Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Coaches want to use four-star commit ‘like a Jabrill Peppers’

Welcome back in for another Monday Michigan Recruiting Roundup. Today we talk about a new Michigan offer, a recruit that could have a Jabrill Peppers type role, and U-M contacting a 6-foot-7 offensive tackle.

Let’s roll.

Michigan offers 2022 four-star athlete

St. Rita (Chicago) four-star ATH Kaleb Brown received an offer from Michigan on Friday.

The 5-foot-11, 177 pounder is a running back at the moment but is currently ranked as the No. 11 overall receiver in the 2022 class and No. 54 prospect overall, per 247 Sports. Allen Trieu calls Brown a great athlete that can catch the ball. Expect Brown to make the jump to receiver in college.

2020 four-star receiver and Michigan commit A.J. Henning has been in contact with Brown according to Trieu. Both players are from Illinois. Brown is a track star, a state champ, winning three state medals at the Class 2A state finals.

“You usually do not see receivers with playmaking skills that refined at such a young age, but Brown was doing things there that were more impressive than all the underclassmen at the event,” Rivals Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said in June.

Brown currently holds offers from Michigan, Illinois, Cincinnati, Iowa, Minnesota, Kanasas and Notre Dame.

“Kaleb has great speed, great vision and he’s a physical kid, too. He’s an exciting guy to watch, and he’s an exciting guy to coach,” St. Rita coach Todd Kuska said last week.

R.J. Moten to be used like Jabrill Peppers?

2020 Delran High four-star safety (New Jersey) committed to Michigan in July, and in an interview with 247 Sports Brian Dohn ($) he mentioned how Michigan plans to use him once he is part of the team.

Safeties coach Chris Partridge and linebackers coach Anthony Campanile told Moten that they would use him “like a Jabrill Peppers”.

The versatile Moten plays both ways for Delran as a running back and safety, and is also a standout baseball player. Moten mentioned that he talked to MLB scouts and has been told he can get drafted. Moten will arrive to Michigan campus as a two-sport athlete.

Partridge and Campanile saying they will use Moten like a Jabrill Peppers means he’ll be a swiss-army-knife on defense, being plugged in as a nickel corner, a safety, and a VIPER linebacker. Peppers did it all for Michigan on defense and was used in a variety of ways, and maybe Moten will be used in the same kind of way on defense. Further, Moten’s had a successful season as a running back for Delran, and there’s a chance he could receive snaps on offense if his skill-set is too dangerous to limit him to playing on defense exclusively. If Moten was truly to be used like a Jabrill Peppers that would mean he’d get to play a little wildcat on offense and be utilized as a return man on top of his duties on defense. Still, Moten will be a defensive player first and the Michigan staff likes the versatility he brings.

Moten is currently the No. 25 safety in the 2020 class and is the No. 281 player in the nation overall.

Three-star OT in contact with Michigan

6-foot-7, 306 pound Salisbury (Connecticut) offensive tackle Tobias Braun could be more interested in Michigan than we realize, but a couple weird variables make it hard to gauge who’s the frontrunner for Braun’s commitment.

Braun’s coach told Brian Dohn ($) that he’s been in contact with Michigan, along with Oregon, Arizona State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Florida State and that “he’s still up in the air right now”.

Braun is playing high school ball in Connecticut this season at a school where their season didn’t begin until September 21st. The late start to the year along with practicing during the weekends leading up to the first game has made it hard for Braun to schedule official and unofficial visits. What’s made it even harder for Braun is Salisbury’s games have been scheduled on Saturday’s, which impacts his ability to visit a program on gameday.

The only Saturday’s Braun has free during his season are this weekend when Michigan plays Notre Dame and if they don’t make a playoff game on November 16th, that Saturday will be open for him as well. Factoring that in, Braun could visit Michigan when they face Notre Dame, Michigan State, or Ohio State. What makes things more difficult for Braun when scheduling visits is where his immediate family lives. Braun is from Germany and it has been hard for him to coordinate visits with them.

Braun is the No. 62 offensive tackle in the 2020 class and No. 737 player overall.