Michigan Football: More positive trends with elite 2022 corner

Michigan football is in strong position for 2022 recruit Jaeden Gould, who has multiple crystal ball projections and other reasons to see him going to U-M.

Michigan football fans should feel good about the Wolverines 2021 recruiting class right now. 21 recruits are committed as part of the group and 11 of them are four-star prospects or better according to the 247 composite rankings.

Looking back, a big reason why Michigan football has had so much success this cycle were the commitments of quarterback J.J. McCarthy and offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi.

Both of these pledges gave the Wolverines momentum and two elite recruits on top of it. McCarthy and El-Hadi are still draws for Michigan as two cornerstones in its 2021 class.

Looking ahead to the 2022 recruiting class, Michigan already has a commitment from Alex VanSumeren, an athlete/defensive tackle. His brother Ben plays for the Wolverines now and he’s a solid verbal pledge, although Alabama has offered him.

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Soon though, the Wolverines could have more than one pledge in their 2022 class and the next guy to commit could be four-star cornerback Jaeden Gould out of Bergen Catholic in New Jersey.

At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Gould is a really solid prospect and he plays at a school that Michigan has recruited well at over the years. Jordan Morant committed in the 2020 cycle from there.

And early on, Gould has been a priority for the Wolverines and it’s made a difference. Last week, he picked up a crystal ball projection to Michigan from Brice Marich of the Michigan Insider. And Monday, Steve Lorenz joined Marich ($) in predicting Gould to U-M.

Lorenz said the relationship established between Michigan and Gould has gone a long way and the No. 2 recruit in the state of New Jersey, as well as the No. 12 cornerback in the 2021 class according to the 247 composite, has already visited Ann Arbor three times.

You can also see Gould wearing some Michigan stuff in this video, which shows his movement skills. Here’s the scouting report for Gould via Brian Dohn of 247 sports:

"“Big frame with ideal cornerback length. Can easily play at 215 pounds. Elite athleticism. Explosive, fast, high football IQ. Hip looseness results in fluid change of direction. Possesses closing speed. Physical with ball in air. Aggressive down the field. Gets out of breaks on receiver’s hip. Drives on balls well. Needs to improve backpedal. Must develop jam to re-route receivers.”"

Gould is rated 96th overall in the 247 composite rankings and after not landing an elite defensive back yet in the 2021 class, it would be great for the Wolverines to land a top-flight corner in 2022.

It’s hard to say when Gould will make a decision, but after making all the visits he has and the continued communication between both sides, you would think, if it is Michigan, it might be sooner rather than later.