The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787035
96 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2017 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY BRANDON BROWN M ichigan put a bow on a 30-man recruiting class by landing three commitments on National Signing Day Feb. 1, but the coaching staff didn't celebrate the No. 4 overall class for long. Their attention quickly moved to the 2018 group. Based on committed scholarships for returning players, U-M has only six roster spots available in the 2018 class. However, when Michigan started this process at the same time last year, it only had room for 16 prospects. Through attrition, transfers and some creative signing and backdat- ing, Michigan would nearly double that for the 2017 class. Expect Michigan to sign some- where between 16 and 20 prospects in 2018. As of Feb. 10, U-M had just two commitments in the 2018 class, which was still actually good for No. 20 in the nation. Penn State is off to the hottest start in the country with 11 total commitments, including a five-star and six four-stars, good for No. 1 overall. Ohio State (No. 10 with three commitments), Michigan State (No. 12 with three commit- ments), and Nebraska (No. 16 with three commitments) are the other Big Ten teams outpacing the Wolverines through mid-February. Obviously, much will change by Feb. 7, 2018, but it never hurts to get off to a good start with the hopes of keeping the momentum going. Michigan has landed a pair of cov- eted, four-star prospects from areas that can be tough for U-M to recruit. Catholic-school kids from Indianapo- lis usually belong to Notre Dame, and four-star athletes from rural Georgia rarely head up to Ann Arbor to play college football, but that's exactly who Michigan has nabbed as of Feb. 14, 2017. Here is a position-by-position look at the Maize and Blue's needs and some options for filling them (eligi- bility listed is for 2018, unless other- wise noted). QUARTERBACK Scholarship Players In 2018: 4 Need: 1 Commits: 0 Jim Harbaugh wants to take a quarterback in each recruiting cycle and could even revert back to his Stanford days when he took two in each class except for the year he signed Andrew Luck. The Wolver- ine staff landed top target and four- star signal-caller Dylan McCaffrey in 2017 and would like to repeat the feat in 2018 with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star dual-threat quar- terback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. A strong case could be made for Thompson-Robinson being Michi- gan's top quarterback target and pos- sibly the top offensive prospect on its board regardless of position in the 2018 class. Beyond Thompson-Robinson, who checks in at No. 2 at his position and No. 54 overall nationally, U-M has shown interest in a couple of other candidates including: Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian five-star quarterback Matt Corral The No. 2 pro-style quarterback and No. 7 overall prospect nationally is currently committed to USC and doesn't necessarily show any signs of changing that. However, newly hired Michigan assistant Pep Ham- ilton dropped by Oaks Christian to check in on the five-star signal-caller in mid-January, indicating that Mich- igan is definitely interested in the 6-2, 185-pounder. Corral is not a dual-threat QB, but possesses Brandon Peters and Dylan McCaffrey-like athleticism, giving him the ability to keep defenses hon- est and move the chains with his feet when necessary. That appears to be a trait Harbaugh looks for in quar- terbacks. Fitzgerald (Ga.) High quarterback James Graham Not much is known about the 6-1, 180-pounder, and that includes his designation. Despite being listed as a pro-style signal-caller, he looks much more like a running QB on his high- light tape. In fact, it takes more than a minute of watching before Graham even attempts a pass. Michigan offered Graham Feb. 10, becoming his biggest tender out of Arkansas, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech. It appears that the competition for the unranked athlete will likely get stiffer before his re- cruitment is over. RUNNING BACK Scholarship Players In 2018: 6 Need: 1-2 Commits: 0 Michigan has yet to land a big- time, bell-cow running back under Harbaugh. When 2018 rolls around, senior Karan Higdon and junior Chris Evans will likely have quite a A Look Ahead At The Class Of 2018 Jahan Dotson of The Peddie School in Highstown, N.J., is considered the No. 17 wide receiver and No. 102 overall player in the country by Rivals.com. PHOTO BY NICK LUCERO/RIVALS.COM