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Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Chris Clark sets Feb. 4 announcement date

In this edition, the nation's top tight end will announce on National Signing Day, Roquan Smith names a top three, more official visitors are lined up for this weekend and Harbaugh's staff continues contacting 2016 and 2017 prospects.

By Anthony Broome
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Clark to announce Feb. 4

Michigan's biggest remaining target, five-star tight end Chris Clark (Avon, Connecticut) has set a date where he will announce his college decision. His announcement will take place live on ESPNU during National Signing Day coverage on Feb. 4.

Clark's final two schools are Michigan and UCLA. He was in Ann Arbor over the weekend to meet head coach Jim Harbaugh for the first time in person, and he told Nick Baumgartner of MLive that it went well.

"It's crazy, he's really intense, and you really like that," Clark told MLive on Sunday. "He grew on me a lot. I didn't know what to think at first, I wasn't sure what he'd be like. But once I left, he really, really grew on me.

"He's the best coach I think I've sat down with. I just think he's awesome."

...

"He said, taking this job, he can't fail," Clark said. "He said he can't fail, because he cares way too much about the city, about the University of Michigan and he's going to work harder at this job than anything he's ever done in his life.

"He's committed into turning Michigan back into the best program in America, and I really think they'll get there. I've never met a coach who is that competitive and that intense."

Clark is taking his official visit to UCLA this weekend. We'll see what happens there, but Harbaugh and staff have to feel good about their chances here.

Roquan Smith names top three schools

Four-star linebacker Roquan Smith (Montezuma, Georgia), who has become a coveted target since defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was hired, revealed his top three schools to Steve Lorenz of 247Sports on Tuesday, which is Michigan, UCLA and Georgia.

Smith was at Michigan this past weekend on an official visit and will be taking his official to UCLA the weekend of Jan. 30.

Many expect him to stay home and pick Georgia, but Durkin's presence in Ann Arbor has made the Wolverines a legitimate threat. Their relationship goes back to when Durkin was at Florida, who was recruiting him pretty hard.

More 2015 offers and official visits

The staff is pulling out all of the stops to try and fill their 2015 recruiting class and they continue to offer and schedule official visits to cover all of their bases.

On Monday, they offered three-star UCLA cornerback commit Will Lockett (Manvel, Texas) who will be taking his official visit to Michigan this weekend, according to Wolverine247.

The Wolverines also recently offered a pair of Nebraska commits who will be taking their official visits this coming weekend as well in tight end Matt Snyder (San Ramon, California) and defensive end Reuben Jones (Lakeland, Florida), both three-star prospects.

Three-star cornerback Nate Dalton (Houston, Texas) also received an offer and will take an official visit to Michigan this weekend. Following the offer, he released his top four schools on Twitter.

Liberty? Liberty. An interesting addition but one he is considering nonetheless.

2016 and 2017 offers and updates

Harbaugh contacted 2016 four-star quarterback KJ Costello (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) on Monday night, according to Wolverine 247's Steve Lorenz.

Costello currently holds an offer from Michigan that was extended to him by former offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. There was a ton of mutual interest between both U-M and Costello and the commitment of fellow four-star Messiah deWeaver has not changed that.

The staff also made sure they let four-star 2016 wide receiver Dylan Crawford (La Canada Flintridge, California) know that the offer extended to him by Brady Hoke's staff still applies and that they will continue to recruit him.

Another prospect offered was 2016 linebacker Camilo Eifler (Oakland, California), according to his Twitter account.

Eifler is a three-star prospect and the 45th ranked outside linebacker in the class, according to the 247 Composite. He also holds offers from California, Washington, Colorado and Duke.

Finally, Michigan tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh extended a scholarship offer to 2017 running back prospect Najee Harris (Antioch, California) on Tuesday, according to Adam Gorney of Rivals.com.

At 6-3, 200 pounds, Harris is a four-star prospect and the 5th-ranked running back in the 2017 class, according to 247.

That's it for Wednesday. Check back in Friday for the latest roundup of Michigan football recruiting news from around the internet.

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