Michigan Football: Breaking down U-M’s latest crystal ball projections

Following a massive recruiting weekend and a win over Washington last Saturday, Michigan football picked up some new crystal ball projections this week. 

It’s hard to remember a time during the Jim Harbaugh era when more big-time recruits were on campus than last Saturday as around 30 recruits took in the Wolverines win.

Some of those guys were tip-top targets for the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes. Domani Jackson, Walter Nolen, and Josh Conerly Jr. were the five-star recruits from 2022 in attendance, as well as a number of other top priorities such as Kenneth Grant, Deone Walker, Joshua Josephs, and many more.

In the 2023 recruiting class, a number of top targets were in attendance but most notable was five-star quarterback Dante Moore, Michigan football’s top priority in that class.

After thrashing the Huskies in front of an insane atmosphere at the Big House, Michigan football has momentum on the recruiting trail and while it hasn’t led to any verbal commitments yet, if recent crystal ball projections are correct, a commitment or two should be coming soon.

The latest crystal balls in favor of Michigan football

EJ Holland of Rivals put in a couple of significant Futurecast picks last week, including for Josephs and Conerly, the five-star offensive tackle from Washington.

While nobody from 247 sports has joined on the Conerly pick yet, Steve Wiltfong, a lead national recruiting analyst for 247, followed suit and projected Josephs to Michigan last week.

Holland also put in a pick for Grant, the massive defensive tackle out of Indiana, and a top priority in 2022, to land with the Wolverines, and this week, Wiltfong did the same putting in a projection to Michigan football with a confidence level of six.

Grant seemed to really enjoy his visit to Ann Arbor during the Washington game and here’s what he told Brice Marich of The Michigan Insider: “This weekend was all about getting to the hard/down business and I felt like they answered them well.”

Grant is still listed as a three-star prospect in the 247 sports composite ratings, but he’s been on the rise, and another guy who is going to move up in the next set of rankings, is three-star defensive back Damani Dent — another visitor this past weekend at U-M.

Dent was once committed to Akron, but after he camped at Oregon and earned an offer from the Ducks, he decommitted. The Wolverines offered soon after, along with some other Power-5 schools.

Dent is ranked 1,477 overall in the composite rankings for 2022 and is 6-foot, 175 pounds. But’s he’s rising and has also grabbed the attention of Georgia, who is hosting him for a visit this weekend, which could make this recruitment even more interesting.

Before that came out, Dent told Brice Marich of The Michigan Insider that Michigan was the “top” school for him and Marich also put in a crystal ball projection for him to U-M.

On top of all that, Jackson, the five-star cornerback out of California, who has been a top target throughout the 2022 class, seems even more in play now that USC has fired Clay Helton.

Flipping Jackson from USC still won’t be easy and it will depend largely on who the Trojans select as their head coach, but the opening is much wider than before.

Not to mention, the Wolverines are also in a strong spot to flip Notre Dame commit Amorion Walker, as well as Boise State D-line commit Mason Graham.

There’s a lot going on right now and soon, Michigan football fans should have something to rejoice about the recruiting trail. And even then, the Wolverines might just be getting started.