Michigan Football: SEC schools offer key in-state targets in 2022

It may have gotten tougher to land a pair of in-state recruits in the class of 2022 for Michigan football after SEC programs extended offers on Sunday.

Deone Walker is one of Michigan football‘s top targets for 2022 and the big 6-foot-6, 340-pound defensive tackle was in Ann Arbor this weekend for the Big House BBQ.

Walker is close friends with Michigan commit Mario Eugenio, who was also on campus for the BBQ this weekend and there was some thought that it could help the Wolverines close with Walker, who is a clear priority for the coaching staff.

https://twitter.com/MEugenioJ/status/1421503136502517761

The Detroit Cass Tech prospect is ranked 325th overall in 2022 and 10th in the state in the 247 sports composite rankings. He would also fill a huge need in the middle of the defense.

There was hope that he would either straight out commit to the Wolverines or at least announce a commitment date. But then, on Sunday, Alabama came in with an offer, which could push this recruitment into the fall, which is when Walker said he wanted to decide anyway.

When Alabama jumps in with an offer it’s always significant and with Walker, it’s worrisome. Michigan football controls all eight of his crystal ball projections and with the Wolverines not leading with many four-star recruits, Walker is simply a must-get.

It sounds like he will try and take a visit to Alabama, which can’t come before September since the dead period started again. So the prospect of a gameday visit to Alabama is now looming in this recruitment and makes it even more imperative that the staff finds a way to seal the deal.

Dillon Tatum gets an SEC offer

Another four-star recruit from the state of Michigan, Dillon Tatum also received an offer from an SEC program on Sunday and that’s Tennessee.

https://twitter.com/PrimeTimeDill/status/1421781436386922498

On the face, you might think it’s a bit late for an offer, considering Tatum has said he wants to decide before his senior season of high school. That would lead one to believe that will happen this month, although he was originally expected to decide in April, so who knows?

And while Tennessee isn’t the name that Alabama is, there are some ties to Michigan. For one, Tim Banks, who was at Penn State and recruited the state really well, is on staff at Tennessee. He’s from the Detroit area and Brian Jean-Mary, a former member of the U-M staff, also coaches at Tennessee. So there are some connections.

It still feels like a Michigan-Michigan State recruiting battle, but if Tatum doesn’t decide soon, it’s going to be hard to be confident in him picking the Wolverines, even though they are still the crystal ball leader.

In other news, Darrius Clemons, a four-star wide receiver who Michigan has targeted, eliminated the Wolverines and put out a final three of Auburn, Penn State, and Oregon.

https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1421908733244944385

Michigan has made some new offers at wide receiver and the fact that things have gone the wrong way with Clemons and Dillon Bell could be a reason for that.

Along those same lines, Deuce Spurlock is going to come into focus at linebacker in 2022 after Jeremy Patton chose Baylor.

https://twitter.com/Hayesfawcett3/status/1421908733244944385

Mississippi State is thought to be the top rival for him, yet South Carolina jumped in the mix on Sunday for the recruit out of Alabama, so that’s more competition.

Spurlock does have one crystal ball projection for Michigan and that’s recent. And now that Patton is off the board, there’s a good chance the staff focuses on him next.