Friday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Coaches evaluating rising high school seniors

Welcome in to another edition of the Michigan Recruiting Roundup!

We are still celebrating the good news we got last night from 2020 five-star power forward Isaiah Todd committing to Juwan Howard and the Wolverines. But for now, we have a lot to get to on the football field, so let’s jump right in.

U-M coaches evaluating a few HS seniors

This is the time of year where football staffs around the country are trying to put the final piece or two together for their upcoming recruiting class. Current Wolverines Ronnie Bell and Vincent Gray are a couple of the more notable guys to commit to the program during the final evaluation period.

This isn’t the end all be all for the 2020 class, as evaluations will continue leading up to the February signing day, but with Michigan’s class being extremely close to complete, the coaches might as well wrap it up sooner rather than later so they can get a head start on the 2021 class.

Two of those guys in the 2020 class being evaluated by Michigan are along the defensive line — defensive tackle Junior Finau and defensive end Justin Beadles.

Beadles is a low-ranked three-star, 6-foot-5.5, 232-pounder from Tyrone, Georgia. Despite the low ranking, he does hold offers from LSU, Mississippi State, Arizona State, Purdue, Maryland and a few others. He hasn’t received an offer from Michigan yet, but according to Steve Lorenz over at The Michigan Insider ($), defensive line coach Shaun Nua and the coaching staff have been monitoring him close. Lorenz also believes they will begin recruiting him in the near future.

Finau, meanwhile, is a big boy at 6-foot-3, 330 pounds. The Reno, Nevada native holds no offers to this point, so Michigan may be looking at him for a preferred walk-on spot, Lorenz writes ($).

Meanwhile, on the offensive side of the ball, 2020 three-star offensive lineman Cayden Baker received an offer from Michigan this past week. The 6-foot-6, 260-pounder from Fort Myers, Florida has an offer sheet that includes Indiana, North Carolina, Boston College, Miami (FL), Louisville, Washington State and others.

Maize n Brew caught up with Baker shortly after being offered, and he told us he received the offer from head coach Jim Harbaugh, and that he was “shocked” to receive it.

The staff seems to want one more offensive tackle in this class, and as of now it’ll either be four-star Andrew Gentry or a player like Baker that is evaluated and offered late into his senior season. Gentry will be visiting next Saturday for the Notre Dame game, so we should know more about this after that.

2021 four-star RB aiming to visit this offseason

Moving on to the 2021 class now, running back will be one of the more important positions for Michigan to target. And one of the top-ranked guys is looking to visit this offseason.

Four-star Evan Pryor told TMI’s Brice Marich ($) he intends to visit Ann Arbor this winter or spring, and unfortunately is not able to make it to a game this year.

Pryor (5-foot-10, 190 pounds) is from Cornelius, North Carolina and holds offers from some of the best — Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Alabama, Florida, USC and others.

Jay Harbaugh and Michigan offered Pryor back in January and have been heavily recruiting him ever since, along with 2021 four-star running backs Donovan Edwards and Corey Kiner.

Pryor is the No. 5 running back and No. 82 overall player in his class, per 247Sports’ composite.

Transfer candidate emerges

Lastly, let’s talk about something you probably wouldn’t expect to hear this time of year — a candidate to transfer into the program.

According to TMI’s Lorenz ($), Michigan has been in contact with former four-star recruit and UCLA wide receiver Theo Howard.

The 6-foot, 180-pounder out of Thousand Oaks, California announced last Thursday his intentions on transferring out of the program.

He caught 56 passes as a sophomore in 2017 for 594 yards and 4 touchdowns. He followed that up with 51 receptions for 677 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2018. He’s played in just one game this season due to hand injuries, which is ultimately why he decided to transfer, as he wouldn’t be guaranteed a spot on the team next year due to graduation.

For what it’s worth, Lorenz believes he won’t have too much interest in the Wolverines and will stay out west, but with a few receivers potentially leaving after this season, there is no harm in reaching out to a veteran like Howard to see if there is any interest in immediate playing time at a high-profile school like Michigan.

That’s all for this week! Come back Monday for more crootin’ news.