Michigan Football: What’s next after missing on Sebastian Cheeks?
Michigan football missed out on four-star linebacker Sebastian Cheeks who committed to North Carolina. Here’s a look at the fallout.
In the days leading up to the announcement of four-star linebacker Sebastian Cheeks, there wasn’t much optimism that Michigan football was going to land his commitment.
And on Wednesday, when Cheeks announced his decision, he chose North Carolina as expected over the Wolverines and a slew of others like Oregon, Wisconsin, and Texas.
The biggest reason North Carolina won this recruitment was probably Mack Brown. He was all over this and so was his entire staff. The Tar Heels were more constantly involved with Cheeks, while Michigan football was sort of on and off with the new defensive staff.
The Wolverines made a strong push late and a visit to Ann Arbor over the weekend left a glimmer of hope for Michigan but now it’s time to look for other options after missing on Cheeks, who is a borderline top-100 in the 247 sports composite rankings.
Who’s next?
As we outlined earlier this week, there is more than one top target deciding at linebacker this week and the focus will now shift to Texas linebacker Jeremy Patton, who is announcing his commitment on July 31st.
Patton is listed as a three-star recruit according to the 247 sports composite rankings, but the former wide receiver is a really good athlete and the Wolverines are embroiled in a tough recruiting battle for his commitment with Texas and Baylor.
Last season, Patton ran for over 1,000 yards as a running back, while also registering 120 tackles, six forced fumbles, one interception, and a pair of defensive touchdowns.
Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider and the other Michigan guys at 247 sports talked about how important it was to land Patton and it’s even more important now that Cheeks is off the board.
Webb said on their latest podcast episode that the Michigan staff had reasons to feel confident but Patton has crystal ball projections to Texas and Baylor, as well as Webb’s pick for Michigan.
If Patton visits Texas this week that could seal Michigan’s fate so that will be something to keep an eye on. EJ Holland is projecting Patton to the Horns. He also predicted Deuce Spurlock to the Wolverines recently and if Patton doesn’t join U-M’s class, he could be the next target.
Mississippi State is the top contender there and has a crystal ball projection of its own for Spurlock. This might come down to whichever team — the Bulldogs or Wolverines — that makes the hardest push.
dark. Next. Top 15 Michigan football quarterbacks of all time
Of course for Michigan, that depends on Patton’s decision.