Answering everyone's favorite recruiting question
It was a busy week of commitments in the last 10 days or so, so naturally everyone out there is wondering who is next to join Michigan's 2016 class that is starting to take shape.
If the "#Fab25" hashtag is any indicator, it now appears Michigan is looking to take about 25 players in this class. With needs at wide receiver, tight end, linebacker and defensive back, they could use all the guys they can get.
I believe the wide receiver dominoes will be begin to fall soon for the Wolverines, likely in the form of Louisville commit Desmond Fitzpatrick (Farmington, Michigan). A flip seems as inevitable as it gets and it is actually a bit surprising that it has not happened yet, but it looks like it will in time. He has visited Ann Arbor several times since Jim Harbaugh was hired and his teammate, fullback David Reese, flipped from the Cardinals to Michigan just last week.
Give it time.
There are also a ton of rumors out there surrounding four-star Penn State defensive back commit Lavert Hill (Detroit, Michigan) in regard to a flip to the Wolverines and based on people I have talked to, there is legitimacy to those rumors. Nothing is set in stone right now, but do not be shocked if he ends up a part of this class sooner rather than later.
Outside of those two guys, I am not sure if there are any immediate commitments on the horizon. Kicker Quinn Nordin would be a name to watch, The staff will continue to work the in-state pipeline pretty hard, as well, pursuing wide receiver Donnie Corley, offensive guard Michael Onwenu and defensive end Khalid Kareem.
2016 defensive prospects narrow down lists
Over the weekend, a pair of defensive targets released their recently-narrowed down lists of schools.
On Friday evening, defensive end Julian Okwara (Charlotte, North Carolina) released a top five of Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ole Miss, in alphabetical order.
Okwara is a four-star prospect and the 11th-ranked weak side defensive end in the class, per the 247 Composite. 247's Crystal Ball has Notre Dame in front.
Linebacker Caleb Kelly (Fresno, California) released his top ten schools on Saturday morning with California, Notre Dame, Alabama, USC, UCLA, Oklahoma, Florida State, Oregon, Michigan and LSU in no order.
Kelly is a five-star prospect and the third-ranked outside linebacker in the class, per the 247 Composite. The Crystal Ball has Oklahoma as the favorite.
We will see how long the Wolverines stick around in the battle for these two.
Weekend offers
Michigan was busy on the offer trail this weekend, particularly Sunday, where three prospects were extended pledges from the Wolverines.
The first was four-star 2016 UCLA linebacker commit Lokeni Toailoa (Rialto, California), according to his Twitter account.
Just received offer #23 from the Michigan Wolverines !〽️ pic.twitter.com/hbomdaf2yx
— Lokeni Toailoa (@LokeniTheGreat) April 13, 2015
A pair of 2017 prospects were also offered in four-star wide receiver JT Cauthen (Waxhaw, North Carolina) and tight end Kendrick James (Waco, Texas).
That's it for Monday. Check back in Wednesday for the latest roundup of Michigan football recruiting news and more.