Michigan Football: Top O-line target commits to Notre Dame
By Alex Hinton
One of Michigan football’s top targets in 2022 chose to commit to Notre Dame.
Michigan Football has been on a roll on the recruiting trail, picking up five commitments in the span of the last nine days.
However, even when Michigan is hot, it is not going to land every prospect it offers. That is what happens when 200+ offers go out to land around 25 or so.
Yesterday, Michigan saw one of its top targets go off the board when three-star offensive tackle Ashton Craig committed to Notre Dame.
From Ashton Craig:@CoachTMendelson, @CoachJeffQuinn, @CoachBrianKelly, @AllenTrieu, @IndianaPreps, @NDFootball,@EHansenNDI,@CoachD178,@Rivals_Singer, @TomLoy247 pic.twitter.com/le4fFBhqkp
— Ryan Knigga (@lhstigercoach) June 27, 2021
Craig has been a fast-rising prospect and he will likely be ranked as a four-star soon. The Wolverines extended an offer to him on June 5th and he took an official visit to Ann Arbor last weekend.
The Fighting Irish offered Craig just three days ago and he quickly set up an official visit to Notre Dame. Like Michigan, Notre Dame has been successful in sending offensive linemen to the NFL in recent years. Additionally, with Craig being from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, the in-state pull to the Fighting Irish was too much for Michigan football to overcome.
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While it always hurts to lose a top target to a rival, Michigan finds itself in a good position on the offensive line. The Wolverines already have two commitments from offensive tackles Connor Jones and Alessandro Lorenzetti, who just joined the class on Friday.
Michigan is also in contention for five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. out of Seattle and four-star offensive George Fitzpatrick out of Colorado.
Conerly Jr. is expected to take his first visit to Michigan next month for the BBQ at the Big House according to Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider (subscription required). Fitzpatrick took an official visit to Michigan on June 11.
Additionally, four-star defensive lineman Deone Walker out of Detroit Cass Tech is a Michigan lean and could end up on the offensive line as well.
While I like Walker better on defense, he also has a high ceiling as an offensive tackle. Should Walker commit to the Wolverines, defensive line coach Shaun Nua and co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore will be fighting to get him in their rooms.