Michigan Football: Latest buzz on 2021 defensive tackle targets

Michigan football has been searching for a big defensive tackle in the middle and here’s an update on that for 2021.

The Michigan football program has been putting together a solid recruiting class for 2021 and so far, the Wolverines have 17 commitments.

Michigan also ranks in the top five in team rankings for 2021, however, it’s way too early to really pay attention. The Wolverines are going to have a hard time maintaining that spot and one reason is that Michigan isn’t going to end up with a ton of four-star recruits on defense.

In 2019, the Wolverines landed seven four-star guys or better on defense and last year, the same number was nine. Right now, Michigan football has three four-star commitments on defense in Junior Colson, Jaydon Hood and Kechaun Bennett.

Michigan football is also considered the favorite for four-star defensive lineman Quintin Somerville and George Rooks. After that, U-M is pursuing plenty of top targets, especially at defensive tackle, rush end and corner but the Wolverines will need to go on quite a run to reach the average of eight four-star prospects landed on defense in the past two cycles.

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One thing that certainly hurt Michigan football this cycle, with some top recruits, was the departure of Anthony Campanile and Chris Partridge. Those guys did a tremendous job of recruiting New Jersey and the Northeast. That was particularly true at Bergen Catholic.

Last year, Michigan was able to land Jordan Morant and this cycle, there was a strong inkling that the Wolverines could land top-100 defensive tackle Tywone Malone. The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder visited Ann Arbor last fall and the Wolverines were in good shape it seemed. He even had an interest in playing baseball too, something Malone said Michigan would let him do.

But after losing Campanile and Partridge, the Wolverines have basically fallen out of contention as EJ Holland of Rivals reported ($). Holland wrote that Jim Harbaugh has reached out to Malone and Michigan football is trying to stay in the mix, but on his 247 sports profile it’s Ohio State, Rutgers, Ole Miss and Texas A&M listed as warm.

If Malone is a miss, then Michigan football has another top target it can focus on and that’s four-star Rayshaun Benny. Benny is a really interesting prospect at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds. His 247 profile lists him as an offensive tackle but he can go both ways and Michigan football would likely want him on the defensive side of the ball.

Benny is ranked 194th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings and 86th overall via Rivals, but he is out of Oak Park, Michigan, a place the Wolverines haven’t had a ton of success. However, he has visited and Michigan has been a contender throughout.

Kentucky, Iowa and Michigan are three programs listed as warm by 247 sports, but Benny also talked with Ohio State not long ago and he has a ton of offers from SEC schools, so it’s far from over. In fact, right now, neither Rivals or 247 have a single expert prediction for Benny, so things seem pretty wide open, which could be a great opportunity for the Wolverines. Here’s what he said to 247 sports about his timeline:

"“I most definitely want to get back there. I’m just waiting till things get opened back up. I’m definitely not going to decide (on a college) until I take visits. It looks like that won’t happen until the fall.”"

That should give the Wolverines plenty of time to make a push. Like last year, Michigan will likely have most of its class put together by August or so and by then, it will be about landing the final pieces to the puzzle. Benny, a kid with huge potential, could be one that fits perfectly.

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