Thursday Recruiting Roundup: Incoming freshman going after elite 2022 WR

Michigan football’s coaching staff continue to look around the country for talent in the 2022 class, extending offers left and right daily it seems. But it isn’t always the coaches at first that attracts a kid to U-M. Guys like Giles Jackson and J.J. McCarthy are constantly recruiting to Michigan, so players have a big say on things. And if family members of the prospect attend(ed) U-M, that plays a big role, too.

We detail two 2022 prospects who have connections to the program one way or another on today’s roundup, as well as an update on a recent de-commitment.

U-M freshman recruiting 2022 four-star WR

After reeling in three solid wide receiver prospects in the 2021 class, it isn’t the most pressing need for the Wolverines in 2022.

Most of the guys they are going after are highly-ranked guys, including four-star Darrius Clemons. At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, and running a verified 4.37 40-yard dash time, Clemons possesses a combination of size and speed that coaches go crazy over.

The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb ($) caught up with Clemons recently to get the latest in his recruitment, including being more prioritized now that Ron Bellamy is on staff.

“I feel like before coach Bellamy got there, coach Gattis was swamped being the OC, receivers coach, and also trying to finish up their 2021 class so I wasn’t getting recruited as hard then. As soon as coach Bellamy got there, his first day in the office he made sure to reach out to me,” Clemons said.

He also said incoming freshman wide receiver Andrel Anthony is on him hard. The two go way back to when Clemons was living in Michigan. Even though Clemons now lives on the West Coast, he and Anthony remain close.

“(We talk) probably about once every week or once every other week he’ll text me and say that I’m gonna be a Wolverine,” Clemons said.

“I wouldn’t say him himself makes it more enticing, but him recruiting me is definitely helping Michigan.”

There is a long way to go in Clemons’ recruitment, especially with him continuing to pick up offers from other top schools. But Michigan has a feather in its cap that a lot of other schools don’t, so we’ll have to wait and see if Anthony is a big factor down the road.

2022 CB target has connection to U-M

Another prospect Michigan has a feather in its cap with is 2022 three-star cornerback Benjamin Morrison. The 6-foot, 172-pounder from Phoenix, Arizona isn’t someone we have brought up much, if at all, but he is a guy you should get used to hearing about.

He was offered by Michael Zordich back in October, so he isn’t a new target by any means. There may have been questions about how much Michigan was going to recruit him moving forward with the new defensive staff, but he remains a top target for the Wolverines and a “guy they really like,” according to TMI’s Brice Marich ($).

Morrison also has a pretty decent connection to U-M, with his sister being a member of the women’s gymnastics team.

When Morrison’s sister was considering Michigan as her school of choice, she and the family made it out to Ann Arbor on a trip. Benjamin attended that trip, and told Marich he recalls the, “beautiful campus and nice facilities.”

Morrison is a versatile athlete, playing corner and wide receiver, while handling kick return duties at Brophy College Preparatory. He also does track and field, and ran an 11.46 100-meter dash when he was a sophomore.

Morrison, who is ranked No. 341 on the composite, also holds offers from Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State, LSU, Florida State, Oregon, Oklahoma, Washington and more.

Recruitment heating up for recent de-commit

2022 four-star defensive tackle Alex VanSumeren de-committed from Michigan last week and instantly picked up more offers from the likes of Indiana, Virginia, Boston College and more. That was just adding on to the offers he already had. With his recruitment now fully open, he told 247Sports’ Allen Trieu ($) he has already completed Zoom meetings with several schools.

“I have Zoomed with Alabama, Penn State, Michigan State, Stanford, Oregon, Indiana, Texas A&M, Illinois and Arizona,” VanSumeren said.

He also told Trieu he does not plan on rushing to make a decision and that he is going to visit as many schools as he can when the dead period is lifted.

As Jon Simmons and I discussed on this week’s Future Brew podcast, we don’t really anticipate VanSumeren coming back to be a part of Michigan’s 2022 class. It is a decent loss for the Wolverines, but a loss they can overcome. They will now shift their attention to guys like five-star Walter Nolen, four-star Anthony Lucas, four-star Joe Strickland and plenty more defensive lineman in the class.

That’s all for now! Come back Tuesday for another edition of the roundup.