The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 59 MICHIGAN RECRUITING director of player personnel Tony Tui‑ oti, so he may give U‑M a look during official visit season. Rivals.com rates Filiaga as the No. 15 tackle and No. 121 overall prospect in the land. The only other definite O‑line take on the board right now is Cesar Ruiz, who is ranked as a four‑star talent, and the No. 1 center and No. 119 overall player nationally. The former New Jer‑ sey native now attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and that has given some wiggle room to his recruitment. He may be leaning towards Alabama now, but the Jersey connection to Michigan could be strong enough to bring him to Ann Arbor in the end. With five studs committed along the defensive line, Michigan may be done recruiting there. Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County four‑star defensive tackle Au‑ brey Solomon, Alexandria (Va.) Epis‑ copal four‑star weakside defensive end Luiji Vilain, Saint Joseph (Mich.) High four‑star strongside defensive end Co‑ rey Malone‑Hatcher, Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic four‑star strongside defensive end James Hudson and Ber‑ rien Springs (Mich.) High three‑star offensive guard/defensive tackle Phil‑ lip Paea are all coveted prospects who decided to bond together at U‑M. South Jordan (Utah) Bingham four‑ star Jay Tufele — Rivals.com No. 5 defensive tackle and No. 99 overall prospect in the country — was long looked at as the top D‑line prospect on the board, so effort may continue surrounding him. But if no other de‑ fensive linemen choose Michigan, the haul is already a great one. Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's four‑star outside linebacker Joshua Ross and Sandy Hook (Conn.) New‑ town three‑star inside linebacker Ben Mason make up Michigan's commit‑ ments for their position group. The linebacking corps is young after 2016, so landing a couple more is a necessity. Fortunately, linebacker has pos‑ sibly the largest amount of realistic remaining targets: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four‑star Jordan An‑ thony, Oxford (Ala.) High four‑star K.J. Britt, Kennedale (Texas) High five‑star Baron Browning and Paramus (N.J.) Catholic four‑star Drew Singleton. Rivals.com rates Anthony as the No. 2 inside linebacker and No. 93 overall player in the nation, Britt as the No. 7 inside linebacker and No. 122 overall recruit in the land, Browning as the No. 1 outside linebacker and No. 6 overall prospect in the country, and Singleton as the No. 2 outside linebacker and No. 39 overall talent nationally. With four‑star defensive back Benja‑ min St‑Juste out of Montreal (Quebec) Vieux committed, Michigan needs to add at least one more cornerback to the 2017 class. The two focal points are Calabasas (Calif.) High five‑star Darnay Holmes and Detroit Martin Luther King four‑star Ambry Thomas. Rivals.com ranks Holmes as the No. 3 cornerback and No. 15 overall prospect in the country, while Thomas is rated as the No. 15 cornerback and No. 174 overall player nationally. Jacksonville (Fla.) Trinity Christian five‑star Shaun Wade — the No. 4 cor‑ nerback and No. 16 overall recruit in the class of 2017 — has also mentioned Michigan as a potential landing spot, but the Ohio State commit will likely stick with the Buckeyes or eventually flip to Alabama according to those close to his recruitment. Safety is a big position of need for the Wolverines. After 2016 the depth chart is very thin. As of mid‑August, Florence (Ala.) High three‑star J'Marick Woods is the only safety committed to U‑M, but Detroit Cass Tech three‑ star Jaylen Kelly‑Powell — the nation's No. 27 safety according to Rivals.com — figures to be part of that group. Be‑ yond those two, Michigan doesn't have much working in the way of other op‑ tions, but other safety targets should pop up throughout the fall. A couple of players that are consid‑ ered athletes because of their versa‑ tility are also still keeping an eye on Michigan. Salt Lake City Brighton four‑star Sione Lund is committed to Stanford, but he continues to mention U‑M as a school of interest. Four‑star Markquese Bell from Bridgeton (N.J.) High School is high on Michigan and may even be considered a U‑M lean at this point. Rivals.com lists Lund as the No. 8 athlete and No. 132 overall re‑ cruit in the land, while Bell is tabbed as the No. 221 overall prospect nationally. Michigan has a good bit of room re‑ maining in the 2017 class and could close with a strong haul depending on how things play out with several five‑ stars prospects. Landing any combina‑ tion of Wilson, Collins, Peoples‑Jones, Holmes and Harris would positively impact what was ranked as the No. 5 class in the nation as of Aug. 15. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. 2017 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) AJ Dillon RB 6-0 228 Groton, Mass. (Lawrence Academy) Carter Dunaway TE 6-6 232 Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (Brother Rice) Ja'Raymond Hall OL 6-5 255 Oak Park, Mich. (Oak Park) Kai-Leon Herbert OT 6-4 279 Plantation, Fla. (American Heritage) Joel Honigford OT 6-5 277 Sugarcreek, Ohio (Garaway Local School) James Hudson DE 6-5 271 Toledo, Ohio (Central Catholic) Chase Lasater RB 6-2 238 Jacksonville, Fla. (Trinity Christian) Corey Malone-Hatcher DE 6-3 246 Saint Joseph, Mich. (Saint Joseph) Ben Mason LB 6-3 230 Sandy Hook, Conn. (Newton) Dylan McCaffrey QB 6-4 185 Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Valor Christian) Phillip Paea OL 6-4 277 Berrien Springs, Mich. (Berrien Springs) Joshua Ross LB 6-0 219 Orchard Lake, Mich. (St. Mary's) O'Maury Samuels RB 5-10 190 Los Lunas, N.M. (Los Lunas) Aubrey Solomon DT 6-4 287 Leesburg, Ga. (Lee County) Andrew Stueber OT 6-6 305 Darien, Conn. (Darien) Benjamin St-Juste CB 6-3 185 Montreal, Quebec (Vieux-Montreal) Kurt Taylor RB 5-9 201 Covington, Ga. (Newton) Luiji Vilain DE 6-4 240 Alexandria, Va. (Episcopal) J'Marick Woods DB 6-3 198 Florence, Ala. (Florence) 2018 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Jalil Irvin OG 6-4 265 Stone Mountain, Ga. (Stephenson) Antwuan Johnson LB 6-1 210 Springfield, Ohio (Springfield) Otis Reese S 6-2 195 Leesburg, Ga. (Lee County) Leonard Taylor TE 6-5 240 Springfield, Ohio (Springfield)