Michigan Football: Wolverines miss on top CB target, make a top list

Michigan football missed out on another cornerback target as four-star Omarion Cooper committed to Florida State. That and more on the 2021 class.

While Michigan football has done a nice job recruiting the defensive side of the ball the past two months, one position where the board isn’t stacking up so great is at cornerback and it was whittled down a little further Sunday when four-star Omarion Cooper committed to Florida State.

Cooper, who was offered by Michigan football back in February, is ranked as the No. 271 prospect overall in the 2021 composite rankings from 247 sports and he’s also listed as the 18th-best cornerback.

With the options starting to dwindle, Michigan was set to make a push for Cooper, a talented defensive back from Leigh Acres, Florida. Yet, Florida State always felt like the team to beat and that turned out to be true as the Seminoles secured his commitment Sunday, via an announcement on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/OmarionC2/status/1269665623098953730

Missing out on Cooper is a disappointment for sure, but Michigan was always going to have to make up a lot of ground in that recruitment. And with 17 commitments already, the Wolverines are running out of space in their 2021 class but likely have one spot saved for another corner.

Ja’Den McBurrows is the only cornerback committed as part of the 2021 class. He’s a talented man-to-man defender and exactly the kind of defensive back you’d expect to prosper under coach Mike Zordich. But the Wolverines are looking for depth and the list of options is shrinking.

Dyson McCutcheon is one name to watch and he recently had a video call with Jim Harbaugh and Zordich. Jamier Johnson and Ceyair Wright are other names to watch but are high-ranking four-star recruits from California and won’t be easy to land. Washington also seems to be the early leader for McCutcheon but a visit could change things. Still, it’s an uphill battle right now.

One thing that McBurrows can possibly help with is the recruitment of elite edge rusher Dallas Turner, a top-50 outside linebacker who is likely going to either Alabama or Georgia but has Michigan football among his top five. Here’s what Turner’s dad said about his relationship with McBurrows to The Michigan Insider ($):

"“Ja’Den and Dallas are very close friends,” Mr. Turner said. “They were best friends at American Heritage. Ja’Den actually left American Heritage, but they’ve always been friends. He’s always at our house. So, there is maybe… I don’t know. I don’t get in their conversations like that. (There is) some recruiting within the recruiting. I can see that (influencing Dallas). Sometimes kids partner up on that level. And I can see that happening, to a degree.”"

One kid recruiting another usually doesn’t matter but sometimes, if it’s a teammate, it could make a difference. At this point, with Turner, Michigan will use all the help it can get.

In other recruiting news, three-star tackle in the 247 composite rankings, Thomas Cole released a new top five and included the Wolverines. Cal, UCLA and Arizona are some of the other teams pushing for Cole and it remains to be seen how hard U-M will recruit him with four other commitments already on the offensive line, but the Wolverines have a shot if interested.