Welcome to another edition of the Michigan Recruiting Roundup!
It has been a slow week of recruiting for the Wolverines, as you can probably tell with us taking a week off the Future Brew podcast. But we still do have a few updates to get to, so let’s get started!
2022 five-star CB updates recruitment
Domani Jackson is the top-rated cornerback in the 2022 class. As the No. 3 overall player and a five-star prospect on the composite, he is arguably the most important recruit Michigan is going after in 2022.
Jackson recently spoke with The Michigan Insider’s Josh Newkirk ($) to update where things stand with Michigan, and it sure sounds like the Wolverines are still in play.
“It was always a childhood dream to play at Michigan,” Jackson said. “I have an opportunity to do that. So, we’ll just see.”
Jackson visited Ann Arbor this past November for the Wisconsin game, and he told Newkirk he found out “everything when I went out there,” and that he “asked all the questions (and) I’m good now.”
A decision timeline is set, but Jackson didn’t reveal that in the interview. But one thing he did reveal is the package deal with 2022 five-star cornerback Will Johnson is official.
“We’ll always be a package deal,” Jackson said. “It’s set in stone.”
Jackson’s top six include Michigan, USC, Ohio State, Arizona State, Oklahoma and Clemson. That top list follows along with Johnson’s, minus Clemson. The duo visit USC this weekend, so things could ramp up in their recruitments pretty quick.
2022 four-star DE hearing from U-M a lot
One of the top targets along the defensive line early on in the 2022 class for Michigan was four-star defensive end Wilfredo Aybar. His primary recruiter was Don Brown, and in case you have just awoken from a month-long coma, Brown is no longer Michigan’s defensive coordinator.
So how often does he continue to hear from the Wolverines now that Brown is out of the picture? According to 247Sports’ Brian Dohn ($), Michigan is still one of the teams reaching out consistently, along with Notre Dame, USC, Ohio State, Oregon, Boston College, Florida, Penn State, Oklahoma and Rutgers.
When it comes to Brown, Aybar said he was “very close” with him, but that he still views Michigan as a “very prestigious program and I believe they will find a very high level guy.”
“I am just excited to see who they bring in as a defensive coordinator. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
It will be interesting to see if Michigan’s new defensive coordinator will prioritize Aybar moving forward. He is No. 110 on the composite, and is a highly-wanted player on the defensive line, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see Aybar continue to be targeted by U-M.
2 more names to watch in transfer portal
The ever-growing transfer portal is going to be very important for the Wolverines this offseason. They have inquired to several defensive players, and according to TMI’s Brice Marich ($), they are keeping tabs on two Auburn defensive linemen who recently entered the portal — Daquan Newkirk and Markaviest “Big Kat” Bryant.
Newkirk (6-foot-3, 317 pounds) compiled 28 tackles, three for loss, 1.5 sacks and one pass deflected in 10 games played in 2020.
Meanwhile, Bryant (6-foot-5, 250 pounds) earned a place on the second-team of the All-SEC squad for his performance in 2020. He racked up 17 tackles, three for loss, three sacks, one pass deflected and one interception.
Both guys will be graduate transfers, so they will likely have just one season left in the college ranks.
That’s all for this week! Be sure to come back Tuesday for another edition of the roundup.