Michigan Football: Wolverines trending with 3-star Tristan Bounds

With experts from Rivals and 247 sports projecting Tristan Bounds to Michigan football, it’s safe to say things are trending in the right direction.

One of the most interesting recruitments to follow this cycle for Michigan football has been that of three-star offensive tackle Tristan Bounds, a player out of Connecticut.

Bounds is an intriguing prospect who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 285 pounds. The 247 sports composite rankings have him listed as the No. 662 overall player in the 2021 class and the 56th-best offensive tackle.

But in the specific 247 rankings, Bounds is ranked higher and among offensive tackles, he’s rated 39th. In either ranking, Bounds is underrated. Size is obviously something you can’t teach and with Michigan’s track record for developing offensive line talent, I’d be excited to see what Ed Warriner can do with the raw skill set Bounds possesses.

Well, if recruiting experts from Rivals and 247 sports are correct, Michigan football fans will get that chance as experts from both sites predicted Bounds to the Wolverines Monday.

EJ Holland of Rivals reported ($) that place a FutureCast pick for Bounds Monday and he wrote, “I think Michigan has taken command of this recruitment.”

That’s certainly a positive takeaway for the Wolverines, who have been competing for his commitment with both Virginia and Notre Dame. Yet, Holland wasn’t alone in his prediction as Brian Dohn, a lead recruiting analyst for 247 sports, placed a crystal ball for Bounds to Michigan ($) on Monday too and he also did so with a confidence level of eight, on a scale of 1-10.

Soon after Dohn placed his pick, Sam Webb and Brice Marich of the Michigan Insider did the same, meaning in just the last couple of hours, Michigan football has picked up four projections, including Holland and Webb, who are among the most trusted voices in U-M recruiting. Dohn’s prediction also carries a lot of weight, so in my humble opinion, this is signed, sealed and delivered.

While there hasn’t been any mention of when Bounds might commit. He and his family did drive to the University of Michigan not long ago to check it out, so he’s probably getting close to pulling the trigger.

As far as Garrett Dellinger, this probably signals that Michigan isn’t going to win that battle against LSU. The Wolverines will surely still try and if they won Dellinger over, I’m sure they’d have no problem taking an extra offensive tackle to pair with Giovanni El-Hadi, and hopefully, Bounds.