Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Defensive linemen galore

Welcome back to the Wednesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup! News is starting to pick up again in the 2021 class, especially along the defensive line. Here’s the latest happenings on the recruiting trail for Michigan.

Quick update on four-star DT

Elite defensive tackle Tywone Malone has become one of the major targets for Michigan in this class, and from a recent interview with 247Sports’ Brian Dohn, it seems that he’s focused his attention on a handful of Big Ten schools ($).

Playing for Bergen Catholic, Malone has already had the chance to form a relationship with Anthony Campanile, whose brother is the team’s head coach.

“I’ve been around the Campaniles for my whole high school experience so I pretty much know (Anthony) by now,” said Malone. Needless to say, Campanile leaving for another job, most likely as defensive coordinator for Rutgers, would be a major blow to this recruitment.

Malone also said that Ohio State and Penn State are probably the two schools recruiting him the hardest. All three of his top schools are pitching him to play baseball as well at the next level, but Michigan hasn’t given him the official presentation that they’ve given guys like RJ Moten and Joey Velazquez yet.

It’s tough to declare this one over yet, but Michigan’s chances don’t look great here if Campanile does end up leaving.

Four-star DT puts Michigan in top ten

Helping cushion the blow from the lackluster news on Malone is Tyleik Williams, a four-star defensive tackle from Virginia ranked just outside the top 200 in the country. On Monday night, Williams announced his top ten, which includes Michigan.

The other schools named on his list include Duke, Florida, Maryland, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, UNC, Virginia, and Virginia Tech.

There are no Crystal Ball predictions for Williams yet, and given that list, it seems like Michigan will be a major contender for his services moving forward.

Four-star DE plans upcoming trip

Elsewhere in Virginia, four-star defensive end Kelvin Gilliam talked with the Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich about his recruiting process and visit plans ($).

Chris Partridge was formerly Gilliam’s main recruiter, but his departure shouldn’t have too big of an effect. “I had a great relationship with Coach Partridge, but now that he’s gone, I’ll have to connect with another coach,” Gilliam admitted. “I’ve talked to Coach Harbaugh briefly and Coach Nua a lot. I think that he is a good defensive line coach and that he’s fired up about me.”

Gilliam will be checking out Michigan for the first time on February 1st, where he says his focus is “mainly just connecting with the coaches and to get a good feel with the team and the environment.”

No Crystal Ball picks have been logged for Gilliam yet. He holds offers from Duke, Georgia Tech, Michigan State, NC State, UNC, Penn State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, and others.

No. 2 safety hearing from Michigan often

One of the top safeties in the country, Pennsylvania four-star Derrick Davis Jr., recently attended the Under Armour Future 50 event in Orlando as part of their annual All-American game. During his time in Orlando, he had the chance to speak with 247Sports’ Dohn about his top schools ($).

Among the schools that are contacting him the most, Michigan garnered a mention, along with a list of top-tier schools that included Ohio State, Clemson, Penn State, LSU, Alabama, and local Pittsburgh.

Davis mentioned that most of the schools had the same pitch for him, which involved him using his talents on both sides of the ball: “Just me coming in and saying I could play the safety position, but some schools even say playing both sides of the ball. With me being so versatile, that sets up a lot of things for me.”

As for visits, Davis mentioned heading to Ohio State this month, but nothing was set in stone. Given how he spoke about Ohio State and Penn State and the loaded depth chart at safety, I would be cautious with optimism for landing Davis. He has Crystal Balls for Penn State, Clemson, and Notre Dame, the latter of which was not mentioned.

That wraps up another recruiting roundup, check back again in a couple of days for the latest updates in Michigan recruiting.