Michigan Football: Top edge rusher trending away from Wolverines

Despite a positive visit to Michigan football recently, Beau Atkinson is deciding soon and his crystal ball projections are going the wrong way. 

Out of Raliegh, North Carolina, Beau Atkinson really seemed to enjoy his visit to Michigan football. He bonded with Aidan Hutchinson and there were some obvious comparisons between the two.

Hutchinson and fellow defensive end Braiden McGregor hosted the four-star defensive end ranked 360th overall in 2022 and 19th among edge rushers. Those two guys are going to be ideal fits in the new scheme run by Mike Macdonald and Atkinson would have been too.

McGregor even offered some extra encouragement on Twitter to Atkinson to commit to the Wolverines following the visit, writing: “You know the move lil bro.”

But it looks like that move won’t be committing to the Michigan football program. Atkinson announced on Tuesday that he was planning to announce his commitment on Wednesday and soon after, in the kiss of death, Atkinson’s 247 sports profile was flooded with crystal balls to North Carolina.

https://twitter.com/Beauatkinson9/status/1404984142991966218

Michigan football is one of the three teams in the mix along with North Carolina and Miami, however, the pull from the Tar Heels must be too much to overcome. North Carolina has been on the rise and Mac Brown was always known as a really good recruiter.

It’s a bummer for the Wolverines because Atkinson was one of their top targets at edge rusher for a reason and one the staff was in a good position with. There are some other viable four-star targets such as Mario Eugenio at defensive end, but Atkinson would have been a good get.

More crystal ball picks for in-state linebacker

On a positive note, Michigan has started to pick up more crystal ball projections for three-star, in-state linebacker Aaron Alexander out of Belleville.

Alexander was just offered by the Wolverines this past weekend after a prospects camp. The coaching staff liked his athleticism and the 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker would be a nice fit in the new scheme, especially with his ability to cover. He also plays running back and could even be a safety in the future.

Steve Lorenz put in the first prediction to Michigan for Alexander but more have followed. Allen Trieu, a top recruiting expert in the Midwest, and also Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider did the same. The average confidence level of all three picks is a seven.

Alexander is ranked just 55th in the state of Michigan right now according to 247 sports own rankings for the 2022 class, but Michigan is known for having good evaluations and we’ll see if Alexander starts to rise in the coming months.

With the way things are headed, it seems like a commitment to Michigan might not be too far off either.