Michigan Football: Updating the Recruitment of 5-Star Andrew Babalola
The top-rated recruit on Michigan's board, five-star offensive lineman Andrew Babalola, is approaching a college decision. While Babalola had hoped to have decided by now, he told ON3's Steve Wiltfong that he wants to decide "soon". Michigan football is battling the likes of Stanford, Auburn, Oklahoma, and Missouri for the elite Kansas offensive lineman.
So where does Michigan stand with Babalola?
Michigan football is right up there at the top with Stanford and Auburn. I get the feeling that the Wolverines are in the top two along with Stanford, but Auburn has tons of recruiting momentum and is more than willing to use NIL. However, there are plenty of reasons for optimism on Michigan's side.
Of Babalola's top schools, Michigan offers the best combination of academics and athletics, hands down. Babalola has emphasized that academics are very important to him (thus Stanford being the leader for most of this recruitment). Michigan has world-class academics and also offers a world-class football experience.
Sherrone Moore and co have been putting the full court press on Babalola, and have been in constant contact with him over the past few months. At one point, Babalola appeared to be a heavy Stanford lean, as is reflected by ON3, which gives Stanford an 88.8% chance to land Babalola due to predictions made in June. Since that point, the Wolverines have been gradually making up ground, to the point where this one seems like a toss up with no true leader.
While Auburn could certainly offer Babalola a ton of money to entice him, there is no indication that the Tigers are at the level of Michigan football or Stanford. And with Babalola planning on making his decision before the start of his senior season, that could bode well for the Wolverines.
In truth, the fact that Babalola hasn't decided yet is great for the Wolverines. They've been able to withstand all of Stanford's momentum and have remained up at the top along with the Cardinals. To me, this one is a coin flip. I'm definitely not comfortable making a prediction, but I like the way this recruitment is trending.
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I don't think there's anything else Michigan can do to win over Babalola. The Wolverines have devoted every possible resource to convincing Babalola that Michigan is the place to be. I expect that Babalola will make a decision in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for any updates. Go blue.