Thursday Recruiting Roundup: Jersey connection could help with five-star

Welcome to this week’s Thursday Recruiting Roundup!

Just a quick plug — in case you missed it yesterday, myself, Jon Simmons and Stephen Osentoski spoke about how big the win against Minnesota could be for recruiting on this week’s Future Brew podcast. If you haven’t checked it out yet, we’d greatly appreciate you give it a shot!

Anyways, onward to the roundup!

NJ connection could bode well for chances for five-star S

It’s no secret Michigan has recruited the state of New Jersey pretty hard over the years. From Jabrill Peppers to Rashan Gary, and even to current players like Brad Hawkins and Jordan Morant, the pipeline is still strong. And the Wolverines are hoping that pipeline stays strong in 2022 with five-star safety Keon Sabb.

The elite prospect plays at Williamstown in N.J. and is already one of the most sought-after players in his class. With offers from the best of the best, it is going to be a difficult pull for the Maize and Blue. But it isn’t an impossible one, as The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb ($) recently caught up with Keon’s dad, Antoine, to see how big that Jersey connection is when it comes to his son’s recruitment.

“Watching Michigan, following the program with Brad Hawkins and a couple of other kids from the area up there — we kind of keep our eye on it,” he said. “(Keon has) built a great relationship with coach Shoop and Harbaugh. It’s a good process. We know some people down there. We’re really keeping a close eye on that, that relationship. I really hope we can get on campus at some point and get a feel, too.”

Antoine went on to say it is a “comforting situation” knowing so many Jersey kids went to Michigan and found success.

Antoine said Keon will look to narrow down his list of suitors sometime this winter. With more than 30 offers, it will take some time to sort through everything and make sure he is making the right decision moving forward with the schools he wishing to continue communicating with.

From my conversations with Keon in the past, along with this interview from Webb with Keon’s dad, I think Michigan has a pretty good shot here. It’s early, but things are looking good so far. Keon has a good relationship with both Harbaugh and Shoop, and I think that will go a long way in this recruitment.

2021 commit set to visit for first time next month

Nov. 14 is set to be a big recruiting day for the Wolverines. Prospects from both the 2021 and 2022 classes are making the venture to Ann Arbor despite the dead period still being in effect. With uncommitted players like Domani Jackson, Will Johnson and Ceyair Wright already confirmed to be making the trip, it is going to be a very important weekend.

Another player who will be visiting Michigan for this trip who just so happens to already be committed is 2021 three-star defensive lineman TJ Guy, per TMI’s Brice Marich (FREE).

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder from Mansfield, Massachusetts has never been on the campus of U-M, so even though he is already committed, this will still be a very important visit. He will be able to see things up close for the very first time, and also be able to hang out with other commits like J.J. McCarthy, Jaydon Hood, Ja’Den McBurrows and more. Of course, he and the other players won’t be able to communicate with any of the coaches during this trip, but this is still an important step to ensure he remains committed and locked in.

Guy is one of a handful of defensive linemen committed to Michigan’s 2021 class, along with four-star Quintin Somerville, four-star Kechaun Bennett and three-star Dominick Giudice.

Michigan reaches back out to in-state prospect committed elsewhere

Despite being committed to LSU for months now, Michigan reached back out to 2021 in-state four-star offensive lineman Garrett Dellinger, according to TMI’s Marich ($).

The 6-foot-5, 280-pounder from Clarkston committed to LSU back in June and has stayed loyal to that pledge, but he has still heard from offensive line coach Ed Warinner.

Even though the Wolverines have not completely stopped pursuing the top 100 player, Marich notes to not “get your hopes up” when it comes to this.

At this juncture, it sounds like Michigan just did a standard check-in with Dellinger to see if there was any potential chance of a flip. It doesn’t seem likely at this point, but it’s clear Michigan is hoping to take in one more offensive lineman in this 2021 class. We will see what happens, but as of now, it looks like Michigan will have to look ahead to the 2022 class if it wants to take in more offensive linemen.

That’s all for this week! Come back Tuesday for another edition of the Recruiting Roundup.