Checking in on the crystal ball with Michigan’s final 2021 targets

With the December early signing period coming up, the 2021 football recruiting class is quickly coming to a close. Michigan’s class sits at No. 11 overall with 20 players currently committed, including crown jewel five-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

But the potential is there for Michigan to seal the deal on some of their remaining targets, climb the rankings and end up in the top 10. So today, we are going to do do a quick check in on the crystal ball predictions for the Wolverines’ final 2021 targets and evaluate their chances with each prospect.

Donovan Edwards — Four-star, #36 overall, #3 RB

The biggest target left on the board for Michigan — and arguably their top target in the class regardless of position — is Edwards, the talented 5-foot-11, 190-pounder from West Bloomfield. He is a do-it-all running back and has been compared to Alvin Kamara in the past, by both scouts and by Edwards himself.

All the crystal balls (other than a couple “undecided” ones) are in for Michigan at this point, and I agree with these predictions. I have said for a while I believe Michigan will eventually land his commitment, and I still believe that. Michigan is battling Georgia and Oklahoma for his commitment, but at the end of the day, the Wolverines are tough to beat due to proximity to home and his relationships with Jay Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis.

Ceyair Wright — Four-star, #71 overall, #5 CB

This has been a very quiet recruitment for a top 100 player, especially considering he is a kid from Los Angeles and is a star actor in Space Jam 2. A few recent predictions have Wright winding up at USC, and it’s a pretty safe prediction at this point. Wright wants to further his acting career, and there is no better place to do that than L.A.

Michigan is appealing because of the success cornerbacks coach Michael Zordich has had in Ann Arbor, but I see Wright staying on the West Coast and playing for the Trojans. If Wright had been able to visit Ann Arbor, this story may have had a different ending, but that is one of the many unfortunate circumstances of the pandemic. Zordich and company should look to expand their cornerback board for 2021, if they haven’t done so already.

Drew Kendall — Four-star, #131 overall, #9 OG

Kendall was allegedly supposed to commit somewhere already, but he has slowed things down and is truly, truly taking his time with his recruitment.

Every prediction within the last month has been in favor of Boston College, which is a bit disappointing considering the Wolverines had all the crystal ball predictions at one point for the 6-foot-4, 260-pounder from Massachusetts. If Kendall wanted to commit to Michigan, he would have done so a long, long time ago. I would not get your hopes up with this one. It seems like Ed Warinner and the Wolverines have moved on here.

Rayshaun Benny — Four-star, #188 overall, #14 DT

Benny put Michigan in his top eight list back in July, and has kept his recruitment pretty quiet since then. The 6-foot-5, 275-pounder from Oak Park is also considering Michigan State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU, Arizona State and Penn State.

All six crystal balls are in for Michigan, and I agree with these picks. Benny has established a solid relationship with Shaun Nua, and Michigan has wanted him to play defensive line for the entirety of this recruitment. This is a huge benefit, since Benny has made is known he wants to play defensive line in college, while some of the other schools want him on the offensive line. At the end of the day, I believe Michigan gets it done here and lands the in-state four-star.

George Rooks — Four-star, #195, #15 DT

Rooks told 247Sports’ Brian Dohn he wanted to commit before his first game of his senior season. That game came and went, and Rooks remains uncommitted. He updated Dohn ($) and said he is still unsure what he wants to do, so who knows how long we will have to wait to see where he lands.

Despite the only two crystal ball predictions being in favor of Michigan, many experts see Penn State as the team to beat, and I tend to agree with those observations. If the Wolverines lands Benny like I think they will, that would already be a pretty massive defensive line haul for Nua. The Nittany Lions do not currently have an interior defensive lineman in 2021, and only have one defensive lineman in general committed, so I would not fault Rooks for wanting to go to Happy Valley for that reason.