Thursday Recruiting Roundup: Top target plans summer visit

The NCAA recruiting dead period wages on, as prospects are still unable to take official visits to schools they are interested in. The current dead period is tentatively set to expire on May 31. With the vaccine rollout underway and more and more people receiving doses daily, that could open the door for the dead period to not be extended, and to let kids take their official visits.

We begin today’s Michigan Recruiting Roundup with news on a top prospect planning to visit Michigan when the dead period is all said and done.

Four-star DL plans official visit

One of Michigan’s top targets on defense in the 2022 cycle, four-star Alabama defensive lineman Justice Finkley, is planning an official visit to Ann Arbor this summer, his mother told The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich ($).

Mrs. Finkley also explained she and Justice had a Zoom call with Jim Harbaugh, Mike Macdonald and others over the weekend, discussing how Justice would be incorporated into Michigan’s defense, and they told him they remind Justice of Matt Judon.

“(Macdonald) also stated that Justice plays the edge with power like (Terrell) Suggs and as much length as Judon,” Mrs. Finkley said.

This would not be the first time Finkley would visit Ann Arbor, as he was also in town for the 2019 version of The Game.

The 6-foot-2, 255-pounder racked up 82 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and one pass deflected during his junior year. He is the No. 7 strong-side defensive end and No. 130 overall player in his class on the composite. He also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and more.

Four-star LB hopes to visit this summer

Finkley seems like a sure thing to visit Ann Arbor this summer. Another prospect Michigan is hoping to get on campus is 2022 four-star linebacker Sebastian Cheeks, who has been a top target for them at the position throughout the entire cycle.

He recently told TMI’s Marich ($) it is very important for him to check out U-M.

“Getting to Ann Arbor has been a priority of mine,” Cheeks said. “I will sit down in front of my calendar and plan some things out after the season. I plan to commit this July or early August, so if there is time before that, then it very well could be the case.”

Cheeks had a conversation with some of the Michigan coaches a couple days ago to discuss a possible visit. There hasn’t been any news released yet from that call, so stick with Maize n Brew as we learn to get more out of that conversation.

Cheeks is the No. 14 outside linebacker and No. 154 overall player in 2022 on 247Sports’ composite ranking. All four crystal balls are currently in for Notre Dame.

Coaches Facetime with in-state DL

Along with Finkley, another one of the more important prospects for Michigan in the 2022 class along the defensive line is in-state three-star Deone Walker. The 6-foot-6, 304-pounder plays at Cass Tech, where several Wolverines in recent memory have attended high school in Detroit.

According to TMI’s Marich ($), a few of Michigan’s coaches went on Facetime with Walker earlier this week, including defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, defensive line coach Shaun Nua and safeties coach Ron Bellamy. But the thing that stood out was something pretty special for him.

“That they’re whole defensive coaching staff took time out and told me happy birthday,” Walker said.

Over the last few weeks, Walker has picked up offers from the likes of Florida, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Missouri and more, so his recruitment is really beginning to take off. Michigan offered him before anybody, however, so the Wolverines do have that going for them.