Michigan Football: Confidence fading with 4-star Drew Kendall

Michigan football has long been the leader with four-star recruit Drew Kendall, but things are starting to have a different feel.

Drew Kendall has been a key target for Michigan football and he’s been a recruit frequently talked about here and everywhere else for the last two months.

In late April, Kendall started trending with Michigan crystal balls and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before Kendall would pull the trigger on a commitment.

And even though the Wolverines already have four offensive line commitments, it’s hard to pass on a talent like Kendall, who ranks as the No. 8 guard in the 2021 class as well as the 129th-best player overall according to the 247 composite rankings.

Talent is talent after all and Kendall, at 6-foot-4, 260 pounds, will likely need a redshirt year anyway. Just look at the talented offensive lineman in the 2019 class that weren’t even able to burn their redshirt. Few players do it and that’s a good way to build depth.

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The problem is that Kendall seems less and less likely to come. Things haven’t started to shift among the prognosticators who have projected the Massachusetts prospect to the Wolverines. However, one key recruiting analyst, Brian Dohn, did lower the confidence of his crystal ball.

When Dohn, a 247 sports analyst, first placed his crystal ball pick of Kendall to Michigan, he used a confidence level of nine on a scale of 10. On Tuesday, Dohn said that he was dropping his confidence level ($) with Kendall down to a five.

Dohn cited Kendall’s continued interest in Stanford, including that he’s going through the application process there. Boston College is another school in the mix, because his dad played there, so there is likely local pressure for him to stay home.

The numbers situation also doesn’t help. If Rocco Spindler ends up choosing Notre Dame on Aug. 8 instead of Michigan football, I’d feel better about Kendall committing. I think that has been part of the holdup and it’s understandable.

But when you look at the crystal ball picks of others with Kendall, none are higher than a six except Josh Newkirk of the Michigan Insider. Sam Webb, another trusted source is at a five, which he said recently in his minimum level to place one, so that’s not promising either.

Steve Wiltfong also hasn’t placed a crystal ball. A couple of Boston College experts have abstained too, so a number of experts have shown pause even though all Futurecast and crystal ball picks are still predicting a Michigan commitment.

It was for this reason I recently predicted Kendall wouldn’t be part of Michigan football’s 2021 class. Now, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He could commit tomorrow for all we know.

But a commitment has seemed imminent for months and it sort of feels like he’s looking for a reason not too and you just get the feeling if he waits for Spindler to make a decision, the two of them won’t be part of the same class. One will end up at Michigan and one won’t.

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Of course, things change quickly. Not long ago, Xavier Worthy to Oregon seemed like a done deal. Now, he’s a Michigan football commit, so if Kendall decides before the end of the month, which he’s hinted at before, all bets are off. But his pledge is no longer viewed as the sure thing it was.

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