Michigan Football trending with another 4-star DB in 2022

The recruiting news has been fast and furious for Michigan football over the past few days and after closing the 2021 class on a strong note, the Wolverines aren’t slowing down at all as they shift their focus toward the class of 2022.

Earlier today, Michigan football started trending with expert picks for four-star safety Taylor Groves, a top-247 prospect in the 247 composite rankings out of Tennessee.

Well, not surprisingly, new cornerbacks coach and co-defensive coordinator Maurice Linguist has Michigan football in a strong position to win the recruitment of another four-star defensive back out of Tennessee in 2022 and that’s Kody Jones.

Jones is out of Germantown, Tennessee and he’s ranked as the No. 279 recruit in the 2022 class according to the 247 sports composite rankings, as well as the 15th-best athlete in the class and the No. 9 player in the state of Tennessee.

Linguist obviously has connections with coaches there as Groves is also out of Tennessee and already we can see that Linguist is going to be a home-run hire on the recruiting trail.

Experts projected Groves to Michigan earlier on Thursday and by the afternoon, the picks started coming in for Jones too as Steve Wilfong, Josh Newkirk and Sam Webb at 247 sports are all predicting him to the Wolverines with an average confidence level of seven.

EJ Holland, Michigan’s recruiting reporter for Rivals also has a Futurecast pick in for the Wolverines and it seems like more experts are on the way.

Michigan football offered Jones just a couple of week ago and thanks to Linguist, they have surged to the top of his recruitment.

Jones is listed at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds and he’s a pretty solid all-around defender. His highlights show him playing cornerback quite a bit, but he would probably be better off as a safety.

He does have good ball skills, which isn’t a huge shock considering he’s played running back and wide receiver on offense too. Jones is also a talented return guy and would likely contribute in a big way on special teams.

The thing about today’s game is that you need guys who are essentially corners and safeties, guys like Daxton Hill. Jones looks comfortable in the box and is a willing tackler. I also liked what I saw from him shedding blocks on screens and making plays.

Defensive backs have to be versatile. They are becoming an even more important group with more and more offenses spreading the field and if Michigan is able to get Jones and Groves in the fold early, that will be enormous for the class of 2022.