Two Texas Five-Stars Look to be Longshots for Michigan

Over the past few weeks, Michigan has made recruiting in the talent-rich state of Texas a priority. The state of Texas is loaded with talent every year, and the Wolverines staff is well aware of that fact. According to the 247sports Composite Rankings, Texas produced 15 players in the top 100 for the class of 2014. This is simple math, but Texas accounted for 15% of the nation's top talent.

In order to capitalize on this talent hotbed, Michigan sent offensive line coach Darrell Funk down check in on several prospects in the area. While Funk was very busy on this trip and many stops, one prospect that he visited has long maintained an interest in the Wolverines. Five-star junior linebacker Malik Jefferson (Poteet/TX), who holds a Michigan offer, has long debated the possibility of visiting the Wolverines. During the football season, Jefferson told me that this was a strong possibility. However, his desire to visit Ann Arbor has since faded, and it looks like it will be a longshot to pull him out of Texas.

In order to reinvigorate his interest in the maize and blue, Funk recently traveled to Mesquite, Texas to check in on Jefferson. This visit was quick, as Funk dropped by to watch Jefferson lift, but that was about it. Jefferson is a top talent who looks tremendous on film and would be a huge get for Michigan. You can watch his junior highlights here.

Another highly-rated player who is on Michigan's radar is five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack (Gladewater/TX), who is currently committed to Texas A&M. Mack, who checks in at 6'2" and 310 lbs., is a force on the field and would be a great fit in almost any defense. At this time, only 15 schools have offered Mack, mainly due to his October 21st commitment to the Aggies, which was a natural decision to make in his eyes for numerous reasons.

"They were my first ever offer and my first ever college visit," said Mack. "The coaching staff really showed me a lot of love early on and they still do. It's where my mom wanted me to be, and they were close to home and in the SEC."

Michigan, however, is not a school Mack holds an offer from at this time. That hasn't stopped the Wolverines from offering prospects in the past, though. While Mack is fond of what Michigan has to offer, it sounds like it would be difficult to pull him away from Texas A&M.

"They just have a family environment and good relationships with the staff at Texas A&M," said Mack. "They have a sports management major which I'm sure Michigan has too, in addition to early playing time. I'm really not sure what would make me flip from A&M to be honest, but I do like Michigan because of its history in football."

One advantage for Michigan is that they are on the up-swing in the eyes of many recruits, Mack included. This is reinforced by their recent offensive coordinator change, moving from Al Borges to Doug Nussmeier.

"I thought it was great," said Mack. "Getting any coach from Alabama is good in my book."

Still, it looks like Mack is destined to attend school at College Station, and it would not be unreasonable for Jefferson to join him down the road. The two are good friends and have discussed the possibility of playing college football together in the past. Mack has not heard from Michigan recently, but he would listen if they did contact him, but it looks like that may be futile as he is very happy with his current commitment to Texas A&M.