Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: The latest on Donovan Edwards’ recruitment

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Michigan Recruiting Roundup on Maize n Brew. Today’s roundup will be a mix of updates on 2021 and 2022 prospects on the offensive side of the ball, including the latest on maybe the most important recruit left on the board.

Top 2021 target holding off decision until after season

High schoolers across Michigan were able to play in their first week of football last week, including 2021 four-star running back Donovan Edwards at West Bloomfield. The Michigan Insider’s Josh Newkirk caught up with Edwards after his three-touchdown performance to break down his recruitment ($).

“I’ve been to Michigan and Georgia, I’m not stressing that. I really want to go to Norman, Oklahoma, for sure,” Edwards said about his unofficial finalists. “Why commit somewhere that you haven’t seen before?”

Unfortunately for Michigan fans, that means Edwards will likely be putting off his decision until the end of his senior season if he maintains his stance of visiting Oklahoma before committing. Of course, the Sooners could land five-star Camar Wheaton before then and eliminate them from the race before then as well.

As for Michigan, Edwards likes what he’s been hearing about the role he’d play in Ann Arbor.

“Michigan, I feel as though their offensive line that they have, I feel I could fit perfectly into the scheme that they do,” Edwards said. “I feel that the holes that the offensive line create, I’m a perfect fit for what they do.”

Edwards plans on enrolling early at whatever school he chooses, but doesn’t expect to be given playing time right away.

“That’s really how I work for real,” Edwards said. “I feel like nothing should be given to me. I want to earn it.”

Michigan offers 2021 three-star OL

Offers from Michigan in the 2021 class are few and far between these days, making any offer notable. This weekend, Michigan sent one out to Remington Strickland, a three-star offensive lineman from Texas.

Michigan has been seeking another offensive lineman in the class, and the two recent decommitments could have opened up space. TMI’s Steve Lorenz reports despite being listed as a center, Ed Warinner likes Strickland at right tackle or guard ($).

This is somewhat interesting as Strickland is listed as only 6-foot-3 on his 247Sports profile, which would make playing tackle in the Big Ten quite a challenge.

The only other Power 5 schools to offer Strickland are Arkansas and Purdue, with Houston and SMU being listed as “warm” on his profile. We’ll see if Michigan pursues this route seriously going forward or not.

McCarthy still in contact with former four-star teammate

Even after J.J. McCarthy transferred to IMG Academy this offseason, he still made a point to stay in contact with his talented teammates at Nazareth Academy. This is resonating with 2022 four-star wide receiver Tyler Morris, according to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu ($).

“He does (stay in contact),” Morris said about McCarthy. “He’s always saying something to push me Michigan’s way and trying to get us back together in college.”

Perhaps even more promising for Morris is his relationship with fellow Illinois native and top 100 wide receiver, Kaleb Brown.

“We’ve definitely talked about it,” Morris said. “We’ve known each other for a couple years. We used to play each other in middle school. We just talked about it last week, how crazy it has turned out and what it would be like if we were going to go to the same school.”

With Michigan holding crystal balls for both prospects right now, that scenario would be happening in Ann Arbor. However, this will still be a battle, with Morris stating he is also talking with Penn State, Missouri, Texas, Iowa, Northwestern and Notre Dame plenty as well.

That’s it for this week’s recruiting roundup, check back again soon for more of the latest news and updates pertaining to Michigan.