Michigan Football: Buy or sell on key recruits committing in 2021
Rooks, Kendall, David
Michigan football has done an exceptional job of recruiting the Northeast in recent years and these states in particular such as Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
That’s where three critical targets reside in Rooks (NJ), David (Maryland) and Kendall (Massachusetts) and that’s where we will start with our buy or sell list.
4-star OG Drew Kendall: Sell
This recruitment has been about as wacky as Spindler’s and that didn’t work out for the Wolverines. Most expected Kendall to commit fairly quickly after Spindler chose the Fighting Irish and yet, we are near the end of August and a decision could still be weeks away, if not longer.
Kendall has nine crystal ball projections but one glaring name that’s missing is Steve Wiltfong. He said months ago he was “glad” he didn’t put in a projection for Kendall and you wonder if some others wish they had held off too.
The confidence levels aren’t high and while it wouldn’t surprise me if he wound up at Michigan, it feels like he’s looking for a reason to commit to Boston College.
When it comes to George Rooks, it’s hard to feel like we know much of anything, because we don’t. The New Jersey product doesn’t do many interviews and outside of the fact that he took dead-period visits to Michigan and Penn State, there’s not a ton to go on.
It does feel like it has come down to those two schools but I have to give the Wolverines the edge.
Rooks only has two crystal ball projections but both are with U-M. EJ Holland of Rivals also had his Futurecast pick in for the Wolverines.
This isn’t a slam dunk by any means but still feels like Michigan will win out and according to Steve Lorenz of the Michigan Insider ($) a decision is expected soon.
Michigan really was trending in the right direction with David, as Oklahoma dropped out of the mix, leaving what looked like a two-horse race between Boston College and Michigan.
But then Oregon jumped in with an offer and that changed everything. Still, Boston College Insider Tyler Calvaruso said this a few days ago ($):
"“I wouldn’t worry much about Oregon jumping in late. Yes, there is reason to reconsider things anytime a “dream school” enters the mix, but if distance really is a factor in his recruitment, it’s going to remain a battle between Boston College and Michigan.”"
Of course, David did seem to have a better relationship with Oregon than people thought, he just didn’t talk about them much because they hadn’t offered.
Still, the distance was mentioned as a factor in this recruitment which makes Oregon a hard sell, especially if David isn’t able to visit.
Both Oregon and Boston College are real threats in my estimation, but Michigan seems to strike the right balance and I think the Wolverines win this one.