Michigan Football: Wolverines end signing day on defensive high note

Michigan football added two defenders from Florida late on early signing day capping off a strong day overall for the Wolverines.

Not everything went according to plan for Michigan football on early national signing day, but by landing two signees from Florida late in the day, the Wolverines finished strong.

Most expected Michigan football to hold onto the commitment of three-star cornerback Ja’Den McBurrows, who did announce he would sign with the Wolverines over Miami, which made a really strong push, so much that it was a 50/50 at one point on Tuesday.

But things seemed to stabilize with McBurrows and by the time his decision was announced, it wasn’t a big surprise.

Of course, there was an inkling that McBurrows would choose the Wolverines once his high school teammate, Jaydon Hood, announced that he was signing early, which was probably the biggest surprise of the day.

Hood wasn’t supposed to sign on early signing day, even though he committed over the summer. He said he wanted to take a visit, which he had not gotten a chance to do, even a self-guided one, but on Wednesday, Hood made it official, getting the Wolverines their third four-star prospect on defense according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

Hood is ranked 246th in the country and 14th among inside linebackers. He’s received comparisons to Devin Bush Jr.

With the loss of four-star linebacker Branden Jennings, who was committed but then flipped and signed with Maryland, Hood’s addition is especially reassuring.

So was McBurrows, who gives the Wolverines their only true cornerback in this class. Ranked 549th overall in the 2021 class according to the 247 composite rankings, McBurrows is also the 43rd ranked corner and 79th-best player in Florida.

Yet, according to the 247 sports specific rankings, he is much higher and actually ranks as the No 36 cornerback and 63rd in the state of Florida. He’s 5-foot-10 and he’s a press-man corner.

Obviously, landing just one corner and one safety (Rod Moore) isn’t ideal, so it will be interesting to see if Michigan looks to the transfer portal. I’m sure the Wolverines will explore who is left for the later signing period but corner and defensive tackle should be targeted in the portal just for depth as much as anything else.

It does appear as though Don Brown and some others on the defensive staff could be on their way out, which probably played a role in Jennings and Somerville flipping.

But with 20 signees and 11 of them four-star prospects, it wasn’t a bad haul. That’s 55 percent on the blue-chip ratio and with the star power on offense, plus all the uncertainty, you have to be feeling pretty good as a Michigan football fan right now.