If Michigan football could pick any 10 recruits to close out its 2021 class, who would they be?
Michigan football and every other college program has a recruiting board, sort of like an NFL draft board. Players are ranked and categorized, some are a higher priority than others and things change, based on how other things on the board shake out.
As of right now, Michigan football has 16 players committed to the 2021 recruiting class, which is currently 5th in the nation in the 247 team rankings.. While we don’t know exactly how many players the Wolverines will take in this class. The number is expected to be around 25, at least according to EJ Holland of Rivals ($).
That means generally that there around 9-10 spots available, which means that board is starting to shrink down. At certain positions, the priority is dwindling down to just one guy and if the Wolverines miss, they will be scrambling to secure a secondary option.
Running back is one spot where this is starting to be the case, as Michigan football is all in on Donovan Edwards, who is intent of making his decision at his own pace, which could leave Michigan behind in some other running back recruitments.
More on Edwards later, but that’s just an example. Obviously, the Wolverines will find a way to make room for the elite players they are chasing. But after that, it will become a numbers game soon and with that in mind, here are 10 ideal commitments for Michigan football to close out the 2021 recruiting class.
Safety Donovan McMillon
At safety, Michigan football has already landed one promising recruit for 2021 in three-star safety Rod Moore out of Ohio. Yet, it’s clear the Wolverines wanted to add another piece in the defensive backfield.
Michigan was making a strong push for three-star defensive back Ryan Barnes, who has an impressive offer sheet. Barnes is a 6-foot-2 corner who can also play safety, but his crystal ball projections have him going to Notre Dame.
That means the Wolverines have one main target left at safety and that’s Donovan McMillon. McMillon is a three-star safety out of Pennsylvania and is ranked 369th overall in 2021 according to the 247 composite. Yet, in 247 sports own rankings, McMillon is the No. 7 safety and ranked as the 144th overall player, so there are some differing views on him.
But according to Holland of Rivals ($), the Wolverines are going hard after McMillon, as he reported, using the entire staff in order to do so. We’ll see if it works. But the recruit out of Pennsylvania who also has a wrestling record of 51-6 is definitely a take if Michigan can get his commitment.
McMillon would also be an ideal player to fit alongside Moore down the road as a more in the box type of safety. There are no predictions for McMillon from Rivals or 247 sports.
Spindler/Kendall/Dellinger
On the offensive line, the Wolverines are off to a really good start, picking up commitments from Giovanni El-Hadi, Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson already for 2021 and each is a four-star prospect. El-Hadi is ranked in the top 100 by Rivals and 247 sports, while Crippen is a top-100 guy via Rivals.
Either way, with a tackle, center and guard already, Michigan football is in really good shape. But now, Ed Warriner and the Wolverines have the chance to take a good group and make it great or even elite.
Michigan looks like it will add a commitment from Drew Kendall, a four-star offensive lineman out of Massachusetts at some point. The Wolverines own 100 percent of his predictions on 247 and Rivals. Kendall is a top-notch guard and could even play on the defensive line.
He should be part of the 2021 class but the other two listed above, Rocco Spindler and his high school teammate and fellow top-100 lineman, Garrett Dellinger are another story.
As far as Spindler, Michigan is locked in tight battle with Notre Dame for his commitment. The Wolverines seem to be gaining ground, but it’s anyone guess at this point. In terms of Dellinger, Michigan has been gaining momentum on LSU, the heavy favorite, but only in an ideal world would the Wolverines likely get all three of those guys.
Somerville/Rooks
Recently, Michigan football added a second commitment from a defensive end this cycle as the Wolverines landed four-star Kechaun Bennett earlier this week.
Bennett is a solid pass rusher and he will look to fill out his body sort of like Kwity Paye who also came to Michigan from the Northeast, where he dominated. Additionally, the Wolverines are focusing on a few others on the defensive line, starting with defensive end Quintin Somerville.
Somerville is going to make his decision known on June 20 and the defensive end from Arizona, is a top-200 prospect in the 247 sports composite and ranks 151 according to Rivals. Shaun Nua has been working on him since he was hired as the defensive line coach. With all of his predictions from Rivals and 247 sports going to Michigan, he should wind up in the Maize and Blue.
Somerville’s raw talent, along with Bennett will at least give Michigan something to develop at defensive end. The Wolverines are also in the lead with four-star defensive tackle George Rooks, who would fill a need along the interior of the defensive line.
Both would be takes and would help address some needs in the future.
Hoping to get two key Cali recruits
One name fans who are following this cycle closely should know is that of four-star wideout Christian Dixon, who has been trending to Michigan strongly in recent weeks.
Dixon is ranked 166th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings and the 6-foot-2 wide receiver is the exactly the big-bodied, over the middle type Michigan has been wanting. He also has sneaky speed to get deep, but his most impressive ability to me was how he caught the ball in traffic, over the middle of the field.
Between Rivals and 247 sports, there are 12 predictions and 10 of them have him going to the Wolverines, so this is one fans should feel confident about.
However, another player in California that Michigan football would love to add to the 2021 class is four-star corner Jamier Johnson. The Wolverines have one corner committed in Ja’Den McBurrows, but you can never have enough DBs and U-M has been making positive gains lately according to Holland ($).
Gamechangers
We have filled up eight spots, but the last two are reserved for the most impactful recruits Michigan football still has a shot at getting.
One of those is very familiar and that’s Edwards, the No. 2 player in the state of Michigan and No. 37 overall in the 247 sports composite rankings. He’s a home-run threat and is equally dynamic as a runner and receiver.
There is no doubt that Edwards is the top player on Michigan’s board at this point and he should be. Pairing him with five-star QB J.J. McCarthy would be a dream come true. From the 247 experts, Edwards has eight crystal balls projecting him to the Wolverines.
Eight of his 11 FutureCasts from Rivals also have him going to Michigan, with the other three for Ohio State, which has already taken commitments from two high-profile running backs this cycle. His recruitment has been a challenge but Harbaugh and Josh Gattis have the Wolverines in great position, they just need to close and they will have their ideal recruiting class.
It would be hard to beat nabbing Edwards, but the extra cherry on top for this class would be somehow, someway getting Dallas Turner away from Georiga and Alabama. Turner is one of the best pure pass rusher in this class and while Alabama and Georiga are the clear favorites, Michigan is a darkhose in this recruitment ($).
It remains to be seen if they can keep getting traction, but Turner likes Don Brown’s system and with 16 guys locked up already, including four linebackers, U-M can give him all the attention he needs right now, in order to try and make him the final piece to the ideal 2021 recruiting class.