Michigan to Host Another Linebacker Soon
Steve Lorenz from 247Sports has reported ($) that 2015 four-star linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. is planning on making a return visit to Michigan. It will be the second time in four weeks that Kirkland has visited campus. All that is remaining for him is an offer from Michigan.
"I talked to Coach Mattison last night," Kirkland Jr. said. "He told me he wants me to come up for a spring practice next weekend. He wants me to stay overnight and meet some of the players as well."
A few weeks ago, Kirkland Jr. told 247Sports National Analyst Steve Wiltfong that he hoped Michigan may "pull the trigger" soon. That optimism hasn't changed going into another potential stop in Ann Arbor.
"It's likely I'll be able to make this visit work," he said. "I'm looking forward to hopefully getting some good news if I am able to make it."
If Michigan does decide to offer Kirkland during his trip, which many believe that they will, Michigan is in excellent shape to land him. Kirkland is the number two player in the state of Indiana and is in a great group of players that consist of linebackers Josh Barajas and Asmar Bilal who all have Michigan interest. Out of the three, Barajas is the only one that currently holds an offer from Michigan.
Below is a highlight tape from Kirkland showing his ability to place on both sides of the ball:
Taylor Talks Visit
It has been widely reported that 2015 four-star defensive back Garrett Taylor will be making a visit to campus soon. Tim Sullivan from TheWolverine.com caught up with Taylor ($) to discuss his trip to not only Michigan, but rival Michigan State as well.
Taylor discusses his main goal with the visits:
"This is going to be my first trip up to both," Taylor explained. "I'm just hoping to really build a relationship with the coaches, that's the main thing: Meet the head coaches, Dantonio for Michigan State and Coach Hoke for Michigan. I also want to check out the facilities in terms of their locker room, weight room, stadium, and stuff.
"We also want to make sure we get a good look at the academic side of things to see what they have to offer and see if I can work well, if they have good academic support in terms of tutors and stuff for me to be successful. Just looking to get around, see both campuses, and see what they have to offer us."
Roy Manning, who is Taylor's main recruiter and also had a recent coaching switch to Taylor's position, has helped Michigan in his eyes.
"He's also now the corners coach which is pretty good for me," Taylor said with a chuckle. "We stay in contact a lot. Michigan is a school from the beginning that I've always had my eye on with what they offer just in terms of a high academic offering as well as athletically, in terms of their football program. We definitely just want to get there and check out what they have. Obviously one of the most historic football programs - they were up until this past year the winningest football program in the history of college football. All of that put together kind of made me really interested in Michigan."
Taylor will be an interesting recruitment for Michigan. The chances of grabbing five-star corner Minkah Fitzpatrick fading fast, Taylor could very well be Michigan's next choice for top priority corner.
You can view Taylor's highlight tape, here.
General Odds and Ends
A fairly large event from Star Studded Elite football camp will be held this weekend at Northwood University. It is an opportunity for local football players to gain exposure to college coaches and the major recruiting outlets. Michigan targets like Brian Cole will be in attendance. More details, here.
Scout.com's Eric Rutter recently spoke with ($) 2016 wide receiver Aidan Howard about his recent Michigan visit. He also spoke with ($) 2017 athlete Matt Wilcox Jr. regarding his latest visit to Ann Arbor.
The Big House Report spoke to (FREE) 2015 five-star quarterback Torrance Gibson on his interest in the Wolverines after tweeting that the coaches were starting to show interest in him.
Michigan Wolverines are showing interest in TG6!! #Michigan
— Torrance Gibson (@quick_tg6) March 11, 2014
The Big House Report also spoke with (FREE) 2015 linebacker Justin Hilliard about his upcoming visit to Michigan this weekend and what he expects out of it.
2015 running back Mike Weber has committed... to the U.S. Army All-American game. He confirmed the news on his Twitter account.
Just committed to the Army All American game I'll be more to glad to end my high school career in front of 40k people #allamerican
— Uncle Mike (@mikeweber25) March 10, 2014
Bud Elliott, SB Nation recruiting analyst, does a great job with detailed scouting reports from recruits all across the nation. Recently, he posted three scouting reports that will have Michigan fans interested due to them being targets. They are: Hilliard (FREE), Minkah Fitzpatrick (FREE) and Terry Beckner Jr. (FREE).
247Sports has posted a list of visitors for this weekend. Arguably the biggest name on this list is Hilliard, who will be seeing his first Michigan practice. This will be his fifth visit to Ann Arbor in the last nine months.