Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: Interesting development with five-star OT

It’s Tuesday again, which means it’s time for another Michigan Recruiting Roundup here at Maize n Brew. This week’s update is split between 2021 and 2022 prospects, led by a familiar name that hasn’t been discussed in a while. Let’s jump right in.

Door opening for 2021 five-star OT?

At one point, Michigan was the leader for JC Latham, who was then listed as a defensive end and played in Wisconsin. But then, Latham transferred to IMG Academy, focused on offensive tackle, and Greg Mattison left for Ohio State. This caused Michigan’s lead to be overtaken by Ohio State as Latham’s stock has skyrocketed into five-star territory.

But after a recent Instagram post by Latham reflecting on his past trip to Ann Arbor and the news of J.J. McCarthy transferring to IMG Academy, some hope has sparked again in his recruitment on Michigan’s end. The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich checked in to see if these hopes are legitimate ($).

With his class for 2021 already locked in, it appears linebacker coach Brian Jean-Mary has jumped in to help Ed Warinner with this recruitment. This should be welcome news given Jean-Mary’s ties to Florida and his obvious recruiting chops.

Michigan’s two commits currently at IMG, McCarthy and four-star offensive lineman Greg Crippen, have also been recruiting Latham.

Ultimately, this still looks like a longshot on Michigan’s end, with Ohio State and LSU the clear leaders, but Latham is increasingly feeling the presence of the Maize and Blue. Maybe this could reignite his previous feelings about the school, but it is still too early to tell if it will have a major impact.

Top DE target sets decision date

On the other end of the likelihood spectrum is 2021 four-star defensive end Quintin Somerville. Once the recruiting dead period was extended through July, Somerville abandoned his plans of visiting schools again before committing and set a decision date of June 20, he told TMI’s Sam Webb ($).

Somerville also cut his list of top schools in half from eight to four, with Michigan still in the mix. Joining the Wolverines are Vanderbilt, Washington and Florida State. Somerville attributed his relationship with Shaun Nua as a major reason why Michigan is in such a good position.

“Obviously, my relationship with coach Nua has only grown since he was at Arizona State. He has become a really close person not only in football, but in my family and to my brother as a coach who is kind of going along the same (coaching) journey,” Somerville said. “Coach Nua has obviously done a great job with my recruiting. So Michigan is of course in the top schools. They’re going to be in it until the end. They’ve got a good shot. Believe me.”

Michigan holds several high-confidence crystal balls for Somerville right now and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is already a silent commit. There should be good news for Michigan on June 20.

Michigan still high for 2022 in-state four-star

Back in the fall when recruits were still allowed to take visits, one of the most frequent guests at games was West Bloomfield 2022 four-star linebacker Michael Williams. TMI’s Marich caught up with Williams to see if his level of interest in Michigan has changed during this hectic period ($).

“Michigan is still an amazing school and I love a lot of things about Michigan like the campus and atmosphere. Honestly, nothing compares,” Williams said.

Jumping in early in Williams’ recruitment has also helped Michigan’s case.

“They were my second (offer) and they definitely still mean a lot to me.”

There are no crystal ball predictions for Williams right now, but it’s hard to believe anyone other than Michigan leads.

Michigan, Ohio State battling for 2022 OT

Michigan’s pursuits to recruit Ohio have created a battle for a Buckeye State standout in three-star offensive lineman Blake Miller. The Strongsville, Ohio native has visited Michigan a few times, but his recruitment changed when Ohio State offered him at the end of April. 247Sports’ Allen Trieu spoke with Miller to discuss his options ($).

Miller said he hears the most from Michigan and Ohio State, and wants to visit those two schools along with LSU, Tennessee and Clemson.

While Michigan has put in great work early to build a relationship, it’s going to be tough to overcome the Buckeyes, where his father once played.

“It was cool that the team I rooted for growing up would offer me,” Miller said. “It was a pretty awesome feeling.”

This recruitment is going to be really tough for Michigan to win, but they’ve done everything right so far. Miller said he wants to commit by “late junior, early senior year.”

That concludes this week’s Michigan Recruiting Roundup. Come back again soon to find out all the latest happenings in Michigan football recruiting.