Top Michigan Football target in 2022 takes self-guided visit

Michigan football had another 2022 recruit take a self-guided visit over the weekend and we break down what it means for the Wolverines.

Self-guided visits are becoming the norm during this ongoing dead period and over the weekend, Michigan football had another top target, defensive end Joe Strickland, take advantage.

Strickland is a top-200 prospect in the 247 composite rankings and the 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end out of Indianapolis ranks 193rd overall and 11th at his position.

While the Wolverines aren’t the only Big Ten program making a strong push for him, including Penn State, Indiana and Purdue, Michigan football seems to be in a strong spot after Strickland and his mother visited campus this past weekend according to The Michigan Insider ($).

"“He has a connection to Coach Nua and once the dead period was pushed back to January, I knew he had to get a feel for the campus in order to know how to proceed, and so we did,” Mrs. Strickland told The Michigan Insider. “We took it upon ourselves to take off on a Sunday and first went to the stadium.”"

While Strickland’s mother indicated that they would be taking other self-guided visits and hoped to take some official visits next year, which means he’s not close to a decision, it’s still a positive sign for a recruit to visit.

During this extended dead period, others have taken self-guided visits right before committing, such as Andrel Anthony, Tristian Bounds and Martin Klein, although Klein was the only commit to do so in the 2022 class.

Strickland currently has one crystal ball projection to Notre Dame, but that came in June of 2019, so the Wolverines appear to have as good a shot as any program right now.

Michigan football first to offer potentially elite 2024 in-state recruit

The Wolverines have done a solid job of offering prospects in the state of Michigan a little earlier, as we have seen in both the 2022 and 2023 classes. Now, that’s extending to 2024.

On Monday, Michigan extended an offer to Brandon Davis-Swain, a freshman standout at West Bloomfield, the same school where Donovan Edwards and Dillon Tatum attend, as well as Makari Paige who committed to Michigan football in 2020.

Davis-Swain is listed as a tight end, defensive end and linebacker on his Twitter account, but he could eventually be playing wide receiver down the road.

Either way, most believe he will be one of the next big-time recruits in the area as Sam Webb said in this tweet, so it’s smart to get an offer in early.