Michigan football has been working hard on its 2022 class and the Wolverines are in a strong position with a number of elite recruits.
The Michigan football program still has plenty of work to do on its 2021 recruiting class. But that hasn’t stopped the Wolverines from pushing full-steam ahead in 2022 and so far, things are off to a really good start.
As you may know, Michigan football does have one commitment for the 2022 class and that’s athlete/defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren, who is a beast. His brother is a Michigan football player and so even though he got an offer from Alabama recently, he’s solid to U-M.
But he remains the Wolverines only verbal commitment as part of the 2022 class. Safety Myles Rowser, the brother of incoming freshman Andre Seldon, was also committed but re-opened his recruitment. Michigan should still have a good shot at getting him though.
At this point, the board is obviously still taking shape and Michigan is still busy handing out offers and building some relationships out on the recruiting trail. So far in this class, head coach Jim Harbaugh and company have extended 173 offers.
Last month, I broke down some of the top-wish list recruits in 2022 on offense and defense, but it’s still hard to narrow down over 100 recruits right now.
However, some top priorities have obviously emerged. Wide receiver, cornerback, defensive tackle and of course, quarterback have been some early focuses, along with running back, which is incredibly deep in the 2022 cycle.
And for a look at who Michigan is resonating the most with right now, here are five priority targets already projected by one or more recruiting experts to land with the Wolverines.
4-star WR Tyler Morris
Tyler Morris has long been a top target of Michigan football. He was a teammate of five-star 2021 QB J.J. McCarthy, before the future Wolverines QB decided to transfer to Florida.
But still, that relationship is there and Morris seems interested in connecting with his old quarterback again. Plus, the consensus four-star receiver who is ranked 78th in the 247 composite rankings, has a strong rapport with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.
EJ Holland of Rivals reports Gattis and tight ends coach Sherrone Moore have been heavily involved and here’s what McCarthy told Holland about his Morris, his former go-to guy:
"“Tyler is one of those kids that has the ‘it’ factor. He busts his butt. You can’t say anything bad about him. He’s an awesome kid in the classroom and off the field. When he steps on the field, he flips that switch, and it’s go time. He’s one of those rare breed type kids.”"
Currently, Morris has two crystal ball predictions, one to Michigan and one to Notre Dame. However, the Irish have been falling behind in this recruitment and that probably will wind up being updated soon.
Holland hasn’t placed a Futurecast pick yet for Morris, but did say recently he’s close, which is enough to say things are trending in the right direction with Morris.
4-star WR Kaleb Brown
Michigan has done really well in Illinois the past few cycles landing Trevor Keegan, A.J. Henning and then McCarthy. Morris is from that same area, as is four-star receiver Kaleb Brown out of Chicago.
Brown is another elite receiver but he’s a different kind of player than Morris. At 5-foot-11, 177 pounds, Brown is more of the slot type Michigan football has recruited lately and compares to Henning, Mike Sainrisitil and Giles Jackson. Only he might be the best of them all.
The dynamic athlete is ranked 37th in the 247 sports composite rankings and here’s what Morris said about his 7-on-7 teammate to Holland ($):
"“First of all, Kaleb is a freak athlete. He does things that a lot of other people can’t do. We used to play against each other in the seventh grade and go back and forth. Now, we play on the same 7v7 team, and it’s dangerous.”"
Morris also told Holland that he and Brown have talked about playing together in college. Both are teammates with McCarthy for 7-on-7, so it would be a natural fit. Like Morris, Brown is also getting projected to Michigan by some experts.
Tom Loy a Notre Dame expert for 247 sports, projected Brown to the Wolverines and while he doesn’t have any picks from Rivals yet, Holland said he feels Michigan has an early advantage.
4-star RB Dillon Tatum
Michigan has really worked to establish a strong pipeline with West Bloomfield and hopes to continue that this year with the addition of Donovan Edwards to the 2021 recruiting class.
But looking ahead to 2022, the Wolverines have already spent a lot of time and effort trying to land another running back from West Bloomfield and that’s four-star Dillon Tatum.
Tatum is ranked No. 230 in the 247 composite rankings for 2022 and he’s the No. 24 running back, yet he’s been a priority for a while and has already made some visits. Here’s what he told Holland of Rivals ($) recently about Michigan:
"“It’s a big, historic program that I’ve always thought about growing up,” Tatum said. “It’s a place where I could see myself doing really big things at. I love the campus. I took my mom twice. She loved the weight room. Michigan just has a great environment.”"
Many folks like to trust the crystal balls given out by 247 sports and when it comes to guys like Sam Webb and Steve Lorenz, they are usually right on the money. But Holland is too and he put in a Futurecast for Tatum in January. At some point soon, more experts should follow suit.
Either way, Michigan feels like a solid leader here.
4-star OLB Joshua Burnham
Don Brown and Michigan football’s defense have had a lot of success with linebackers over the past four years and another talented one could be coming in four-star Joshua Burnham.
Of all the targets on this list, Burnham is probably the closest to being considered a lock for the Wolverines. Out of Traverse City, Michigan, Burnham grew up as a Michigan fan. Now, he just happens to be one of the top outside linebackers in the country in 2022.
At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Burnham still has a ton of potential. He could be a linebacker or maybe even a pass rusher down the road. Here’s what Sam Webb said about him earlier this month:
“One guy I will call (Michigan) the favorite for is Joshua Burnham. I love this kid’s game. When I first saw him I said, ‘this is going to be a national prospect.”
Alabama and Ohio State are making a strong push here too, but Burnham’s entirely family loves the Wolverines and he told 247 sports ($) he wants to visit Ann Arbor again.
Currently, Burnham has five crystal ball predictions from 247 sports, with each rating at a confidence level of six. That’s not a lock and there will be competition, but it’d be surprising if he didn’t end up playing for the Maize and Blue. He also has two Futurecasts to UM from Rivals.
4-star cornerback Jaeden Gould
Michigan has done a great job of recruiting New Jersey under Jim Harbaugh and that looks to continue in 2022 with one of the top players in that state, Jaeden Gould.
Gould is a 6-foot-2 cornerback with elite skills. He’s ranked 96th according to the 247 sports composite rankings and watching his film, it’s easy to see why. Gould is an impressive athlete, who also has elite size for a corner.
He plays off quite a bit but changes direction well and isn’t afraid to come up and stop the run. In short, he would be the ideal corner at Michigan and with his length, he could be a terror in man-to-man coverage. 247 sports is already projecting him as a future NFL corner.
Brice Marich, a recruiting expert for The Michigan Insider, was also the first to place a crystal ball for Gould to Michigan, which he did this week ($). And here’s an except of his interview with Gould, which is the reason why he made the prediction:
"“Michigan, I would say, I’ve been in contact with the most,” Gould said. “I’ve been there three times since they offered me. There’s just something special about that place. I wish I could go back every single weekend if I could.”"
That sounds very promising as a Michigan fan. There are no Futurecast picks from Rivals for Gould yet, he also has 28 offers so there will be plenty of contenders.
However, as with the other four guys on this list, Michigan football appears to be the clear favorite and while it’s about 17 months before these guys can sign, 2022 is off to a strong start.