Friday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Finishing strong

Happy Friday, folks, and welcome to another Friday Michigan Recruiting Roundup.

We have a lot to get to so let’s jump right in.

5-star commit trying to recruit big-time players

One of Michigan’s longest tenured commits in the 2019 class is 5-star defensive lineman Chris Hinton. He was at the game last weekend against Penn State, and he put on his recruiting hat to try and pull in some other highly-recruited prospects, according to The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich ($).

“I was selling my pitch to some kids like (4-star linebacker) Kalen Deloach and (5-star athlete Quavaris) Crouch,” Hinton said. “I believe they both had a great trip. (I was) telling them about the great football we have, all the pieces are starting to come together and we are proving to everyone we are an elite team and we need those guys to help keep things rolling. I also told them about the great education the university presents us with and the opportunities available.”

Hinton also mentioned that he and the current commits have a texting group chat and they talk “like, every day,” so perhaps the strong bond between the commits will have an impact on gravitating the uncommitted players to Ann Arbor.

2020 4-star QB nearing the end of his recruitment

According to TMI’s Sam Webb ($), 2020 4-star quarterback Harrison Bailey is close to finalizing his college decision.

Webb spoke with Bailey’s father recently, and the elder Bailey believes his son is down to three schools, one of which is Michigan.

“I think he has got a few schools in mind,” he said. “Not to name them, but I know he has at least three schools that he is paying real close attention to. And of course, Michigan is right there. I think he kind of set a timeline, then kind of backed off of that timeline. But I’d probably say before 2019 for sure unless he has changed his mind. But just from what I hear, he’s pretty close to making that decision.”

A factor in his timeline changing is an unexpected ending to his high school season — due to injury. He was planning on visiting for the Penn State game, but did not due to that. The Bailey’s may visit for the Indiana game, but that is still to be determined.

At this point, I’d be shocked if he went anywhere else other than U-M. No other visits are lined up for Bailey. He wanted to visit for the PSU game, was unable to, and is now thinking about attending the IU game. All I’m saying is things look good for Michigan.

U-M working on a major flip

2019 4-star linebacker Kalen DeLoach has been looking into other schools due to Florida State’s down season, and one of the heavy favorites to land him now is Michigan, according to Webb ($).

Webb spoke with DeLoach’s father, who said his daughter runs track at Ohio State. The DeLoach’s visited OSU, but Kalen got a bad vibe from the school and wanted to visit U-M.\

“Actually, we went (to OSU) first and Kalen didn’t get a good vibe. So he asked, ‘can we leave?’ We probably spent two hours on campus at Ohio State. He said he was ready to go. We got in the car and drove over to Michigan. We got there and they welcomed us with open arms driving up into State street.”

Kalen is so interested in the program, his parents actually visited the school on one occasion without him there. Webb points out this isn’t a common thing in the recruiting world, so the fact his parents visited without him is an eye-opener. I don’t see this one ending anytime soon, so stay tuned.

In-state 2020 S interested in both U-M, OSU

Michigan’s top safety target in the 2020 class is in-state 4-star Makari Paige.

The West Bloomfield native visited Michigan for the Penn State game, which was a great game to visit for I would imagine, but he is also interested in Michigan’s biggest rival — Ohio State.

He visited OSU last month and told TMI’s Josh Newkirk ($) it “went well,” and that it was “a nice experience.” He denied rumors that the Buckeyes are the team to beat for his services, but he did not elaborate on who was the top school at the moment.

Paige intends to visit Michigan State and Notre Dame, but it is clear U-M and OSU are the two heavyweights in this recruitment. Michigan leads the crystal balls early with 83 percent, but this is still too early to tell what will happen.

Michigan commit No. 2 overall pick in Under Armour All-America Draft

Finally, we end on a fun note.

ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay was kind enough to point out to us that Michigan 2019 4-star running back commit Zach Charbonnet was the No. 2 overall selection in the inaugural Under Armour All-America Game Draft.

The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Westlake Village, California is currently the 104th overall player in the 2019 class, but may receive an even bigger bump in his rankings than he did earlier this year. He is one hell of a player, and I strongly encourage you check out these highlights if you have not seen any on him yet.

That’s all for this week! Check back Monday for more Michigan recruiting news.