It feels like Michigan took the lead in highly-competitive recruitment

It was a busy weekend on the recruiting trail for Michigan football as the Wolverines hosted 12 recruits for official visits.

One of them was four-star linebacker Nick Abrams. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker out of Owings Mills, Maryland, just released a top four that included Michigan football, as well as Alabama, Oregon, and Georgia.

A recruitment doesn't get much more competitive than that. However, linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary has worked really hard to put the Wolverines in a good spot for Abrams. They held the lead, slightly, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine going into the weekend.

4-star linebacker after Michigan football visit: "I could call this place home"

Coming out of the weekend, it feels like Michigan football has taken the lead in this recruitment. Abrams, talking about his official visit to Ann Arbor, told On3, "I could call this place home."

Abrams has already taken his official visit to Georgia, according to 247 Sports. His visit to Alabama is scheduled for June 13th. Oregon is hosting him for a visit on June 20th.

Having Biff Poggi on staff certainly can't hurt. The former head coach of St. Frances in Baltimore has played a key role in some other Maryland recruits ended up in Ann Arbor, such as Derrick Moore.

It's probably not a wild prediction to say Michigan football holds the pole position right now with a commitment date looming on July 16th. However, fending off Alabama and Oregon won't be easy.

It will help that the House Settlement is finalized, allowing the Wolverines to be more specific about NIL. That should give Michigan football a boost, and while there is still over a month before his commitment date, it feels like U-M took a major step in the right direction this weekend.

Now, the Wolverines just need to close.