Michigan Football: 4-star AJ Green is another RB to watch for 2021

Michigan football is hoping to land four-star running back Donovan Edwards, but another name to watch is AJ Green, who put the Wolverines in his top eight Friday.

Michigan football has been making a hard push for running backs in the 2021 recruiting cycle and it’s not just about in-state standout Donovan Edwards.

Obviously, Edwards is the key target for the Wolverines at running back as the No. 3 running back in the country according to the 247 sports composite rankings, as well as the 38th-ranked player overall.

He’s a dynamic player that has the ability to make things happen as both a runner and receiver. But he’s not the only playmaker Michigan football is after at running back and another is four-star AJ Green, who just so happened to put the Wolverines among the top eight he announced on Twitter Friday.

https://twitter.com/RoyalGreen25/status/1243635951051685893

Green included Michigan along with in-state schools Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, as well as South Carolina, LSU, Arkansas, Texas Tech and Baylor.

Some programs have viewed Green as a cornerback and that’s reportedly where Oklahoma had wanted him to play, which is part of what made Michigan football attractive for the 5-foot-11, 190-pound back who ranks 196th overall and 14th among corners according to 247 sports composite rankings for 2021.

According to Steve Lorenz of The Michigan Insider ($), Green is one of the top targets on Michigan football’s board for running backs. He put him in the top three along with Edwards and Corey Kiner, a four-star running back out of Ohio.

Lorenz said in the same post that Oklahoma was willing to look at Green as a running back too, which may shed some light on where things are or were headed. Here’s an interesting quote directly from Lorenz ($):

"One source recently told me his family actually would prefer him to leave the area and make a name somewhere else. We’ll see if that holds up."

The fact that Ohio State already has two top-five running backs committed should help Michigan land Edwards or Kiner, but Green is another name to watch and he’s not someone that should be overlooked. The ideal scenario is U-M getting at least two of three.

Running backs coach Jay Harbaugh has been pushing for Green, who was supposed to visit but now must re-schedule due to COVID-19. But whenever that happens, it could be a chance for Michigan to lock things down.