Thursday Recruiting Roundup: Wrapping up the 2020 class

Happy Thursday, and welcome to another Michigan Recruiting Roundup.

The 2020 February Signing Day has come and gone, and absolutely nothing happened for Michigan. It was expected to be a slow day, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

On today’s roundup, we have one funny story on a 2020 signee, and then we are moving on from 2020 altogether and focusing on the 2021 class.

In-state high school coach believes Seldon can compete right away

One of the top high school football teams in the state resides at West Bloomfield High School. Former Wolverine Ron Bellamy is their head coach and consistently has them in title contention.

In this interview with The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich (FREE), Bellamy talks about 2020 signee, four-star Belleville cornerback Andre Seldon, and how his team had to keep track of where Seldon was at all times.

“Seldon forced us to kick away from him and we tried to throw the ball away from him as well. We made a mistake challenging him and he picked it off,” Bellamy said.

West Bloomfield lost to Belleville 27-22 in the Regional Finals this past season, Marich wrote, and it sounds like Seldon played a huge role in securing that victory. Because of that, Bellamy thinks Seldon can compete immediately for playing time.

“I believe he does (have the tools to compete right away),” Bellamy said. “He is on campus already so going through winter conditioning and having spring ball only enhances his opportunity to play early. He is indeed a talented player.

“Seldon can have an immediate impact in the return game as a dynamic punt returner. I also see him as a nickel covering slot receivers and having a ton of success.”

It will be interesting to see how quick Seldon is able to get playing time. He will almost definitely start off on special teams, and I could see him competing for the open punt returner position vacated by Donovan Peoples-Jones. Regardless of where he starts, Seldon has proven he is one of the hardest working guys in the class and will work his way up, no matter how long it takes.

2021 three-star DL sets OV to U-M

TMI’s Marich ($) reported 2021 three-star defensive end Jason Onye has set his official visit to Michigan for the first week in June.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pounder from Warwick, Rhode Island has been to campus twice now, the most recent time being for the Ohio State game. Jim Harbaugh extended the offer to Onye during a Rhode Island camp last summer. Onye visited Michigan for the first time later that month after receiving the offer, Marich reports.

Onye, who is from the same high school as current Wolverine defensive end Kwity Paye, holds other offers from Penn State, Notre Dame, Duke, Pitt, Arizona, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and others.

If the Wolverines are serious about his recruitment, odds are they would be one of the favorites to land Onye. Being from the same high school as Paye and living in Don Brown territory puts a couple feathers in Michigan’s cap. There are probably guys higher on Michigan’s board right now, so we will see if the coaching staff turns up the heat eventually.

In-state four-star LB could hold off on decision until winter

One of the top linebackers on Michigan’s board for the 2021 class is in-state four-star Jamari Buddin. Outside of U-M, the Belleville native is being recruited hardest by Penn State, Purdue and Florida State.

With interest from schools all around the country, the 6-foot-2, 193-pounder recently told TMI’s Sam Webb (FREE) a decision likely will not be coming any time soon.

“(A decision will come) probably sometime in December,” Buddin said. “Maybe around that area. So, early signing period.”

I’d be surprised if he waited that long, as most kids don’t really do that much anymore. But it’s kinda nice to see he wants to take his time and make sure he doesn’t mess up his decision. It’s a little refreshing to see, but if you are Michigan, of course you’d want him to commit sooner rather than later.

All five crystal balls for Buddin are in for Michigan, but it is way too early to tell who leads at the moment. In my past discussions with him, he’s made it clear he has interest in Michigan, but Penn State is really pushing here, as is Florida State. Will Buddin be interested enough in those schools to leave the state? Only time will tell.

Buddin also added he is planning on announcing his top 10 schools soon. You should expect Michigan to be in that top 10 list.

That’s all for this week! Come back on Tuesday for another roundup.