Michigan Football: Some 2020 recruiting updates for Wolverines

With the season just a few weeks away, recruiting doesn’t get as much attention. But Michigan football has some work to do still in 2020.

The anticipation for the start of the 2019 Michigan football season grows by the day. Fall camp is in full swing and the Wolverines are getting closer and closer to the opening game against Middle Tennessee State.

Of course, beating the Blue Raiders is the top priority for Michigan football right now, as well as preparing for the 2019 season as a whole and with that, recruiting has gotten lost in the shuffle a bit.

What has caused that to happen even more when it comes to Michigan and the 2020 recruiting class, is that Jim Harbaugh and company have already taken care of most of the work.

The Wolverines already have 24 commitments for the 2020 class, which is ranked 10th nationally according to 247 sports and second in the Big Ten Conference only to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

However, there is still some work to do on the 2020 class and some needs that have to be filled. One is in the secondary. Michigan has added just one corner to the class, Andre Seldon and that’s why four-star Malcolm Greene, a versatile defensive back, is someone to watch.

Certainly, there are some other names to know when it comes to the defensive side of the ball and offensively, the top target left to Michigan football is four-star tight end Theo Johnson, who intends to visit UM and some other schools this fall.

But outside of Johnson, who else are the Wolverines targeting on offense?

One guy who could make a decision soon that Michigan football has been after is Brenden Rice, a three-star son of former Hall-of-Fame wideout Jerry Rice. Brenden has visited Michigan several times but is also considering Oregon, Colorado and maybe even Nebraska. He said recently he will be making his choice soon.

The 6-foot-2 wideout is 399th overall according to the 247 composite rankings and 68th among wide receivers. While he would fill out a five-man class of pass catchers, UM also needs another ball carrier and in that regard, there are a couple of options remaining.

Blake Corum, a four-star back is already in the fold, however, depth is needed and at this point, the Wolverines are focusing on a pair of three-star recruits in Marvin Scott and Isaiah Jacobs.

Scott is a 5-foot-9 running back from Port Orange, Florida and is ranked 711th nationally according to 247 sports and is 48th among backs. According to Brice Marich of the Michigan Insider ($), he is planning to visit Ann Arbor this fall, which could put the Wolverines in the driver’s seat.

Marich also reported ($) that Jacobs was planning to visit Michigan too. The 5-foot-10 running back from Oklahoma is 56th at his position but outside the top 800 overall. He also has offers from Arkansas, Ole Miss and Iowa State.

Ultimately though, Scott and Thomas could be consolations. It seems the guy that the Wolverines really want to add is another three-star running back and that’s Kyle Edwards.

Edwards is a three-star from Louisiana, yet he is ranked much higher than Thomas or Scott and is listed 349th overall in the 247 composite rankings and 24th among running backs. He’s also 6-foot and over 200 pounds.

While Michigan could be the favorite according to Steve Lorenz of the Michigan Insider ($), it could depend if Alabama is able to land Zachary Evans or not. If Evans, a five-star back does go to the Tide, Lorenz indicated that could make UM an even stronger favorite with Edwards, who would seem to be a better addition than Scott or Thomas.

We will see what happens but as far as 2020 recruiting is concerned, those are some of the key things to pay attention to.