2020 Recruiting Position Previews: Cornerback

Welcome back to our 2020 recruiting position previews series!

Today we are focusing on a group that you can never have too many good players at: Cornerback.

Commits

Belleville (MI) 4-star Andre Seldon

Seldon is Michigan’s highest-rated commit, after gaining his fourth star with his consistently dominating camp performances. Another small sized Detroit cornerback in the mold of Jourdan Lewis and Lavert Hill, Seldon hopes to continue their outstanding legacy.

Along with Seldon’s performance on the field, he’s quickly became the leader of the recruiting class. He’s been working on keeping the top talent in the state, like Rashawn Williams and Makari Paige, home in Ann Arbor.

I’m eschewing the Top Target category for this preview because I feel Michigan has already nabbed the top guy on its board and there aren’t many other targets the staff is clearly going after seriously. Plus, they may not take another corner in the class anyway.

In the Mix

Broken Arrow (OK) 4-star Myles Slusher

Slusher is part of Michigan’s foray into Oklahoma, and is teammates with top offensive lineman target Andrew Raym. The duo was supposed to make it up for a game this season, but the plans fell through.

Recently, Slusher tweeted out that him, 4-star wide receiver Javian Hester and 3-star running back Sevion Morrison are planning to play together in college. The three all play for different schools, but are friends from the Tulsa area. Hester was mentioned in my wide receivers preview, since he was teammates with Daxton Hill. Morrison doesn’t hold a Michigan offer, but is listed as having interest in him.

Given that Morrison doesn’t have an offer from the Wolverines yet, it seems like in-state Oklahoma is the likely landing place for the trio as of now.

National Christian Academy (MD) 4-star Joshuah Moten

Michigan made Moten’s top eight list in late November, along with several Mid-Atlantic and some SEC schools. If his high school sounds familiar, it’s because Moten was teammates with William Harrod, who was seen as a Michigan lock for a long time before the staff cooled on him.

During the period when Michigan was recruiting Harrod, they visited the school and offered Moten as well. He still hasn’t made it up to campus, but I’d expect a visit at some point. Maryland and Penn State look good for the 4-star, but he doesn’t have any crystal ball picks yet.

Long Shots

Saguaro (AZ) 5-star Kelee Ringo

The 2020 class in Arizona is abnormally loaded, and no one is better than the 5-star Ringo, who is ranked as the No. 10 player in the country. Michigan offered last spring, joining basically every other major school.

There hasn’t been much buzz between the two, but Michigan has been targeting the state more recently, especially with the commitment of JD Johnson and its good standing with a handful of more recruits from the area. That renewed presence could help the perception of the Wolverines.

Trinity Christian (TX) 5-star Dwight McGlothern

McGlothern is two spots below Ringo in the cornerback rankings, sitting at No. 4 in the country. He’s talked about his interest to visit Ann Arbor a couple of times before, but no visit has materialized yet. Until that happens, expect presumed leaders Texas A&M, LSU, Texas and Alabama to have a better chance.

Under the Radar

Dr. Phillips (FL) 3-star Tevin Griffey

Griffey earned his offer at Michigan’s camp in June. His attendance was highlighted by the appearance of his father, MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. While he was at the camp, The Kid, who is from Cincinnati, said he’d have attended Michigan if he hadn’t skipped college to pursue his career in baseball.

That long-standing love for the school has to help with getting the younger Griffey. Plus, the Griffey family has shown their bloodlines are not just suited for baseball. Tevin’s older brother Trey was a solid wide receiver for Arizona, and was recruited by Matt Dudek when he was with the program.

Butler Traditional (KY) 3-star Darius Jones

Michigan was the first school to offer Jones, which stood out for the former Ohio native who grew up rooting for the Wolverines. That offer resulted in a visit to campus over the summer. His only other offer is in-state Kentucky.

Indian River (VA) unranked Lamareon James

Like a couple of the guys in the defensive line preview, James has several high-level offers but is still unranked. Michigan was one of the first schools to identify him, back in the spring during the evaluation period. Auburn, Maryland, UNC, Virginia and Virginia Tech also have pulled the trigger. The Hokies hold his lone crystal ball pick.

The cornerback board isn’t as deep as other positions, but it’s not going to be that big of a need in this cycle. After grabbing five defensive backs who could all play cornerback in 2018, and two more solid prospects at the position in 2019, the depth chart is pretty full.

Michigan already has a solid start with the local guy in Andre Seldon. Adding someone like Moten or Slusher, or even Griffey, would just be gravy.

We’re moving on to the last position in this series tomorrow, the safeties.