Michigan Football gets expert projections in 2023 and 2024 classes

Michigan football could use some momentum on the recruiting trail and at the very least, one recruiting expert has new projections for the Wolverines. 

There’s a common theme surrounding Michigan football recruiting right now and it’s basically: why aren’t the Wolverines recruiting better?

Fresh off a Big Ten championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff, the Wolverines should be rolling in the 2023 recruiting class. However, that hasn’t been the case.

Michigan recently lost the commitment of four-star tight end Andrew Rappleyea, who flipped to Penn State and that leaves just six total commitments, with two ranked in the top 200 of the 247 sports composite rankings.

At the same time, it’s too early to panic. Much of this class is going to come down to Dante Moore and Nyckoles Harbor. The Wolverines are still trying to keep themselves in the mix for Moore and are right there with Harbor, who showed the world what a freak he was last weekend on the track, a competition that prevented him from visiting Michigan.

He’s going to take an official visit to Michigan, as well as Maryland and right now, the Wolverines have the second-best shot of landing him, trailing only the Terps according to the On3.com prediction machine.

While Harbor and Moore are two top-tier targets, Michigan is making progress in other recruitments and leads with two according to EJ Holland of The Wolverine.

New expert predictions for Michigan football

One of the recruitments that Holland says Michigan leads is that of three-star tight end Deakon Tonielli, a 6-foot-5, 200-pounder out of the state of Illinois. He’s ranked 466th overall in the 2023 recruiting class according to the On3 consensus rankings.

Purdue, Illinois, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, Iowa State, Cincinnati, and Minnesota are among the other programs in the mix. With the departure of Rappleyea from the class, Tonielli would be a nice fit, and here’s a look at his scouting report from 247 sports Allen Trieu:

"“Tall, longer prospect. Plays as an outside receiver as well as a slot in high school. Uses height, length and leaping ability well and shows a big catch radius. Good athlete with basketball and track and field in his background as well. Appears to have some top end speed, but can still improve burst and suddenness. Tracks the ball in the air well and can put himself in position to make plays on the ball without losing speed or balance. Will grow into a tight end in college but his experience being unattached offers a lot of possibilities. Shows some physicality but would need experience as an on the ball blocker if schools try to do that with him.”"

With Holland’s prediction being factored in, the On3 prediction machine gives Michigan a better than 95 percent chance of landing the tight end’s commitment.

The other recruiting prediction Michigan football got from Holland was for four-star wide receiver Cam Williams, a top-200 prospect in the 2024 class that stands 6-foot-2, 175 pounds.

Even though there has been some frustration with the 2023 recruiting class, I still have confidence it will wind up in the top 10. But 2024 is where Michigan football is really building momentum with some elite recruits and Williams is one.

He’s visited Iowa five times and Michigan football just once, but the prospect from Glen Ellyn, Illinois currently has a 74 percent chance of being a Wolverine according to the On3 prediction machine. However, Notre Dame is still in pursuit and has hosted Williams twice.

Still, if Holland is right and Michigan is the early leader, that’s a good sign for the Wolverines.