Michigan Football: Thoughts on Wolverines 2021 WR recruiting

How many wide receivers will Michigan football take in 2021? Plus how does no California high school football impact U-M commits?

One of the key questions facing Michigan football as we head down the stretch of the 2021 recruiting cycle is how many players will the Wolverines be able to take?

Some have suggested around 26 and the standard number is 25. The Wolverines had a spot open up when Aaron Lewis entered the transfer portal. The former three-star defensive end announced he was going to Rutgers Monday.

So Michigan could use that open spot in 2021 or push it ahead to the 2022 class. Adding a player via transfer is another option too. In terms of 2021, one position that’s interesting in terms of numbers is wide receiver where three players have already pledged to this class.

Markus Allen out of Ohio, along with Xavier Worthy and Christian Dixon of California. Worthy is ranked in the top-100 by 247 sports. Both Worthy and Dixon are four-star recruits in the 247 composite, while Allen is a three-star. Yet, he’s also just 16-years old.

With 20 total commitments already and guys like Donovan Edwards, Rocco Spindler, Rayshaun Benny, Drew Kendall, Tavierre Dunlap and others out there, you wonder if Michigan can really afford to take another receiver like four-star Jayden Thomas?

Michigan is also continuing to push hard for three-star safety Daymon David according to EJ Holland of Rivals ($), as well as other defensive backs such as Ceyair Wright and Kamonte Grimes.

Even if you assume Michigan football has seven more spots, and it takes Thomas, that doesn’t leave much room for others. Consider this:

Add a couple of offensive linemen (Spindler and Kendall), a couple of d-lineman (Benny and George Rooks), a running back (Edwards) and one defensive back (Grimes, David, Wright) to 2021 and you are at 27.

Obviously, Michigan would love to win all the battles listed above, but there isn’t room for all of them, so it will be interesting to see how it shakes out. With Thomas, his ability to play baseball has also been a factor.

In fact, Holland reported that Thomas spoke ($) with the Michigan baseball staff last week when he released his top five.

Maybe baseball could help with some sort of scholarship too and that’s a factor cause the Wolverines seem to be in the lead, despite Notre Dame, Georiga and Arkansas still being very much in the mix.

What no Cali high school football means for Michigan?

California joined a few other states Monday in pushing high school football to the spring. Obviously, in a talent-rich state like that, it’s a big deal and the Wolverines already have Worthy and Dixon committed from there.

You have to wonder if those guys will just skip the season and enroll early? I doubt Michigan football wants its high-profile recruits participating in a spring season, only to turn around and play college football again the next fall as a true freshman.

It’s hard to say that players will do, however, if you are committed to a top Division-I program and already signed, are you really going to risk that? Somehow, I doubt it, so if there is actually high school football in these states this spring, expect it to be watered down.

Or, if recruits do play, coaches will likely be biting their fingernails, hoping top signees avoid injuries or wear and tear that could prevent them from contributing immediately in college.

It’s a strange new world out there and it will be interesting to see how schools navigate all the different things happening with high school football around the country.