Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: Michigan among leaders for pair of top 100 CBs

Hello everyone, and welcome back to the latest Tuesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup! This week’s roundup is split between the 2021 and 2022 classes with a quartet of prospects that are all ranked as four-stars or better. Let’s start with the rising seniors first.

Top 100 CB staying in contact with Michigan staff

Michigan is still looking for at least one more cornerback for its 2021 class, and the highest-ranked likely option is California four-star Ceyair Wright. The Loyola product has been in consistent contact with Michigan coaches, according to The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich ($).

“I have been talking to them pretty consistently,” said Wright. “I had a FaceTime call with coach (Jim) Harbaugh recently.”

His recruitment is still pretty open, but has mentioned in an interview with 247Sports’ Rob Werner “Utah, Nebraska, Michigan and Arizona State” are talking to him the most.

Wright added he is also considering Michigan for an official visit, if he is able to take one in the fall. Getting a visit from him will probably be necessary for the coaches to pull him from the West Coast, but landing fellow Californian cornerbacks David Long and Darion Green-Warren have helped him warm up to the idea of playing so far away from home.

Four-star OG taking visit to campus a growing possibility

With prospects unable to take visits because of the pandemic, a tactic used increasingly by Michigan coaches is to have players and their families take trips to Ann Arbor to get a feel for campus. The coaches and support staff can’t have direct contact with the players, but can point them to key attractions that will help them get more comfortable with the school and program.

After having Tristan Bounds and George Rooks take visits in this manner, TMI’s Marich reports the next player to do this could be 2021 four-star guard Drew Kendall ($).

The Massachusetts native last visited campus last summer for the BBQ at the Big House. However, it wasn’t until the nationwide shutdown that Michigan surged in his recruitment. After taking a commanding lead of the crystal balls, the excitement has died down and now there are questions about space for Kendall in the class.

Getting Kendall to take a visit soon would show he still possesses strong interest in Michigan, and could be the spark that pushes him to commit. He has previously stated he wants to commit by the end of July, so we’ll see if he can get to campus before then.

Michigan one of the main contenders for in-state legacy CB

After discussing one 2022 elite cornerback in last week’s Recruiting Roundup, we have an update on another one with strong ties to Michigan who lives much closer to campus. Will Johnson, the nation’s No. 4 cornerback, spoke with TMI’s Sam Webb to talk about the schools sticking out to him the most early on ($).

“Right now, the schools that I can tell that are interested in me the most have been the schools I named. Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, Florida State,” Johnson said.

Johnson also addressed the feeling of some fans that Michigan wasn’t in his top group, which would be concerning given his father Deon’s career in the winged helmet and proximity to campus. But that simply isn’t true.

“That wasn’t the case,” he said. “It was never the case that I didn’t want to go there. I don’t know where I want to go yet. I just want to see what school will be best for me at the end.”

Head man Jim Harbaugh and cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich are taking the reins in Johnson’s recruitment.

“I talk to coach Zordich once a week, and I FaceTimed coach Harbaugh twice over the quarantine,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a cool vibe. We just call, we just check in with each other, talk and just catch up.”

Along with development for the pros, Johnson also says style of play will be a major factor in his recruitment. The type of play he desires will definitely be helpful in Michigan’s case.

“My high school plays a lot of man. Man to man. Press. I like to play a lot of man, so that (style) is good for me,” Johnson said.

This race isn’t anywhere close to being finished, but it’s safe to say Michigan will be in it until the end.

Michigan makes top 10 for 2022 four-star RB

Some 2022 prospects have slowly started to put out early lists of their top schools. The latest prospect to include Michigan in one of these lists is four-star running back Gi’Bran Payne.

Joining Michigan in Payne’s top list is Alabama, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Northwestern, Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia and Wisconsin. He doesn’t yet hold an offer from the in-state Buckeyes.

The Ohio native is ranked No. 206 overall and the No. 24 running back according to 247Sports’ early 2022 rankings.

If the Wolverines only end up taking one running back in the 2021 cycle, they will most likely try to take two in 2022. As you can tell by the positional rankings, running back is deep in the 2022 class and Michigan has handed out offers to several top backs already.

That’s all for this week’s roundup! Check back soon for even more Michigan recruiting news and updates.