Tuesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup: Four-star LB target breaks down decision mentality

Happy Tuesday to everyone, and welcome to the latest Michigan Recruiting Roundup on Maize n Brew. Michigan has been trending on the crystal ball for a few targets lately and it looks like it could be on the verge of another fun run of commitments if all the chips land in the right way. We’ve got the latest on one of these guys, as well as news on some other prospects.

Four-star LB making sure his commitment will stick

One player Michigan has received several crystal balls for recently is 2021 four-star linebacker Jaydon Hood. The coaches have done an excellent job selling the program to Hood and his family, but never having visited campus before, the Florida native wants to make sure all boxes are checked before he gives a verbal pledge. Hood spoke with TMI’s Webb about his decision process ($).

“My family does not believe in committing and decommitting. So if I commit somewhere, nine out of 10 it’s going to be the school I’m going to,” Hood said. “They want to make sure whatever school I go to, whether I commit tomorrow or next year, that it’s the school that I’m going to go to and that I’m 110 percent sure. So, that’s where they’re at. They just want to make sure that I’m sure of whatever school I go to.”

Hood also outlined what criteria he’s looking at when making the decision about which school to attend.

“...stability in coaching staff, which is very important to me. I need that because if you’re recruiting me, I want to play for you,” said Hood. “Obviously, academics are important to me. The culture, the atmosphere, (and) the campus life (are also important) because football is not the whole time. I’ve got to be able to live there too. Results, traditions… all that’s important to me.”

With the support structure around Hood emphasizing waiting to make sure his commitment is final, it’s hard to say when he plans on ending his recruitment. However, with both crystal ball predictions on the Wolverines, it looks like when he does commit, it will be to Michigan.

Michigan staying in contact with Texas three-star RB

With no commits at running back and the Donovan Edwards saga having seemingly no end in sight, Michigan has been keeping tabs on several other prospects at the position. One of the latest offers at running back is 2021 three-star Tavierre Dunlap out of Texas. Dunlap, who is rated as a four-star to 247Sports, spoke with TMI’s Brice Marich about his recruitment ($).

“It was on FaceTime with coach Jay Harbaugh, coach Green and the strength and conditioning coach,” Dunlap said. “Well, I talked about strength and conditioning with the strength and conditioning coach, and coach Green is one of the academic coaches, so I asked him a lot of things about academics.”

Dunlap ran for 1,341 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior, which was actually a step down from his 1,449 yards he ran for as a sophomore. He doesn’t have any crystal ball predictions yet, but does hold offers from Arizona State, Cal, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, TCU, USC, Utah, Washington and many others.

Surprising coach recruiting 2022 four-star

I wanted to end this week’s roundup with a recruiter that isn’t talked about much in these articles. Quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels usually just focuses on his position, which has been filled for over a year with J.J. McCarthy, but he has been working on next year’s cycle to lock another stud up early.

That has led him to Iowa, where he is recruiting 2022 three-star Jaxon Dailey out of Southeast Polk. Dailey is teammates with another target on Michigan’s board, 2022 four-star safety Xavier Nwankpa, who recently spoke with TMI’s Steve Lorenz about his communication with McDaniels ($).

“I just talked to coach McDaniels a couple of days ago,” Nwankpa said. “He checked in on me. He wanted to know how I’ve been staying active and how I’ve been working through school during this period.”

Nwankpa is ranked as the No. 123 player overall in 247Sports’ initial 2022 rankings, and the No. 8 safety. He holds offers from some of the Midwest’s best, including Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska and Notre Dame. He visited Ann Arbor back in March with Dailey, where both prospects were offered.

That concludes this week’s Tuesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup. Stay tuned to Maize n Brew for more recruiting news and information.