Michigan Recruiting Roundup: A trio of five-stars detail their interest in Wolverines

Today’s roundup is chock full of talent, with updates on multiple five-stars in both the 2021 and 2022 classes as the Michigan staff continues to put in work on the recruiting trail. I know you’re all chomping at the bit to see who these guys are, so let’s get going without any further ado.

Nation’s No. 2 RB has strong connection with coaches

A player that is getting a lot of buzz in Michigan recruiting circles lately is newly-minted five-star running back TreVeyon Henderson, out of Virginia. Henderson locked in his official visit date to Ann Arbor on June 19th last week, causing The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb to catch up with the talented back ($).

”(Jay Harbaugh) hits me up a lot,” Henderson said. “He’s a pretty honest coach. He talks about how most colleges say they want you for (a certain position), then when you get there they’ll put you at another position. He talks about how if he wants you for that position, you’ll play that position.”

That is probably in reference to other schools recruiting Henderson as a defensive back, despite his desire to play on offense. Henderson also had a chance to experience Michigan’s coaching first-hand last year at the BBQ at the Big House, which has stuck with him all this time.

”One thing about coach Harbaugh, when I went to the barbecue last year we did some pretty good drills that helped me out a lot during this season.”

Both Harbaugh have really stood out to Henderson at this point in the process, and Michigan will be a contender in this race as evidenced by his official visit plans. It’ll be a fight against every other school in the country, notably Clemson and Ohio State, but they’re swinging for the fences here.

Five-star safety building relationships at Michigan

Another player ranked No. 2 in the country at his position, Pennsylvania safety Derrick Davis Jr., has been connecting with Michigan coaches as well. For Davis, it’s been two guys who are not well-known for their recruiting chops, but have been doing a good job so far according to TMI’s Webb ($).

“It’s Coach Zordich… just him being him really,” Davis explained. “He keeps it straight forward with me. Him just showing love towards me, coming to my games, coming to the school, and just talking with me. It doesn’t even have to be about football. It could be just about life, period.”

Other than Zordich, new safeties coach Bob Shoop has also been a presence in Davis’ recruitment.

“I got to meet Coach Shoop,” Davis said. “A real great guy. He’s the new safeties coach. I got to talk to him a lot, and I got to meet the rest of the staff. I got to see them again. I got to see Coach Harbaugh and talk to him one on one. I got to see Coach Zordich and talk to him one on one.”

This is still going to be an uphill battle against familiar Big Ten foes Ohio State and Penn State. The Nittany Lions were leading the Crystal Ball until a recent prediction came in for the Buckeyes. Clemson is also lurking, making it even tougher. Michigan will have to get Davis on campus to have a realistic shot.

2022 five-star WR recaps recent Michigan visit

One of the top receivers in the country in the 2022 class is five-star Tyler Morris, who is teammates with Michigan commit JJ McCarthy at Nazareth Academy in Illinois. The pair just took a trip up to Ann Arbor at the beginning of the month, with TMI’s Josh Newkirk catching up with Morris to talk about the experience ($).

“Last time I went up there, we went into the film room and they did kind of break it down how they would use me,” Morris explained. “As far as I could see, it was a lot of Ronnie Bell does. That was kind of how they would use me and they broke everything down about how he does it and why he does it. Just what I could bring to the table for them.”

Morris also talked about how McCarthy is impacting his recruitment.

“It’s great being around J.J. every day at school and being able to take trips like that with him,” said Morris. “Him just explaining everything he’s learned from the coaches and the program, talking about how it would benefit me if I were to commit there.”

Moving forward, Morris doesn’t have any trips planned but is waiting to see who is showing him the most interest. At this point, this is shaping up to be a Michigan vs. Notre Dame battle, but with the McCarthy card up their sleeve, it’ll be hard to beat the Wolverines.

2021 four-star LB planning multiple visits to Michigan

Brian Jean-Mary has been getting to work on the recruiting trail as well, and one of the first guys he has set his targets on his Tennessee linebacker Junior Colson, who has been very receptive to his pitch, per TMI’s Webb ($).

“They are in the top five right now,” Colson simply stated. “I plan on going in early April, and then coming back for an official. I love everything about that place.”

“...I have talked to (Jean-Mary and Tank Wright). They are great coaches. They tell me how they will use me. They plan on playing me right away as an (every) down linebacker,” Colson explained. “I am no. 1 on their board. The offensive line coach came a couple times and told (Ravenwood’s coach) how highly they thought of me.”

While this all sounds very promising, there will be some other schools pursuing as well. Colson has family connections to Texas A&M with multiple family members attending the school, while local Tennessee has also been coming on strong. I’d still say that Michigan is probably leading at this point, considering how strong visits indicate interest in a school.

That concludes this week’s recruiting roundup! Check back again soon for more news and updates.