Early signing day has come and gone, and fans are wondering what’s next on the trail
The Wolverines had a good, successful signing day. They were able to hold onto four stars Cole Cabana and Enow Etta despite pushes from Miami and added four stars Karmello English and Jyaire Hill. While my prediction for Jeremiyah Love was unfortunately incorrect, fans should be happy with the results of signing day.
While this class has been lesser than expected, the Wolverines did not allow any other blows to hit them on signing day. They did what they had to do, and bolstered the class with two top 200 recruits. All 23 commits have signed, leading fans to wonder: what’s next?
In this article, I’m going to outline what I believe the goals for the next few months are for the 2023 and 2024 recruiting classes, starting with the 2023 class.
Nyckoles Harbor
The 2023 recruiting class is nearly completed. Typically, 23 commits is an average size class, but with the amount of players entering the transfer portal nowadays, schools can afford to take bigger classes- something that is very beneficial to Michigan football, since they typically search for under-recruited, hidden gems.
As of now, the Wolverines are focusing their efforts on two players in the 2023 class, with a third name gaining some momentum. Coaches will more than likely be reaching out to other unsigned prospects, but as it stands at this moment it seems like there are three prospects the Wolverines have a chance with.
Obviously, it all starts with 5-star superhuman freak Nyckoles Harbor. As of right now, it seems like Michigan leads by a slim margin, with Maryland and South Carolina squarely in the mix, along with LSU and Georgia trying to remain in the race. Harbor is an elite sprinter with Olympic dreams and plans on running track in college along with football.
Education is very important to Harbor, which gives Michigan an edge. However, the southern schools can offer better track programs, and Maryland is the local school. For Michigan to win Harbor over, they need to get him on campus at least once more. If they could get him to Ann Arbor multiple times, I think they’d win the recruitment, but as long as they get him back once they’ll be in the mix.
It’s far too early to predict a winner, especially with the rumors that there could be big news on the NIL front soon for Michigan. Jim Harbaugh is going to have to win this one himself, but it’s possible.
Jamel Howard
Next, we have three-star defensive lineman Jamel Howard. The former Wisconsin commit had momentum in Michigan’s favor but chose not to sign during the early period.
Michigan football has the lead right now, but a lot can happen over the course of two months. Luke Fickell is pushing for Howard to rethink Wisconsin and the fact that Howard is waiting until February is good for Wisconsin.
Michigan loves to get as many commits on the defensive line as it can. We all know how good the Wolverines have been at developing defensive linemen, so the Wolverines can afford to go after underrated, high-potential linemen.
While I don’t think Howard would make an immediate impact at Michigan, I think that Mike Elston could tap into his potential and craft him into an NFL player. His build is similar to Mason Graham, and I think that strength coach Ben Herbert could turn him into an athletic terror.
While Howard’s recruitment doesn’t get the same coverage as Harbor’s, he is a top prospect on the board for Michigan, and the Wolverines are doing everything they can to secure him.
Cameron Brandt
As our own Chris Peterson talked about, the 3-star Stanford defensive line commit is a relatively new target for the Wolverines.
With Stanford head coach David Shaw leaving, and the fact that the Wolverines have already taken two Stanford offensive linemen in the transfer portal, it seems like the Wolverines have a solid pipeline going.
I’m not sure if the Wolverines would take both Howard and Brandt, but I do believe they will land one of the two.
While Brandt hasn’t been a top target since day one, the Wolverines will have two months to try to sway him. If they can get him on campus, I think they have a great shot at flipping him. This is one to watch, and one that I’d expect to pick up steam in the coming weeks.
Now, to the 2024 class.
Jadyn Davis
This one is simple. Everything relies on landing elite quarterback Jadyn Davis and landing him soon. It’s no secret that five-star quarterbacks typically attract other recruits. We saw JJ McCarthy play a huge role in his recruiting class.
The Wolverines are the clear leaders right now, but it is worth noting that Jadyn Davis reportedly moved his commitment timeline from the end of December to the end of January. Now, there could be logical reasons for this — maybe Davis wants to enjoy the holidays or wait until the conclusion of Michigan’s season, or wait to hear about the NIL advancements. I’m not worried yet, but I will start to become worried if he keeps pushing back his commitment.
I feel like Jadyn Davis’ commitment would open the floodgates and bring the commitments rolling in. I said previously that I believe elite tight end Brady Prieskorn would commit soon after Davis, and I’m sticking to that.
Davis’ commitment would also be very helpful in the recruitment of elite Ohio running back Jordan Marshall, especially considering that the hometown Buckeyes just lost their five-star quarterback commit.
Davis would also help with five-star receiver Ryan Wingo and would open the door to other elite prospects. It’s simple, kids want to win. Quarterback is the most important position, so having an elite QB gives you a great chance to win.
Continuing with the effects of Davis’ commitment, it would be very helpful towards getting his fellow teammates to commit, 3-star receivers Channing Goodwin and Jordan Shipp.
The Providence Day high school pipeline is one the Wolverines would love to have. This is especially true because the current #1 prospect in the 2025 class resides there, 5-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. Sanders will be an extremely tough pull — as is every 5-star recruit — but having three of his teammates at Michigan would surely help.
If Jadyn Davis commits to Michigan football within the next month or two, I have confidence that the 2024 class will finish in the top 5, or at least in the top 10.
I think it should — key word should be the best class Harbaugh has hauled in. However, we know that recruiting can change in a hurry. There are no guarantees in recruiting, so we just have to hope that Harbaugh and the Wolverines keep their success going.
The future looks bright in Ann Arbor. Go Blue!