Thursday Recruiting Roundup: Top DT target visiting for Washington game

We are two days away from Michigan football returning to Ann Arbor, and we could not be more excited ‘round these parts to finally have it back in our lives. Stick with Maize n Brew for all your coverage needs as the Wolverines kick off the season against Western Michigan this Saturday from the Big House.

But for now, let’s get to some recruiting, with updates on a four-star safety in the 2022 class and a talented prospect in the 2023 class. But we begin with a development at the defensive tackle position in 2022.

Top 2022 DT target checking out AA for Washington game

The visitors list for the Washington game on Sept. 11 continues to grow, as 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong ($) reported earlier this week that 2022 three-star defensive tackle Kenneth Grant is slated to visit Ann Arbor for the game.

The monstrous 6-foot-4, 335-pounder from Indiana has a top three of Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin. He officially visited both Wisconsin and Ohio State back in June, so now it’s Michigan’s turn to roll out the red carpet and show him what the program is all about.

“They’re family friendly, they’re pretty cool up there,” Grant told Wiltfong. “It’s relatable to my town and I like the vibe up there. Coach Macdonald is a good coach and I think he knows what he’s talking about because he’s coached in the NFL before. Coach Nua — he’s young too. He had been in the NFL before and knows what he’s talking about. Coach Harbaugh, he’s just cool and knows a lot about football.”

It’s a major development any time you can get a top target up on an official visit, and this is no exception. Michigan is in dire need of some more beef up front defensively in this class after losing Davonte Miles’ commitment back in July. The Wolverines have not found a replacement for him yet, and Grant would be the perfect guy to do so. He was recently bumped up to a four-star on 247Sports’ own personal rankings, so it’s only a matter of time before he continues to climb the rankings.

Bellamy reaches out to four-star S

Michigan is still on the prowl for safeties in the 2022 class, and Ron Bellamy and the Wolverines are searching far and wide for guys to join the class. According to 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins ($), Bellamy recently reached out to four-star Alfonzo Allen, who decommitted from Arizona State last weekend.

The 6-foot, 205-pounder from Miami, Florida has also heard from Indiana, North Carolina, Mississippi State and USF since his decommitment from ASU, he told Ivins.

When it comes to Michigan, Allen said, “It’s a great school. It’s also in the Big Ten, so that could be good for me, too, because they run the ball a lot (in that conference) and I could be in the box.”

Indiana very well could be a solid contender in this recruitment, as he took an official visit to Bloomington in June before committing to ASU. He has yet to see Ann Arbor, but he did tell Ivins he wants to take some visits before making his next commitment. Ivins editorializes Michigan “could also be in line to eventually get Allen on campus,” so we will have to wait and see what happens with this one.

The No. 301 overall prospect on 247Sports’ composite, Allen also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Oklahoma, USC, Tennessee and many more.

U-M a top contender for 2023 four-star TE

One position the Wolverines have been able to secure in the 2022 class is tight end, so they’ve had the luxury of working on prospects in the 2023 class. One of the top guys on their board in 2023 at the tight end position is four-star Cooper Flanagan, a 6-foot-5, 228-pounder from Concord, California.

Flanagan was able to visit Michigan back in June for the very first time, and came out of that visit impressed with what he saw. Recently speaking with The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich ($), he reflected on that trip and admitted he is trying to wrap up his recruitment in the near future.

“Great campus, loved the environment and hanging out with some of the players and getting to know about the program,” Flanagan said. “It really was a fantastic trip. I’m trying to decide soon to be able to make a decision.”

Flanagan told Marich he is trying to make a commitment in “the next few weeks, that’s my plan.” Luckily for the Wolverines, they will be considered for his commitment and are among the top six on his list of suitors, along with Notre Dame, Florida State, Cal, Washington and Tennessee. He has visited all of those schools except for Tennessee and Florida State, so it doesn’t seem likely he’ll end up at those two schools if he does end up committing soon.

Notre Dame holds both of the crystal ball predictions up to this point, so the Irish could be Michigan’s biggest competition here.