Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: Michigan showing interest in grad transfer DT

Welcome back to the Tuesday Recruiting Roundup after last week’s Signing Day hiatus! Michigan is mostly full with their 2021 class, so the 2022 class is going to get a lot of focus moving forward. We’ve got a diverse set of topics to cover today, so let’s jump right in.

Three-star OL takes self-guided tour of Ann Arbor

The top targets at offensive line for 2022 are pretty up in the air right now, but one guy Ed Warinner clearly likes is three-star tackle Connor Jones. Jones clearly likes Michigan as well, considering he traveled from Colorado to take a self-guided tour of campus this past weekend. The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich has more details on how it went ($).

“The visit went really well,” Jones said. “I really enjoyed the visit. I mainly drove around taking my time and seeing every place. I was just able to see everything from the outside.”

While he couldn’t get a tour of the facilities, Jones said that seeing the Big House in person was the highlight of his trip.

“Definitely seeing the Big House and seeing how big it truly was,” explained Jones. “Makes me excited for when I can truly tour the football facilities.”

The 6-foot-7, 285-pound Jones admitted “Michigan remains high on my list” following the visit.

The three-star holds offers from Indiana, Northwestern, Oregon State, Virginia, West Virginia, and some G5 schools. After this visit, Marich placed a crystal ball in for Michigan to land Jones, so it’s safe to say they are in the lead.

Michigan interested in grad transfer DT

With Michigan only signing one plausible defensive tackle last week, they have to keep looking for more guys to add depth to the position. One avenue they are pursuing is Charlotte grad transfer Timmy Horne, according to TMI’s Steve Lorenz ($).

Horne was part of the 2016 class, meaning he’d only have one more year of eligibility wherever he chooses. A two-star out of high school, Horne has outplayed his ranking, starting for the past three seasons at Charlotte.

Horne admitted a “bunch” of schools were in contact with him after he put his name in the portal, so we’ll have to wait and see who his other suitors are and how serious Michigan is about pursuing him.

At 6-foot-5, 318 pounds, I’m sure he’d be welcome in Ann Arbor.

2021 signee ready to recruit teammates to Michigan

Landing Donovan Edwards was huge for Michigan in a number of ways. One of the benefits is continuing the pipeline to West Bloomfield High School, which has pumped out several blue chippers in the last few years under Ron Bellamy. In an interview with TMI’s Marich, 2022 athlete Dillon Tatum admitted Edwards is already working to send more players to Ann Arbor next year ($).

“He’s like ‘man, this place is for guys like us and I told you I want to turn it into West Bloomfield high school,’” Tatum said about Edwards’ message to him following Signing Day.

Asked if having Edwards there would affect his view of Michigan, Tatum said it does give him more to think about.

“I was always interested in Michigan and to know another teammate of mine is going to be there might make a transition even better if I go (to Michigan),” Tatum said.

Tatum is ranked as a four-star, and could play on either side of the ball as a running back or defensive back. There are no crystal ball predictions or him yet.

Friday Night Recaps update

Last weekend was the final game of the spring for Michigan’s 2021 signees. Ja’Den McBurrows and Jaydon Hood helped lead St. Thomas Aquinas to a Florida state championship with a 31-21 win over Edgewater.

Both players had a big impact on the game. McBurrows made an amazing one-handed interception he returned 45 yards for a touchdown.

Hood forced a fumble from top-100 Alabama signee Christian Leary that Aquinas recovered. The light really turned on for Hood during their playoff run. In the three games since the last Friday Night Recaps, Hood has 25 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, giving him 62 tackles on the year.

McBurrows finished with 29 tackles on the season, four interceptions, including two pick-sixes, and seven pass breakups. With the Michigan high school playoffs restarting Jan. 2, I’ll have more updates on Andrel Anthony, Donovan Edwards, Raheem Anderson and Davonte Miles coming up soon.

But for now, this wraps up this week’s Recruiting Roundup. I want to wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays later this week!