Michigan Football: Wolverines should push to flip DT Derrick Shepard

Following some recent developments at DT in the 2022 recruiting class, Michigan football should make a push for Cincinnati commitment Derrick Shepard. 

Michigan football received some disappointing news on the recruiting trail on Tuesday night as five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen didn’t include the Wolverines in his new top three.

Now to be fair, Texas A&M, which made the top three last night, didn’t make the top five Nolen released earlier this summer. So maybe the Wolverines could get back into the race, but it sounds like their NIL pitch isn’t in the same league as the SEC schools.

That’s why it doesn’t seem likely Michigan football will re-enter the mix. Nolen was supposed to visit Ann Arbor in September and we’ll see if that happens or not.

This recruitment has been all over the place, so it’s probably too early to count out Michigan, Alabama, and Florida — other teams that didn’t make the cut Tuesday.

Michigan football needs to focus on other targets

The bottom line is that Nolen isn’t coming to Ann Arbor. It was always a pipe dream. Now, the Wolverines can focus on a number of key recruitments they need to win at defensive tackle such as Kenneth Grant, Deone Walker, and a guy such as Isaiah Hastings.

However, another name to monitor is Derrick Shepard.

Shepard is out of Dayton, Ohio, and is a 6-foot-3, 315-pound defensive tackle committed to Cincinnati. He was a top target of Michigan football at one point, but when the staff was changed over, the Wolverines fell by the wayside and he committed to the Bearcats.

Part of the reason for that was the effort of Marcus Freeman, the former DC for Cincy, who is now at Notre Dame. That could leave an opening and the Wolverines have been in contact with Shepard according to EJ Holland of Rivals.

Shepard is ranked 314th overall in the 2022 recruiting class and as Holland indicated, he would be an ideal fit for the Wolverines new 3-4 defense.

He certainly strikes me as a guy who could play as a three-technique or five. I don’t see him as a nose tackle but he could play the same role as a guy like Hastings.

Kenneth Grant and Deone Walker both have the ability to play nose tackle, as well as other spots on the D-line. Each of those guys is a top priority.

But Alabama is in the mix with Walker and Ohio State is a very real threat with Grant. There are lots of moving parts and in my opinion, Michigan football should stop monitoring Shepard and make a push to flip the four-star defensive tackle.

To me, it makes perfect sense and it definitely has the feel of a winnable recruitment.