The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MAY 2022 THE WOLVERINE 45 FOOTBALL RECRUITING tend King. The two stayed in contact, and now Bellamy is helping lead Michi- gan's aggressive recruiting push. "We recently talked a little bit about practice and how [Michigan sophomore running back] Donovan [Edwards] is doing up there," Moore said. "We talk about Donovan all the time. He's been in Detroit so long. He just asks how my family is doing and things like that. He saw the Notre Dame waffle I put up on Instagram, and he said, 'We can do that,' and put an 'M' inside the waffle. He always jokes around and is goofy." Of course, this recruitment may come down to head coach Jim Harbaugh, who first offered Moore at a camp as a seventh-grader. Harbaugh had a posi- tive call with Moore on the first day of spring ball. Since then, conversations have been limited to text. With spring ball over and the evalu- ation period set to begin, expect Har- baugh to once again take command of this recruitment. If one person is going to lure Moore to Michigan, it's going to be Harbaugh. Overall, Moore wants to keep taking his time and is set on making official visits before deciding late into the sum- mer. "I've been on a world tour," Moore said with a laugh. "I want to get back to just going to school and working out with the team — doing things I love. I'm going to take my time. "A lot of people have said that be- cause I'm a quarterback and how highly I'm ranked that I should want to pull the trigger and build the class. But I'm trying to enjoy it and take all my visits. "This is a one-time thing. I'm going to try to take all five of my official visits and make my decision probably right before the season." There is no way around it — losing Moore would be devastating. And no, devastating isn't too strong of a word. This is a kid Michigan offered when he was 13 years old that lives about half an hour from campus and has all-world talent at the most important position in football. Not only that, Michigan has invested all its resources in Moore a year after taking two quarterback projects. However, with Moore visiting Mich- igan so often, growing up around the program and having mentors with ties to U-M, it's become somewhat of a safe, less exciting option. While U-M isn't too much into nega- tive recruiting, it can quickly point to Notre Dame's pursuit of top quarter- back prospects Jackson Arnold and Christopher Vizzina. It can do the same with any other school in the country. Moore is Michigan's man. There is no debate about it. On the flip side, this approach could backfire. Most quarterbacks commit early, and the Wolverines will likely be playing catch-up with quarterback re- cruits in the next tier. With Moore tak- ing so long with his decision — again, late summer being the target — there likely won't be much left. The one exception to U-M's Dante Moore rule may be five-star New Or- leans (La.) Isadore Newman product Arch Manning, the No. 1 quarterback and No. 1 overall prospect nationally this cycle, per the On3 Consensus. And yes, Manning is part of the royal football family known as the Mannings. Manning is the son of Cooper Man- ning and nephew of former NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning. While he has ties to both Ole Miss and Tennessee thanks to his father, grandfather and uncles, Manning has been rumored to be leaning toward Alabama, Georgia and Texas. Michigan quietly threw its hat in the ring in the winter, and months have gone by with basically zero buzz. With the spring evaluation period opening up, Bellamy, who recruits the state of Louisiana, is slated to stop by to see Manning. It wouldn't be surpris- ing to see Weiss follow up with a visit of his own. Getting Manning on cam- pus would be huge and seems possible thanks to Harbaugh's NFL connections. But luring Manning away from the South seems like an almost impossible task. If Moore goes elsewhere and the staff fails to create any movement with Man- ning, Michigan may have to settle for another project type, which obviously wouldn't be ideal considering what happened last cycle. Still, Michigan is going to take a harder look at four-star Zachary (La.) High quarterback Eli Holstein, who re- cently backed out of his verbal pledge to Texas A&M and is one of the best avail- able passers on the market. Holstein, the No. 9 quarterback and No. 95 overall prospect nationally, has offers from SEC powers Alabama, LSU and Georgia, and he is expected to stay in the South. Michigan will, however, see Holstein during the evaluation period and may opt to extend an offer depending on his interest level. A more realistic option from Louisi- ana is four-star prospect Rickie Collins of Baton Rouge Woodlawn, the No. 14 quarterback and No. 295 overall pros- pect nationally, per the On3 Consensus. Collins is willing to leave his home re- gion and is an early commitment to Big Ten bunkmate Purdue. Michigan will see him during its Bayou State swing, and if an offer is extended, a flip is very possible. Michigan could opt to stay closer to home and make a move with four-star Warren (Mich.) De La Salle quarterback Brady Drogosh, the No. 11 quarterback and No. 234 overall prospect nationally, per On3. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Drogosh is a big-framed passer with a strong arm. He's also extremely athletic, posting a 4.61 laser time in the 40-yard dash at April's Elite 11 regional, where he also led all quarterbacks in terms of combine score. Drogosh is a bit of a project, but all the tools are there for him to be very successful at the next level. The transfer portal would be an op- tion as well, but most quarterbacks want to play as soon as they get to cam- pus, and that's not happening as long as one of Cade McNamara and J.J. McCar- thy remain on the roster. For now, Michigan is sticking to its guns when it comes to making Moore its singular priority. ❏ Dante Moore "This is a one-time thing. I'm going to try to take all five of my official visits and make my decision probably right before the season."