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Michigan Football Recruiting Mailbag: Swenson Departure Impact and Elliott Rumors

Addressing some of the key storylines and developments as we are now less than two weeks away from National Signing Day.

By Anthony Broome
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Recruiting news and rumors are running like wildfire with just under two weeks to go until National Signing Day on Feb. 3.

Michigan fans are in a frenzy right now following a sequence of events on Wednesday that saw the Wolverines lose a long-time commit in controversial fashion, another commit reportedly taking a visit he said he wouldn't and more.

We asked Maize n Brew readers to submit questions for a mailbag with so much going on out there, so here it goes:

Fallout from the Swenson Situation and What's Next

Four-star offensive tackle Erik Swenson (Downers Grove, Illinois), who had been committed to the Wolverines since Nov. 2013, announced on Wednesday he was opening his recruitment back up after Jim Harbaugh and staff pulled his scholarship offer recently.

This, of course, generated a lot of opinions on social media. But many shared the thoughts below when breaking down the situation:

No matter which way you try to spin this one, on the surface it does not look great for the Wolverines, but there are always two sides to every story. Knowing Jim Harbaugh like we do now as followers of the program, it is unlikely we will ever get the coaching staff's side of it.

Also, it is possible details on this are being left out on the Swenson camp. In short, it sounds like the staff wanted him to earn his spot in the class with a strong senior season on film and they just did not see it. Seeing as he committed to a previous coaching staff, it is easy to understand Michigan's end of things in that regard.

There are two sides to every story.

Swenson was an unfortunate casualty of a coaching transition on the recruiting trail and one we did not see in last year's sprint to National Signing Day because Michigan was so desperate to put a class together.

On the surface, it seems like a shady move to dishonor a commitment after the player has remained steadfast in his for so long, but this is the business of big-time college football. Swenson is a talented player and will end up at a good school with a full-ride scholarship. Life goes on.

This will not affect Michigan that much on the trail moving forward. There may or may not have been a lack of transparency on both sides of the coin here, but both parties will be fine.

So where do they go from here?

It is possible they pick up their pursuit of players like Stephen Spanellis or Will Fries, but it looks like they could be done on the offensive line. The class of 2017 has a lot of really good tackle prospects in it, so they may look to reload there as opposed to bringing in someone just to fill in a spot in this class.

As far as LaVert Hill goes, it still looks like a two-horse race between Michigan and Michigan State that is pretty darn close to being split down the middle. Those looking for defensive backs to join the class should pay attention to David Long's announcement on Thursday evening.

The Latest With Jordan Elliott

Jordan Elliott told us just a few days ago that he would be signing with Michigan and talks only to the Wolverine staff.

Then, news of an official visit to Texas emerged and now fans are wondering if he may be a candidate to flip.

Anything is possible this time of year. Elliott has been saying for weeks that he was not going anywhere and now we will see if that happens or not. Just because a prospect takes a visit elsewhere does not mean he is going to commit, but it definitely is something to keep an eye on.

Michigan has Michael Dwumfour as a possibility to join the class, regardless of whether or not Elliott decides to flip.

If he were to move on, that would sting a bit and place even more importance on bringing in Rashan Gary.

Where things stand today, I do believe Gary will be a member of this class for the Wolverines. He fits a need and is the top talent on the board. The relationship the staff has built with him, his family and the New Jersey pipeline make Michigan an enticing option.

A commitment from Dwumfour, one of his best friends, would all but seal this for Michigan barring any unforseen circumstances.

National Signing Day Tidbits

Gary is at the top of this list with Long and Jonathan Jones not far behind. Michigan needs to start rebuilding its secondary for 2017 and beyond, while they have a glaring need at linebacker.

Fans often times get too high during success and too low when things are not going so great. Nobody should be nervous about this class heading into signing day.

Whiffs at the top of the board would be a bummer, for sure. But there is an excellent core of talented players already and they should finish with a top five class and perhaps higher than that when it is all said and done.

It is going to be a busy few weeks with some twists and turns, but it ultimately should be more good news than not for the Michigan Wolverines on the recruiting trail.

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