Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: Michigan taking a late swing at Michigan State lean

Welcome back everyone to another Tuesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup here at Maize n Brew. There’s still some intrigue left in the 2021 class, even though the board has narrowed down to a handful of targets. We’ve got updates on a couple pass-catchers in 2021, then some other offensive targets in 2022 in the second half.

Michigan reigniting interest with in-state WR?

Even though he has always been highly regarded by the staff, 2021 East Lansing three-star wide receiver Andrel Anthony has not been discussed as a top target for a few months now. In the meantime, Michigan State has pulled out all the stops to keep the talented player in his own backyard and garnered 100 percent of the crystal balls.

However, The Michigan Insider’s Steve Lorenz reported the staff has continued their pursuit of Anthony and have not passed on him like previously believed ($).

This conversation was sparked by what seemed to be a coordinated recruiting effort by current Michigan commits on Twitter. A decision date for July 31 was announced by Anthony soon after.

Even more flames were added to the fire on Sunday when Anthony tweeted out he was in Ann Arbor.

We could be in for a late crystal ball run for the Wolverines, or Anthony is just trying to stir up some drama before he makes his announcement. Either way, you should pay attention to his Twitter page around 4 p.m. on Friday.

Michigan coaches staying on top of nation’s No. 2 TE

Another long-time 2021 target of Michigan’s is Iowa four-star tight end Thomas Fidone. The offensive weapon has wanted to visit Michigan for a while, but has been prevented from doing so. Still, Sherrone Moore has been leading the charge for the Wolverines as they try to pry Fidone away from his other finalists, according to TMI’s Brice Marich ($).

“I have a great relationship with coach Moore,” said Fidone. “Coach Moore is really relatable. He relates to teenagers and the players. He’s got that younger mindset. He’s very smart and knows what he’s talking about and knows what he’s doing. He kind of relates to all of us in a good way, so I like him a lot.”

Fidone also added hee and J.J. McCarthy are “always talking it up” and he has talked to Jim Harbaugh a “few times,” so this has been a program-wide effort.

Fidone noted he wants to make a decision in late September or early October, but wants to take official visits to Michigan and LSU beforehand if possible. If he doesn’t make it up to Ann Arbor before then, I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

2022 five-star QB talks with Michigan coaches

Michigan is looking to make it back-to-back classes with a five-star quarterback. Per TMI’s Brice Marich, Junipero Serra, California stud Maalik Murphy spoke with the coaching staff last week as he emerges as a top target at the position for his cycle ($).

Marich reports this is not the first time the two parties have been in contact, as Murphy is building a “solid rapport” with quarterbacks coach Ben McDaniels.

“I really like Michigan a lot. I like coach Harbaugh and the tradition at Michigan,” Murphy said. “They have a history of developing quarterbacks and I like the system they run. They run a pro-style system and that’s how I see myself and I think it’s a place I could fit in really well at.

Murphy said he “followed (Michigan) closely” last season and he “for sure” wants to get out to Ann Arbor to see a game.

The No. 2 ranked pro passer in his class, Murphy has Oregon and UCLA listed as “warm” on his 247Sports profile right now, but no crystal ball picks yet.

Top 100 RB excited by Michigan offer

Michigan has handed out a bunch of offers to running backs in the loaded 2022 class, with one of the most recent being Virginia four-star George Pettaway. Pettaway caught up with TMI’s Marich to talk about what the offer meant to him ($).

“My high school head coach actually called me and told me that Jay Harbaugh, the running backs coach had hit him up and told him they wanted to offer me,” Pettaway said. “My coach told me to give him a call, so I called him and he told me they were offering me a scholarship. I was very excited. It is another opportunity and another blessing to play at the next level. You can’t take that for granted.”

That was the first time he spoke with the younger Harbaugh, but Pettaway already has a favorable impression of his potential position coach.

“He was just kind of talking to me about the program,” Pettaway said. “He talked very little football. He talked more about just me as a person and what he wants to know about me as a person. It meant a lot. I mean, just knowing that he cares for me as a person and wants to know about me as a person not just as a football player and what I can do on the field. I always take that into consideration. It is also huge in building a relationship like that and really important to me.”

Pettaway admitted he doesn’t “know much about” Michigan but wants to “get up there a couple times and see as much as I can.”

Pettaway holds offers from Alabama, Florida, Michigan State, UNC, Penn State, Texas A&M and several others so far.

That concludes this week’s Tuesday Recruiting Roundup. Check back in soon for even more Michigan football recruiting news and updates.