Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Major visit weekend brewing

Michigan may have turned into a basketball school within the past week, but there is still some good football recruiting news trickling out in the doldrums of the offseason. Let’s check in to see what stories have been developing lately.

Big visit weekend taking shape

Mark your calendars for March 17, because that’s when several highly-touted recruits are coming to Ann Arbor

First up is five-star defensive end Zach Harrison, confirmed by 247Sports ($). Harrison is making his second visit to Michigan, after camping there last summer. As with the case of every elite prospect from Ohio, Ohio State is currently favored for his talents. However, you can never count out Greg Mattison when competing for a defensive lineman.

Next is another five-star, safety Daxton Hill, out of Oklahoma. Hill told The Michigan Insider ($) that Michigan is one of the schools pushing for him the most. Hill will definitely fit in at Michigan, as he has a 3.9 GPA.

TMI also confirmed ($) that four-star quarterback Paul Tyson will be visiting during the March 17 weekend as well. Tyson is the great-grandson of legendary Alabama coach Bear Bryant, so this will be an uphill battle. This recruitment is not over yet, though, as Tyson has been taking visits all over the country.

Finally, Michigan looks to the future as 247 confirmed ($) that 2020 five-star offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. will be on campus next weekend. Johnson’s recruitment is up in the air right now, as four different schools have crystal balls. Michigan has plenty of time to make themselves a factor in this race.

Top tight end target sets official visit date

Last week, I talked about three-star tight end Luke Deal in the roundup. Things have been moving quickly with Deal, as he has already locked an official visit date.

247Sports confirmed ($) that Deal will be visiting Ann Arbor April 14. Deal sounds very positive about the visit, stating “I look forward to seeing it all. Can’t wait to check out the overall feel of the place. They’ve done a great job recruiting me early so I’m really excited.”

Michigan’s new facilities impressing four-star defensive tackle

At the top of Michigan’s defensive tackle board in the 2019 cycle is in-state four-star Mazi Smith, who recently talked with TMI’s Allen Trieu ($).

Smith has already talked to some of his coaches about schools to take official visits to. Those schools include Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State.

Smith was on campus last month for Michigan basketball’s last home game against Ohio State. There, he got the chance to see the new weight room and even meet new strength coach Ben Herbert.

This is a big factor to Smith, as he has strong opinions about strength and conditioning programs.

“I saw their whole weight room, they re-did their whole weight room, all of that,” Smith said. “That’s a big part of me going up there is see that and meet the coaches and get a feel for the program cause once you change the strength program, it changes the entire program.”

Getting Smith on campus as much as possible will be critical if Michigan wants to sign the explosive defensive tackle.

That’s everything for this week, come back next Wednesday for more Michigan football recruiting!