Michigan Football: Top O-line target chooses UCLA, latest on 2021 WR’s

Michigan football missed out on one key offensive line target, plus more on two wide receiver recruits who are sending some mixed messages.

You win some and you lose some on the recruiting trail and for Michigan football, this weekend was a clear reminder of that.

The Wolverines scored a big win on Saturday afternoon as four-star defensive end, Quintin Somerville, committed to Michigan football, ending a pursuit that lasted over a year and was run mainly by defensive line coach Shaun Nua.

Somerville has certainly dropped a bit in the rankings since when Michigan first offered. Some say he’s closer to 6-foot-1 than 6-foot-3, however, he still ranks 150th in the 247 sports composite rankings and is No. 151 via Rivals.

While Michigan won that recruiting battle, it lost another on Sunday, as three-star offensive tackle Thomas Cole, a recruit the Wolverines had been pushing hard for, chose to stay close to home and committed to UCLA.

As we covered Saturday morning, Michigan recently told Cole he was basically on level ground with other top targets such as Garrett Dellinger, who decides this week, Nolan Rucci, Drew Kendall and Rocco Spindler.

EJ Holland of Rivals said Cole told Michigan ($) before he announced it and his reason was wanting to be closer to home since he’s from San Luis Obispo, CA.

Dellinger is set to make his decision Wednesday. According to Holland, he has a recruiting video made with two endings, one with LSU and one with him going to Michigan.

It’d be a huge upset in the sense that all projections from 247 sports and Rivals have Dellinger going to LSU, but the Wolverines haven’t been told they’re out yet, so there’s slight hope.

Latest recruiting buzz for Michigan at wide receiver

One of the top targets at wide receiver, Christian Dixon, teased a commitment video and was really active on Twitter this weekend. It was hard to follow everything he said. He reiterated that LSU is his dream school. He also talked about USC, another finalist, as well as Michigan.

But according to Holland ($), LSU and USC aren’t really making a strong push for Dixon. Cal was another school that seemed to be a threat, however, the Bears didn’t get much mention over the weekend.

Dixon hasn’t set a date for committing and it’s felt like it could come at any time. He has been vocal on Twitter about his recruitment being open, since many have assumed he’s going to U-M, but at the end of the day, it’s hard to see him going elsewhere. He’s a four-star recruit according to Rivals and the 247 composite, however, 247 sports recently dropped him down to a three star and the No. 96 WR overall in 2021. He wasn’t the only Michigan target to fall either.

Lastly, an update on the wide receiver front with Xavier Worthy, a dynamic four-star receiver who Michigan football has been recruiting hard. At one time, the Wolverines seemed to be getting momentum, but lately, it’s been all Oregon.

All seven of Worthy’s crystal ball projections have him going to the Ducks and he was supposed to commit on June 27. But then, after also tweeting recently he would stay 100 percent committed to whichever school he chose, Worthy postponed his commitment date.

The receiver is ranked 175th overall in 2021 and his recruitment blew up this spring. On top of Michigan and Oregon, Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Auburn are all listed as warm on his 247 sports’ profile.

Obviously, the news isn’t good for Oregon, which seemed on the verge of getting a commitment. It could be seen as a positive sign for Michigan, in the sense it at least gives the Wolverines more time to recruit him and maybe even get him for a visit if he waits until fall.

Worthy didn’t say when he would decide, which would be important, but at the very least, there’s more hope now than there was just two days ago.