11 Recruits that Michigan Football Can Land During June Official Visits

DT Deyvid Palepale (Landisville, PA)

Cousin of Detroit Lions starting right tackle Penei Sewell, Palepale is quite the football player himself. While criminally underrated on the 247Sports Composite as the 735th-best prospect in the nation, that has not stopped some major programs like Michigan, Penn State, and Miami from pursuing the 290-pound defensive tackle. He also has interest from Notre Dame, Ohio State, and USC, though the latter two do not possess much in terms of their defensive acumen. Rest assured, however, Palepale will certainly be moving up the rankings.

Palepale recently set up an official visit to Michigan football for the weekend of June 9th and then follows that up with an official to Penn State. The Miami Hurricanes loom somewhat large in this recruitment, as he recently took an unofficial visit there, and has another visit coming up in June for an official, and not to mention the recruiting prowess of Miami’s defensive line coach, Joe Salave’a. If Michigan can make a strong enough move on the early June visit, this remains a very winnable recruitment for the Wolverines.

DT Jordan Thomas (Ramsey, NJ)

Thomas was a prospect we mentioned could receive further interest in once Michigan hired former New Jersey high school football coach Chris Partridge back to their staff this offseason, and that prediction has certainly come true. A big, burly interior defender at 6-5, 295 pounds, Thomas would have the ability to play either the 3-technique or add some more weight and play nose tackle in Jesse Minter’s defense.

Michigan faces some significant competition here, as the Georgia Bulldogs are also interested in Thomas, and seem to be getting just about anyone they want right now on the trail. Georgia is set to host Thomas on an official visit on June 9th, though Michigan is right on deck with a June 16th official visit scheduled per Dohn. He follows that one up with an official visit to South Carolina, which is aiming to sell some momentum off their 8-5 season last fall with Shane Beamer leading the charge.

While this one is no shoo-in, Michigan is certainly in the thick of it and is clearly prioritizing Thomas as one of their top options at defensive tackle. If the Wolverines can win this one, it would be a very impressive notch in Mike Elston’s belt.