Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Four-star receiver hopes to earn U-M offer soon

Wide receiver Tarik Black (Cheshire, Connecticut) is widely considered one of the best prospects at his position in the 2017 cycle, and he has already had some pretty notable programs looking into him.

His offer sheet is not overly impressive at this point, but schools like Michigan, Alabama, Florida State and Penn State have shown interest and he could be poised for a breakout soon.

According to the 247 Composite, Black is a four-star prospect and the 14th-ranked player at his position in the class. He spoke to Bleacher Report's Tyler Donahue about the Wolverines and why he thinks their pursuit of him will pick up soon. (FREE)

"I think things are about to heat up with Michigan," Black said. "(Tight ends coach) Jay Harbaugh and I have talked a few times, while (pass game coordinator) Jedd Fisch seems really hyped about me. They're coming to my school to watch me work out in May, so I'm excited about that chance."

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"Coach Jay Harbaugh said he wouldn't be surprised if Coach Fisch offered me," Black said. "We haven't met in person yet, but I really respect what they're trying to build at Michigan. Hopefully they'll get better and better every year with these recruiting classes."

Keith Washington a future first-round draft pick?

Recruiting analysts and reporters will be the first to tell you that stars and rankings do not always matter. That is an ongoing debate when it comes to the validity of recruiting coverage and how much the accolades matter.

Regardless, there are always recruits that either outperform or underperform their rankings in college. For the ones that live up to the hype or come out of nowhere, they are rewarded with the chance to play football at the next level.

247 Sports put out an interesting piece over the weekend drawing parallels between 2015 NFL Draftees and class of 2015 signees that compare to some of those players. Michigan had a prospect on the list, but it may not be one that people expect.

Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes went 11th overall to the Minnesota Vikings. Anyone who followed his recruitment knows he was a two or three-star prospect coming out of high school, depending on the service. 247 believes that Michigan may have similar rising talent on its roster in cornerback Keith Washington.

Jim Harbaugh may have found a gem in Keith Washington. Like Waynes, he's a long, athletic kid that has been reported to run as fast as 4.3 in the 40. Washington is a high school quarterback that rushed for 1,200 yards as a senior, dunks a basketball with ease and will come to Michigan with a chip on his shoulder.

It may be a little early to expect Washington to be a future first-round draft pick, but we will see what happens. The staff really likes what he brings to the table, so it will be interesting to see where he is at in a few seasons.

Recent offers

On Monday, Michigan went out and offered arguably the best quarterback in the 2017 class in Shawn Robinson (Denton, Texas), according to Ryan Bartow of 247 Sports.

Robinson is a five-star prospect and the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the class, per the 247 Composite. It would be a bit of a surprise if he left the state of Texas.

Tuesday was a busier day for the Wolverines, which started out with an offer going out to 2017 wide receiver KJ Hamler (Farmington, Michigan), who is considered one of the top prospects in the state and a playmaker at the position.

Hamler had this to say to me in response to his offer:

I was very surprised that I (was offered). I wasn't expecting it at all, at least not this soon.

He also said that the offer was extended to him by passing game coordinator Jedd Fisch, who appears to be tasked with finding playmakers for the Wolverines. That is something lacking on the current roster and a huge need for them going forward.

Any successful offense comes from good play up front, which is another emphasis that Michigan is trying to address as well. Their most recent offer on the offensive line went to 2017 tackle Austin Deculus (Cypress, Texas), which was first reported by Wolverine247's Steve Lorenz.

Deculus is a four-star prospect and the 17th-ranked offensive tackle in the class.

An offer that came down later Tuesday was to 2016 wide receiver Devaughn Cooper (Harbor City, California), who is a teammate of offensive lineman Alex Akingbulu, who also holds a Michigan offer.

He is currently unranked.