Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Michigan pitching both sides of the ball

Welcome back to the weekly Michigan recruiting roundup! We’ve got quite a bit of news to cover this week, so let’s get you caught up on everything Michigan recruiting.

Three-star defensive end sets official visit date

One of Michigan’s top targets on the defensive line is Aeneas DiCosmo, a three-star from New Jersey. DiCosmo visited Michigan in early March, and the visit caused a run of Crystal Balls to the Maize and Blue shortly after.

Now, 247Sports’ Adam Baliatico reports ($) that DiCosmo has made plans to visit Ann Arbor again, this time as an official visitor. DiCosmo will be on campus from June 22-24.

This will be following an official visit to Notre Dame a couple days before. Michigan is believed to have a strong lead in this recruitment, with Notre Dame and Boston College as the other main competitors. He has not set an official visit to Boston College yet.

I believe fans should be on the lookout for a commitment when DiCosmo takes his official in late June. The only reason I could see the talented prospect not ending up in this class is if Michigan fills up with too many defensive ends before he decides to join.

Michigan pursuing versatile two-sport athlete

In one of the more interesting recruiting developments lately, Michigan has offered three-star athlete Joey Velazquez out of Columbus, Ohio. Velazquez is an Ohio State commit, but for baseball, not football.

Seen as mostly a baseball prospect, he did not see his recruitment for football take off until he uploaded some of his highlights to Hudl.

“I posted my Hudl on Monday (March 26), and then Tuesday during my lunch I got pulled out,” Velazquez told The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb ($). “(Columbus DeSales) Coach (Ryan) Wiggins got a text from Coach (Al) Washington saying they’re thinking of offering me (and that) Coach Harbaugh was going to call me and let me know that they were going to offer me.”

Velazquez was thrilled to receive a Michigan offer, calling it “amazing” and “unbelievable.” He visited last weekend, and had nothing but good things to say.

“Basically, it felt like I was already family,” Velazquez gushed. “And then when we were out walking around… the way they treated my family as well was just really incredible.”

Mainly a running back and safety, he is an outstanding athlete who is comfortable at multiple positions. He is getting the Jabrill Peppers pitch, to play Viper and offense for the Wolverines.

Now Velazquez must decide if he wants to play both football and baseball in college, or play for his hometown Buckeyes. The NCAA states that if an athlete plays two sports, and one of them is football, his scholarship must count against football’s limit. Therefore, if Urban Meyer does not offer Velazquez to play football, he won’t be able to walk-on.

Pulling a lifelong Ohio State fan from Columbus will be a tough ask, but the opportunity to play both sports at the next level might be too enticing to pass up.

Michigan makes up a lot of ground with three-star athlete

Another versatile weapon who visited last weekend is St. Louis native Kyren Williams. Racking up over 2,000 all-purpose yards with 36 touchdowns last season, Williams is a weapon at running back or receiver. Of course, he can also play linebacker and safety on defense.

Before his visit, Notre Dame was Williams’ leader, but things have changed after checking out what Michigan has to offer.

“Michigan…they showed me a lot this weekend that have changed my mind. I’ve seen things in a different perspective,” Williams told TMI’s Sam Webb ($). “It’s 50/50 right now.”

Williams said he hopes to commit before his birthday on August 26. He says he only plans to take two official visits, to Michigan and Notre Dame, before his commitment. This will be a battle with the Irish, so let’s see if Harbaugh can keep the momentum going here.

Top target considering switching positions in college

In my recent article about Michigan’s top targets on offense, I said that five-star Quavarius Crouch was the running back the staff was pursuing the hardest. That might not be the case anymore, as Crouch has stated that he may prefer playing linebacker at the next level, as reported by TMI’s Steve Lorenz.

This may have an impact on schools trying to get Crouch on campus as a running back. Michigan, however, should be insulated from this change of heart, as they have been pitching him as a two-way player for a while.

We’ll see if this shakes up his recruitment going forward, but it’s clear that playing for Michigan’s defense is a lot more appealing right now than its offense.

That wraps up all the Michigan recruiting news of the past week! Make sure to come back next Wednesday for more.