One of the key questions about the new Michigan football coaching staff hired by Kyle Whittingham was would it be able to recruit the state of Michigan?
There aren't any assistant coaches on staff who have ties to the state, although Whittingham made a home-run hire by bringing back former assistant Ron Bellamy to the personnel department. The former West Bloomfield head coach is now the Director of Player Personnel.
You can see the impact it has had on the recruiting trail. The Wolverines are trending up with some in-state prospects. Dakota Guerrant is the top-ranked prospect in the state. Michigan is working to keep him away from Oregon, and making some progress.
However, they are trending for a commitment with another elite in-state prosepct.
4-star OT trending to Michigan football as in-state recruit
Jakari Lipsey emerged quickly as a top-tier target for the Michigan football coaching staff. Out of Kalamazoo, Lipsey is a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive tackle, who is ranked third in the state of Michigan, according to the Rivals Industry rankings, and 104th overall.
Jim Harding is the primary recruiter. Maybe it's a coincidence that two former pupils were drafted in the first round last week, but the Wolverines have received two expert projections from Ethan McDowell of The Wolverine and Allen Trieu, a national recruiting reporter for Rivals, who each projected him to U-M.
Michigan now has a 91.9 percent chance to land his commitment. The Wolverines are trending to land another in-state recruit, too, Lundon Hampton.
The three-star athlete from Grand Rapids is 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, and ranked 18th in the state of Michigan via Rivals. He's ranked 920th overall. Michigan State received a crystal ball for him recently. The Spartans have an official visit locked in, too.
However, Michigan has surged to the front of this recruitment. Hampton was on campus recently. Michigan coaches also paid him a visit on April 23rd. The official visit is scheduled for June, and with Michigan making him a priority, Trieu and McDowell put in projections for him, too. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine gives the Wolverines a 62 percent chance.
Four-star running back Tyson Robinson is another that's trending to Michigan football. Steve Wiltfong is among the recent experts to project him to the Wolverines. Robinson, out of Mississippi, is 5-foot-9, 195 pounds, and ranked No. 205 overall via the Rivals Industry Rankings. Alabama just visited him, too. The four-star back is expected to announce a decision in May.
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