- ship, and the new Michigan coach is sure to give the Wolverines a boost in this re- cruitment. On top of that, Keeley is from the same high school that produced Michigan edge rusher Jaylen Harrell. There is already familiarity with the high school staff there, and Harrell will also help the Wolverines sway Keeley. Expect the top-100 prospect to make a visit to Ann Arbor at some point this offseason. EDGE ANTHONY JAMES Wylie (Texas) East On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 137 overall recruit and No. 21 defensive line- man in the country Early Contenders: Committed to Texas A&M Where Michigan Stands: James has been committed to the Aggies for al- most an entire year, but his recruitment is far from over. The On300 prospect vis- ited Michigan for its win over Ohio State and was blown away by the Wolverines' performance as well as the game-day atmosphere. A Flint, Mich., native, he actually spent most of his Thanksgiving break in the area while he visited family. James is al- ready planning a return visit to Michigan in the spring and is on record saying the Wolverines are a very close second. Mich- igan is recruiting James for the Aidan Hutchinson role, and it's safe to say the All-American's performance this year moved the needle for James. DL JORDAN HALL Jacksonville (Fla.) Westside On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 212 overall recruit and No. 32 defensive line- man in the land Early Contenders: Michigan, Florida State, Florida, Miami, Georgia, UCF, South Carolina, USC Where Michigan Stands: Hall is a top- 100 prospect nationally per On3 and a massive prospect on Michigan's board — literally. At 6-4, 300 pounds, Hall fits what Michigan is looking for at the nose position in its defensive scheme. Hall is very high on several schools closer to home, but U-M is working hard in this recruitment and doing its best to get him on campus this offseason. Area recruiter George Helow is a Jack- sonville native and knows Hall and those around him extremely well. In fact, He- low stopped by Westside to see Hall just before the beginning of the dead period. Keep in mind that Helow had success in Jacksonville last cycle, landing linebacker Micah Pollard and safety Damani Dent. LB TACKETT CURTIS Many (La.) High On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 51 over- all recruit and No. 5 linebacker nationally Early Contenders: Michigan, Arkan- sas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Wisconsin, Penn State, Clemson, Tennessee Where Michigan Stands: Curtis is right at the top of the linebacker board along with Florida native Troy Bowles. The Wol- verines entered the mix early on in Curtis' process and have already hosted him for two unofficial visits. The Wolverines are also expected to receive an official visit at some point this offseason. Michigan defensive coordi- nator Mike Macdonald and linebackers coach George Helow have done a fantas- tic job of recruiting Curtis so far. The Wolverines also have a not-so-se- cret weapon on staff in safeties coach Ron Bellamy, who is a Louisiana native and has been able to connect with Curtis on a personal level. Curtis is pretty open in his recruitment early on. While South- ern schools are involved, he's definitely not afraid to leave home. CB CORMANI MCCLAIN Lake Gibson (Fla.) High On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 4 over- all recruit and No. 1 cornerback in the country Early Contenders: Michigan, Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Miami, BYU, Okla- homa Where Michigan Stands: McClain released a top five of Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Miami and BYU this fall. How- ever, Michigan has been able to make up ground and is now squarely in the mix in this recruitment. The Wolverines impressed McClain with their Big Ten title this season, and both assistant coaches Steve Clinkscale and Ron Bellamy have made an aggressive push. McClain plans to reward Michigan with an offseason visit. While pulling him out of the South will prove to be difficult, U-M has won some key battles in Florida in the past and just brought in quite the secondary haul. ❑ The Michigan staff has already done an excellent job of recruiting consensus four- star linebacker Tackett Curtis, who has been on campus twice and like assistant Ron Bellamy is a native of Louisiana. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM