The Wolverines now have their stud quarterback in the fold, as North Carolina five-star prospect Jadyn Davis gave the Wolverines his public commitment. Now, with a high-profile QB addition, Michigan football can capitalize with a handful of recruits.
Ever since the earliest days, I have been following recruiting, there has been a clear trend of successful recruiting classes having committed recruits who will go out and help pitch joining their class to others.
Whether that was linebacker commit Michael Ferns creating Michigan football recruiting t-shirts in 2014, or the prolific attitude and personality of former prized QB recruit Shane Morris in the 2013 class, Michigan has had some recruits willing to recruit others. And traditionally, landing high-profile quarterbacks tends to be the biggest draw a team’s recruiting class can have.
The Wolverines added a very big draw to their recruiting class last weekend, landing five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis last weekend, over suitors such as Ohio State, Clemson, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
The North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year is one of the nation’s top players in this class and now becomes a headline addition for the Wolverines. Thus, there is some optimism that Davis’ presence in this class could boost the Wolverines’ chances at a handful of other recruitments. We take a look at five of those prospects here.
WR Channing Goodwin (NC)
A teammate of Davis’ and a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, Goodwin makes perfectly fine sense as someone more likely to join the Michigan class. He not only shares the tie to Davis but has a significant tie to Michigan football as well, as his father, Jonathan Goodwin, played offensive line at Michigan under Lloyd Carr in the late 90s/early 2000s.
Michigan football is already considered the leader in this recruitment, with all four predictions on the 247Sports Crystal Ball favoring Michigan, including from Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports’ Director of Football Recruiting.
His teammate, Jordan Shipp, is another talented wideout to be on the lookout for, but the current feeling is that North Carolina may lead that recruitment. Either way, expect Goodwin to get the full court-press from his quarterback to join the Wolverines class sooner than later.
TE Brady Prieskorn (MI)
The third-ranked tight end in the nation, Prieskorn has been one of Michigan’s top targets from the start of this recruiting cycle. The Rochester Adams star has been up to Michigan several times already, given the easy drive over, and was even on the most recent visit that Davis took part in, which produced a now well-circulated picture of Prieskorn, Jadyn Davis, running back commit Jordan Marshall, and offensive line target Blake Frazier all posing together.
Prieskorn has built quality relationships with both Davis and Jordan Marshall, according to reports from 247Sports’ Brice Marich, and now having both of them committed to the program down the road from him should be another feather in Michigan’s cap here. Add in that as a top tight end, having an elite quarterback throwing the ball also cannot hurt.
Prieskorn has additionally mentioned returning to Michigan tomorrow for the big Spring Game but has indicated that he will likely take some official visits in the summer before making a commitment. Thus, do not expect an immediate commitment here in wake of Davis’, but rest assured that the Wolverines landing the talented passer should only boost their image in Prieskorn’s eyes.
OL Blake Frazier (TX)
As mentioned, the fourth member of the photo from Davis’ big visit was none other than the four-star offensive lineman out of Austin, Texas. Michigan football is battling some significant suitors for Frazier here, with Clemson, Florida, LSU, Texas, Penn State, and Oregon all pursuing. However, much like Channing Goodwin, Frazier has ties to Michigan dating back to his father, Steve Frazier, another former Michigan offensive lineman under Lloyd Carr (1995-1999).
And also like Goodwin, Frazier has had a handful of significant predictions logged in Michigan’s favor, with Steve Wiltfong joining a handful of Michigan-specific insiders on 247Sports. He has been very vocally pro-Michigan on social media lately, and the Wolverines are clearly surging in the wake of his visit.
With Davis now in the fold, again, it can only help to have a big-time name at the quarterback position committed, especially one that Frazier has already started getting to know through their shared visits.
There is no set commitment date for Frazier at the moment, though a commitment as soon as next week would not be unexpected, especially after Andrew Sprague’s commitment took another spot in this class.
WR I’Marion Stewart (IL)
One last skill position player is the Chicago-area wideout. Stewart did not overlap with Davis during his most recent visit, as Stewart was out the weekend of March 24th, the weekend after Davis.
He has also mentioned Tennessee as another significant suitor, and with the Volunteers poised to have two wide receivers quite highly this upcoming April, Michigan will certainly want to sell Stewart on their ability to get him drafted as highly as Tennessee will be pitching him.
And what better way to do that than to point to the guy who will be throwing you the ball? Stewart has mentioned wanting to wrap his recruitment up ahead of this fall season, likely signifying a summer commitment.
Michigan may very well be the leader here, with both Crystal Ball predictions in their favor, thanks in part to his relationship with wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy. Adding a talented quarterback into the mixture certainly can further Stewart’s interest in becoming part of the Wolverines’ highly-ranked 2024 recruiting class.
C Waltclaire Flynn Jr. (GA)
Davis has already begun to recruit one particular individual, his former little league football teammate Waltclaire Flynn Jr., a four-star center out of Georgia.
The Wolverines are likely aiming to take around six offensive linemen this cycle, and a true center prospect seems to be a probable addition. There does not appear to be a clear-cut leader at the moment, with no Crystal Ball predictions on 247Sports, though On3 does list the UCF Knights as the Prediction Machine leader for Flynn.
Michigan football offered Flynn Jr. last year in June and recently had the Georgia star on campus back in January for a visit. Right now, the Wolverines probably have some work to do to get him into the fold, but with a clear-cut connection between Flynn and Davis, this is one recruitment to watch going forward.
However, Michigan seems likely to take only one true center, and there is competition for that spot, with three-star Jake Guarnera (FL) and three-star Kyle Altuner (MD) as other true centers that the Wolverines have brought in for visits.