Wednesday Michigan Football Recruiting Roundup Goes In-Depth

Taylor Commits, What is Michigan Getting?

The recent surge of bad recruiting news had ended for Michigan, at least for one day.

In a move that was practically predicted by everyone and their mothers, Michigan finally ends the commit drought by securing a commitment from 2015 4-star defensive back Garrett Taylor. A lot of fuss can be made about securing a guy of Taylor's rankings (a top-50 talent in the nation), but what does it mean for Michigan? We will break it down.

Not only is Taylor Michigan's second defensive back commit in the 2015 class, he is also entering a position that has a ton of talent that is incoming or already on roster. With the addition of incoming freshman Jabrill Peppers this year and, if everything stays as planned, next year will feature Taylor and Shaun Crawford as well.

Like Crawford, Taylor has the skillset and athleticism to play both sides of the ball. He has favorable height at 6'1" to make that transition possible. He is an excellent tackler in open space and a case could be made for him to play as a safety at the next level if Manning/Mattison so choose. However, I feel that he would be better suited as a corner.

247Sports has an instant analysis ($) on Taylor that I feel sums up his game perfectly:

"Taylor is a dynamic athlete that has the skills to play on both sides of the ball but will likely play on defense at corner for Michigan. Hard to find a weakness and also has several elite aspects to his game. Reads and reacts to plays with excellent quickness and can force and can force turnovers at cornerback. Very smart and heady player that wont be fooled by the receiver. Closes quickly and can also help in run support. Taylor has elite skills when the ball is in the air."

Michigan has really set themselves up well as far as building talent in the corners. Last year the group was torched so that eventual added talent can only help. It also goes to show how well Michigan can recruit kids who take visits to campus. This was a whirlwind commitment that was put over the top by a fantastic academic presentation. The coaches have goals in mind for each visit and executes it.

Taylor has the potential to come in and make an impact on defense immediately. When looking at his tape, he doesn't seem like the type of recruit who will come in and bide his time to start later in his career. With the way that Michigan has played their youth in the defensive back group as of late, he is going to compete hard as soon as he steps on campus.

What does this mean for CB Recruiting?

With such a small class to work with, is Michigan done recruiting corner backs now that it is has Taylor on board? Scout's Sam Webb doesn't believe so ($).

The next logical question is, who would be next?

Considering they have two strong corners already, it would make sense to explore safety options out there currently considering Michigan has one safety committed already in Tyree Kinnel. However, if you look at the safety offers, Michigan has only given out two this cycle. One to Kinnel and the other to 3-star Prentice McKinney out of Texas. It doesn't seem that McKinney is all that interested in Michigan right.

A name that others seem to associate to Michigan is 5-star defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick. At first, there was definite interest with Fitzpatrick, but that is fading fast. I think Michigan is falling out of the race quickly with schools like Bama, Florida State and Ohio State coming after him hard. It would've been a nice get, but don't get your hopes up or hold your breath on Fitzpatrick.

If Michigan does decide to take one more in this small class, we will keep you updated on the latest offers and interests.

Momentum Swing?

Now that the drought is over, the obvious question to ask is when the next commitment will take place. With Taylor committing, it doesn't necessarily mean the dominos are going to fall and everyone on Michigan's board is going to drop in the next week or so.

This type of commitment makes Michigan relevant in the recruiting world for the time being and will at least get their names around the news. Considering Taylor had such a positive experience at Michigan and undoubtedly will tell other targets about it, it will prompt others to try and see what the hype is about.

As far as who is next and when that will happen is relatively unknown. Recruiting is difficult to predict at times, especially when trying to figure out timelines for recruits to announce. But, I really don't expect Michigan to go through another drought like this for quite some time.

Link Roundup

Scout's Eric Rutter speaks with ($) 2017 TE/DE Johnathan Berghorst about his first trip to Ann Arbor.

Scout's Michael Clark has more ($) on the Taylor commitment.

Steve Lorenz from 247Sports has recruiting notes of interest ($) in his latest Inside Michigan Recruiting piece.

Lorenz also offers an early ($) look into a rising 2016 in-state wide receiver, Donnie Corley. Josh Newkirk from Scout talked to Corley about his recent visit to Michigan ($).

2016 DE/LB Johnathon Cooper, who might be the top 2016 recruit in the state of Ohio, recently visited Michigan and spoke with Rivals ($) in a video interview.

Rivals has the latest recruiting notebook ($) for your browsing pleasure.

Be sure to follow Maize n Brew's Joshua Henschke on Twitter, @JoshuaHenschke.