Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: IT HAPPENED

Well, obviously yesterday was a great day for Michigan recruiting.

Daxton Hill surprisingly committed to the Wolverines over major contender Alabama, just a couple days after his official visit. The staff and players obviously did an amazing job on the visit and throughout the recruiting process, so let’s see what factors led Hill to choose the Maize and Blue. Not to mention some other updates with elite 2020 prospects Michigan is pursuing.

Complete package that Michigan offers stood out to Hill

Daxton Hill is not like most football recruits. His GPA is barely lower than his 40-yard time. (3.9 to 4.3) He has impressive foresight and the ability to recognize that football, while big to him, is not the only facet of his life. When he was looking which school to choose during this process, he was looking to make a life decision, not just a football decision.

Hill’s father shed light on this fact in an interview with Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider ($).

“It’s not all about winning. Of course they want to win, but it’s about developing the person, not just the player,” said the five-star’s father. “By the way, we want to win also, but (at Michigan) you’re not winning at all or any cost. There are some priorities, and they spoke about those priorities. That was very encouraging to mom and I to see it’s not just about winning in football. It’s about winning in every area of your life.”

Mr. Hill stated Michigan was the “no-brainer” choice after his visit last weekend, saying his son, “had some good bonding relationships with some of the players that are either committing or have committed so far in this class. He seemed to connect well with them.”

He also revealed he and his wife were in Michigan’s corner before their son told them that’s where he wanted to play.

“Mom and I knew behind closed doors what we felt, but we knew we had to support his decision. Of course, we were hoping it would be (Michigan),” said Hill’s father.

Safe to say Hill has a good head on his shoulders and two level-headed and insightful parents guiding him along the way. Hill is a major impact to the 2019 recruiting class, which now stands at No. 7 in the country and has the chance to get even higher. This commitment and a good season could get momentum rolling for an excellent finish.

Elite 2020 RB enjoys first visit to Ann Arbor

With all the attention focused on Hill, it’s easy to forget there were other recruits in attendance this past weekend. One of the best running backs in the 2020 class traveled across the country to check out Michigan.

Arizona running back Bijan Robinson spoke to Wolverines Wire’s Evan Petzold about his visit (FREE).

“The support of all the fans was unreal,” Robinson said. “They had 110,000 fans there, and I don’t even go (to Michigan), but they thought we were everything and knew our names.”

The 4-star said current commits Mazi Smith, Tyrece Woods and Andre Seldon were all talking him up on the sidelines. Robinson also got the opportunity to meet with running backs coach Jay Harbaugh and go over his film.

“Coach Jay talked about how I’m an all-around back and can do multiple things, which is what they need in the future,” said Robinson.

Besides Michigan, Robinson says he is looking at USC, UCLA, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Oklahoma the most right now. But as far as a decision date, it will be a while. He plans to announce at his All-Star game of choice after his senior season.

Michigan pushing hard for top 2020 OT

Hill is not the only Oklahoma native the coaches are diligently recruiting. Top 100 offensive tackle Andrew Raym has been hearing from Michigan plenty once the contact period opened up.

”I’m honestly probably hearing from Michigan more than anybody else,” Raym told TMI’s Steve Lorenz ($) “They’re on me pretty hard.”

Raym had been committed to Oklahoma, but reopened his recruitment in the spring. Despite that, they are still a contender, along with Michigan, Notre Dame and Arkansas, and probably others.

Oklahoma has 80 percent of the crystal balls still, and three of the four came after the decommitment, so the Sooners are definitely still in the running.

4-star running back looking to make a return visit

There’s been an open of communication between Michigan and 2020 running back Tirek Murphy, and it’s vaulted the Wolverines into one of his top schools.

After visiting for the BBQ at the Big House, Murphy has been looking to make it back up to witness a game in person. He had plenty of good things to say about what Michigan has to offer while talking to 247Sports’ Brian Dohn ($).

“It’s beautiful. You just walk in the Big House and you’re like, ‘Wow.’ You get a good vibe as soon as you walk in there,” he said. “The coaches are nice. They treat you like family and all the players there are cool. I went to the barbecue, we were able to play games, have some good food, have a nice photo shoot. It was good out there.”

Murphy is hoping to get up to a game if his schedule allows. He was planning to attend the Michigan-Notre Dame matchup, but was out of town already. Maybe that actually worked out for the Wolverines there.

The other schools that have caught Murphy’s eye so far are Notre Dame, Tennessee and Rutgers.

Michigan holds the lone crystal ball.

There you go, everything happening in an exciting few days for Michigan recruiting. The staff is looking to capitalize on their momentum and keep adding to what could be another special class for the Wolverines. Check back soon for more updates.