Recruiting visitors list for the Michigan State game

This is the second of the three major recruiting visit weekends for the season, sandwiched between Notre Dame and Ohio State. I’ll admit, it’s much weaker than the other two for a couple reasons. First, Michigan State is spiraling and isn’t supposed to be as good of a game or environment as it looked on paper earlier this year. In addition, we’re in the thick of the Michigan high school state playoffs, and teams like Belleville and West Bloomfield who are loaded with targets are playing during the game on Saturday.

Still, there are some new and intriguing guys making their first trips to campus mixed in with some familiar faces and top 100 players.

2020

Holy Names (CA) Theo Johnson - Four-star, No. 95 overall, No. 3 TE

This is the final official visit for the touted tight end recruit, who was originally scheduled to visit for the Notre Dame game but rescheduled. He also rescheduled his decision date, which was supposed to be this upcoming Monday, but will be pushed back to an undetermined date. Given Penn State was considered to be the choice beforehand, this is good news for Michigan. They’ll have a good shot to make an impression on Johnson by beating up on their in-state opponent.

St. Louis (HI) Roman Wilson - Four-star, No. 350 overall, No. 63 WR

This will be an official visit for Wilson as well, who will be making the long trip back to Michigan for the first time since he committed in June. Hopefully the weather change isn’t too much of a shock for him.

Chantilly (VA) James Pogorelc - Three-star, No. 369 overall, No. 31 OT

The staff is clearly looking to add another offensive lineman to their class, and Pogorelc has become one of the top candidates. The under-the-radar prospect has a projectable frame at 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, and recently got a bump in 247’s rankings. Unfortunately, it seems like Stanford has surged out in front for Pogorelc, but this will be his first visit to Michigan so there’s room to move ahead.

2021

Clarkston (MI) Rocco Spindler - Four-star, No. 40 overall, No. 7 OT

Spindler will be back on the sidelines once again and is also still planning on visiting for the Ohio State game as well. Michigan still looks good for the top 50 player.

Clarkston (MI) Garrett Dellinger - Four-star, No. 120 overall, No. 18 OT

While Spindler was visiting for the Notre Dame game, Dellinger switched up his plans and went to Ohio State’s game instead. While he missed out on the chance to witness Michigan crush his supposed leader, Dellinger is planning to make the trip this weekend.

Woodbridge (VA) James Gillespie - Four-star, No. 298 overall, No. 21 DT

Defensive tackle will be a big position of need for 2021, so getting Gillespie on campus for his first visit is big. He was offered by the staff back in May, but he said watching Michigan’s defensive line in person against Penn State this season piqued his interest.

Elkhart Central (IN) Rodney McGraw - Four-star, No. 309 overall, No. 18 WDE

I think McGraw might have been on every visitor’s list this season, but has only ended up attending one game. He tweeted he’d be on campus earlier this week though, so it seems serious he will follow through this time. Michigan still holds 100 percent of the crystal balls.

La Salle (OH) Jaylen Johnson - Three-star, No. 410 overall, No. 18 S

Johnson was offered a couple weeks ago and quickly made plans to visit campus. In addition to Michigan, he holds offers from Ohio State, Penn State, Kentucky, Louisville, Pitt, Purdue and others. Of course, Ohio State holds his two crystal ball picks.

Battle Creek Central (MI) Tyshaan Williams - Three-star, No. 750 overall, No. 63 RB (247 only)

Williams is a 6-foot, 205-pound running back who has a bruising running style. His only offer so far is from Central Michigan.

Franklin (MI) Kyle Fugedi - Three-star, No. 923 overall, No. 89 OT (247 only)

The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Fugedi certainly has the frame to be a successful college tackle, and his recruitment has started to pick up with Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan and Bowling Green offers coming in during his junior season. The staff will keep tabs on his development and he could be in line for an offer down the road.

2022

Zeeland East (MI) Tag Bonnema - unranked OLB

Flint Beecher (MI) Devin Runnels - unranked OT

Garber (MI) Alex VanSumeren - unranked ATH

West Bloomfield (MI) Michael Williams - unranked OLB

All these in-state prospects are hilariously oversized for being sophomores in high school, with Runnels standing 6-foot-6, Bonnema standing 6-foot-4, and VanSumeren and Williams standing 6-foot-3. Every one of these guys has visited campus before, with VanSumeren and Williams being almost constant faces on the sideline.