Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: Pair of four-star WRs trending toward Michigan

Michigan is coming off a great Memorial Day weekend after picking up a pair of four-star linebackers in Junior Colson and Jaydon Hood. Now that linebacker is essentially wrapped up for the cycle, the other positions can get more attention. Here’s the latest on how those efforts are going.

Another four-star target trending towards Michigan

Along with Colson and Hood, another blue-chip player in the 2021 class picked up a bunch of crystal balls for Michigan recently as well. California four-star wide receiver Cristian Dixon picked up six predictions since last week, and The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb spoke with 247Sports West Coast expert Greg Biggins to unearth why ($).

“He has a great relationship with coach Gattis. He’s close with Darion Green-Warren. They’ve talked a lot about (Michigan),” Biggins said. “Darion is selling him on the program. I think Cristian sees himself playing for a big time college football program. He likes the idea of playing at a big school like Michigan. They’re recruiting him hard. They’ve prioritized him. I think he feels like he fits in the offense.”

However, there may be one thing holding Dixon back from fully jumping on board. His inability to visit campus makes it hard for a player to commit to a school across the country that he hasn’t seen in person yet.

“Now, he hasn’t visited yet. That’s probably the only thing that’s kind of holding things back, but I think everything else is probably plus, plus, plus when it comes from that school,” Biggins said.

Because of this, Dixon’s timeline for a decision is unclear and he doesn’t know if he is going to wait to take visits or not, so be on your toes since a commitment could come any time.

Dual-sport pitch resonating with four-star WR

Another 2021 wide receiver high on Michigan is Georgia four-star Jayden Thomas. Long a top target for the staff but one who hasn’t been talked about much until recently, Thomas is being given the opportunity to play both football and baseball at Michigan if he were to choose the Wolverines, according to TMI’s Brice Marich ($).

“Yes, they have (given me the opportunity to play football and baseball),” said Thomas. “They said I could play football and baseball if I wanted to. I talked to coach Gattis and (Michigan baseball assistant head coach) coach (Nick) Schnabel.”

Michigan has utilized this strategy in the last two classes, with Joey Velazquez starting off hot before the season was canceled, and RJ Moten planning to suit up for the team next year when he gets on campus.

Josh Gattis is leading Thomas’ recruitment and a strong relationship is building between the two.

“I really like them right now,” Thomas said. “Me and coach Gattis have a close relationship. I love coach. We are really starting to become closer and we talk pretty often, at least two times a week.”

Thomas is pretty wide open in terms of favorites, but holds offers from Georgia, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and several others.

Ed Warinner staying on top of multiple OL targets

It shouldn’t come as a surprise Ed Warinner is also grinding on the recruiting trail. According to TMI’s Marich, Warinner was busy last Friday, scheduling calls with three top offensive line targets ($).

All three were offensive tackles, as Michigan seeks to land one more true tackle to its already great class at the position. The headliner from the calls last week was five-star Nolan Rucci, likely Michigan’s highest-ranked remaining target. Michigan is consistently chipping away at Rucci, who isn’t necessarily a lock to Penn State or Clemson like most believe.

Four-star Garrett Dellinger and three-star Tristan Bounds also spoke with Warinner. Michigan is also gaining ground with Dellinger. Bounds, meanwhile, drove through campus with his father last week, so he clearly is very interested. Notre Dame and Virginia are the other contenders for him.

The Wolverines would love to land any one of these guys and would probably shut down their tackle recruiting if one jumped on board,. They could possibly make room for Rucci if he still wanted in, though.

That wraps up this week’s Tuesday Recruiting Roundup. Check back in soon for the latest in Michigan recruiting news and updates.