Tuesday Recruiting Roundup: Reactions from top visitors for the Ohio State game

The Michigan Wolverines got the best recruiting chip they could ask for on Saturday by not only beating Ohio State, but thoroughly dominating the Buckeyes physically. It answers a lot of questions recruits have about the ceiling of Michigan’s program, and will quell other schools’ negative recruiting tactics. Michigan hosted several big-time targets at the game who witnessed the game live, and we have reactions from the top guys.

Michigan makes move with five-star OT

Going into the weekend, it appeared Michigan’s chances with 2022 five-star tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin were pretty slim. But a strong showing on the ground by Michigan could have put Michigan right in the race for Goodwin, according to 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong ($).

“Really enjoyed the game. It was amazing,” said Goodwin. “Seeing the fans and seeing the snow, my first college game with snow, it was pretty cool. I always talk about how I love the cold, but this is a different cold. It was very enjoyable, I loved it a lot, I really did. I really do love the cold.”

Goodwin even revealed a classic Harbaugh tidbit when talking about the authenticity of the coaches.

“Coach Harbaugh is a really good dude, knows a lot about football and he’s a great man,” he said. “They talk about him always working out with the team. They pulled up his charts and said he’s doing squats on Monday with the team, here’s his squat numbers, if he was on the team he’d be ranked this on the team.”

Goodwin is still committed to Kentucky, but he’s also considering Alabama, Michigan State and Texas A&M. Michigan will have to pitch NIL strongly with Goodwin to stay in the race, but have put its best foot forward with this visit.

Four-star DB recaps official visit

Another top target Michigan hosted on an official visit this weekend was 2022 De La Salle (CA) four-star defensive back Zeke Berry, who spoke with On3’s EJ Holland about his first trip to Ann Arbor ($).

“It was crazy,” Berry said. “They told me to keep an eye on the players playing the position I would be playing, and they balled out. Just seeing them beat Ohio State after a certain amount of years, the joy on the coaches’ and players’ faces was a crazy experience.”

The coaching staff believes Berry is versatile enough to play any position in the defensive backfield, comparing him to Daxton Hill.

“They said I resemble his game play,” Berry said. “He does a lot on the field. He blitzes. He plays man-to-man. He stays in coverage. He played a really good game. I think it would be an awesome fit.”

As soon as Berry got to campus, before the game even happened, Crystal Balls came rolling in for Michigan. Now all seven predictions are on the Wolverines and this looks to be a situation of when rather than if on when he commits.

Top 100 S still mulling over his commitment to Clemson

The visit of 2022 four-star safety Keon Sabb was kept under wraps as long as possible before the news finally broke that the Clemson commit would be on campus for the Ohio State game. This was kept hush-hush because of Dabo Swinney’s policy about commits not visiting other schools.

Sabb spoke with The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb about how he’s still committed to Clemson and visited Michigan to support his friends, but the door is still open for a flip ($).

“It was unreal. That was one of the craziest, no, definitely the craziest game I’ve ever been to, for sure. It was snowing. The atmosphere was unreal,” Sabb said.

While Sabb currently plays for IMG Academy, he is originally from New Jersey and came to support his friends Brad Hawkins and RJ Moten.

“I have faith in the guys. Brad (Hawkins) and RJ (Moten), I know those guys are from Jersey. I definitely had faith in them to lock it down in the secondary,” Sabb said.

Last cycle, Swinney made the No. 2 player in the country, Korey Foreman, decommit after taking visits elsewhere and he ended up at USC. Swinney may have lightened up on his stance after that event, but if not, it will be interesting to see if Sabb opens up his recruitment in the coming days. If he does, Michigan is the obvious choice.