Michigan Football: 5-star target to decide, plus a JUCO DT visits U-M

Michigan football hosted a number of visitors over the weekend, including a JUCO defensive tackle, plus five-star Josh Conerly is finally making a decision. 

Michigan football hosted a number of recruits over the weekend from the 2023, 2024, and 2025 recruiting classes. Most of the players in attendance were high school prospects, however, there was one junior college attendee at defensive tackle.

The Wolverines have been looking at defensive tackle transfers and it was reported last week that former UCF defensive tackle Cam Goode is going to be visiting Ann Arbor and could be joining the program as a graduate transfer.

And this past weekend, Michigan football kicked the tires on another transfer at defensive tackle as Jelani Davis, who plays for Dodge City (Kansas) Community College, was on campus over the weekend.

Known as a run-stuffer, Davis visited Illinois last season for a game against Northwestern but didn’t receive an offer. He had 13 total tackles last season with seven of them coming as solo tackles as well as four tackles for loss.

This is another sign that Michigan football is looking for more depth at defensive tackle. Davis is 6-foot-1, 297 pounds. Goode is well over 300. Yet, the Wolverines aren’t in a bad spot at all with Mazi Smith returning, along with Kris Jenkins and Mike Morris.

However, if Morris starts where Aidan Hutchinson did a year ago, it could open a spot for someone like Rayshaun Benny or Julius Welschof. George Rooks is another name to know and has stood out this spring according to reports.

Yet, big defensive tackles who can stuff the run aren’t easy to find. You can always use more of those guys and it looks like U-M wants to solidify depth as much as anything.

Goode is expected to visit later this month. He’s also got a relationship with Blake Corum, who is trying to recruit the big DT to Michigan football and it will be interesting to see if the Wolverines make at least one addition to the defensive tackle depth chart.

5-star target in 2022 announces decision date, latest crystal balls

We finally have a decision date for five-star offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. He’s been a top target for the Wolverines, who had some real momentum in his recruitment this fall, but he never made a commitment and has continued to delay his announcement.

Now, Conerly is expected to sign on April 8 and I don’t see him coming to Michigan. U-M got him for a couple of visits but things have shifted and USC seems like the new favorite, although I wouldn’t count out Oregon either.

Courtney Morgan played a big role in Michigan grabbing the lead in his recruitment and when he left, the Wolverines’ hopes seemed to take a hit.

Lastly, Jalen Thompson, a four-star defensive end and one of the top players in the state of Michigan for the 2023 recruiting class, was projected by EJ Holland of The Wolverine to the Spartans.

Holland reports that there are other edge prospects higher on the board and I believe that, plus with Thompson coming from Detroit Cass Tech, who recently had coach Thomas Wilcher go to MSU, it was always going to be an uphill battle. Now, the trend to MSU is on and the On3.com prediction machine gives the Spartans a 97 percent chance of getting Thompson.