Michigan Football: What’s up with QB recruiting in 2022?

Michigan football didn’t make the cut list for anther top target at quarterback in four-star Gavin Wimsatt and at this point in the cycle, the Wolverines are scrambling a little. 

In the past two weeks, two quarterbacks who seemed like legitimate targets for Michigan football in the class of 2022 have either committed elsewhere or left U-M off their top list.

Nicco Marchiol, an Arizona prospect who was trending with Michigan crystal balls at one point in the recruiting process, committed to Florida State over the weekend. That wasn’t a big shock and the Wolverines weren’t even a finalist.

Michigan also offered a four-star quarterback from Kentucky earlier in this cycle, Gavin Wimsatt, one of the top dual-threat passers in the class of 2022 and over the weekend, U-M failed to make the cut there too as Notre Dame, Oregon, Ole Miss, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Louisville and Kentucky are all still in the mix.

Looking at that list, it makes you wonder why Michigan wasn’t more of a player in this recruitment and the only answer I can come up with is the instability that occurred with Jim Harbaugh’s contract negotiations and also letting go Ben McDaniels, the former QB coach.

Harbaugh is coaching quarterbacks and it looks like he will have some work to do in terms of adding a talented arm to the class of 2022.

Of course, signing a five-star quarterback in the class of 2021, as the Wolverines did with J.J. McCarthy was always going to make getting another elite quarterback a challenge.

But looking at the board, it’s hard to identify Michigan’s top target at this point. Sure, it would love a guy like five-star Maalik Murphy but there isn’t much buzz there or with any top quarterback.

A three-star QB to watch

One name to keep an eye on in the class of 2022 is that of three-star prospect Holden Geriner out of Georgia. He’s ranked No. 565 overall in this cycle and is rated as the No. 29 pro-style passer according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

The Wolverines offered him back in June, and he’s starting to get a little more attention on the recruiting trail. He was offered by Michigan State at the end of December and was also just re-offered by the new staff at Auburn. He also holds offers from LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Cincinnati among others.

Watching his highlights, Geriner has a solid arm. It’s not overly strong and I’d say his accuracy is probably his best attribute. Whether it was throwing the ball down field or underneath, he put the ball in spots where his receivers could run after the catch.

Geriner is listed at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds and while he’s not an explosive athlete, he’s not a statue back in the pocket either.

Outside of Geriner, another name to keep on the radar is DeQuandre Smith, who was offered by the Wolverines back in December. Michigan was his first major offer for the 6-foot-1, 200-pound quarterback out of South Carolina.

Smith could be a late riser in the process, but whether its him, Geriner or someone else, the Wolverines have some work to do at quarterback in the class of 2022.