Thursday Recruiting Roundup: Five-star QB Dante Moore visiting U-M on Friday

A four-star 2023 athlete being recruited as a tight end and defensive lineman recently listed Michigan as a top four school while also announcing his official visit date to Ann Arbor.

But first on today’s Recruiting Roundup, let’s chat a bit about the top overall target for the Wolverines in this 2023 class.

Dante Moore visiting U-M tomorrow

According to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu ($), 2023 five-star in-state quarterback Dante Moore is visiting Michigan on Friday.

“It’s not far from me at all to be honest,” he said. “I just need to get back up there and talk to the staff, talk to Coach Weiss, talk to Coach Harbaugh and to see what’s up there. I’m going to take a couple teammates up there with me. I’m just trying to get back up there. I love being up there, always love being back up there and talk to the players there like Donovan Edwards and JJ McCarthy. So just wanted to get back there and it feels good being there.”

Moore has already taken three official visits — Miami (FL), Oregon and LSU. He has also taken unofficials this offseason to Michigan and Notre Dame, so those seem to be the top five schools for him at this juncture. But Moore also brought up Texas A&M to Trieu, saying it has been hitting him up “every day or every other day,” especially after the Aggies has a quarterback in the 2023 class decommit earlier this year. They are also a candidate to receive a visit from Moore later this year.

As far as future visits go, Moore told Trieu nothing is planned for him for the month of June, so an official to Michigan — and Notre Dame for that matter — is not out of the question.

This feels like a huge opportunity that Michigan has to taken advantage of. Moore is the only quarterback Michigan is actively recruiting in this cycle, and this hasn’t been a slam dunk of a recruitment for a kid who grew up in Michigan by any means. Michigan is already playing from behind, so the staff has to treat this visit like an official visit and knock it of the park.

Michigan making strong push for four-star LB ahead of his official visit

Jaiden Ausberry, a four-star 6-foot, 205-pound linebacker from Baton Rouge in the 2023 class, is taking an official visit to Ann Arbor on June 24. According to On3’s Marshall Levenson ($), the Michigan coaching staff, led by George Helow and Ron Bellamy, have been making a strong push for him, as he told Levenson he is excited to get on campus.

“I just want to get up to Michigan, I haven’t been in a while and I really want my mom to see it,” he said. “They’re coming for me really hard right now. There’s some other schools I’ll take an official to but Michigan is one I’m really looking forward to.”

Ausberry did take a visit to Michigan during a game last fall, but Ausberry told Levenson he is hoping to see more of campus outside of just the stadium this time around. He also told Levenson Michigan “checks all the boxes.”

“I talk with (George) Helow and (Ron) Bellamy. When they came here, they asked what I was looking for in a school. And really, they checked all my boxes,” Ausberry said. “They’re good in academics, play good football, just made it to the playoffs and their program is trending up. And they think I would really fit into the culture and the locker room at Michigan.”

Jaxon Howard lists Michigan as a top four school

A prospect we haven’t talked a whole lot about on Maize n Brew is 2023 four-star athlete Jaxon Howard. So it was a little bit of a surprise when the 6-foot-4, 245-pounder recently listed Michigan among his top four schools along with Minnesota, LSU and Miami.

The Minneapolis native has held an offer from the Wolverines since May 2020, but Michigan has come on strong as of late, according to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu ($).

Howard will take official visits to all of the schools in his top four, with Michigan’s set to come on June 17-19. After Howard takes his final official visit at Miami June 24-26, the plan is for Howard to commitment sometime soon after the visits are completed.

Howard also took unofficial visits to Minnesota, LSU and Miami in the late winter and early spring, so June 17-19 will serve as a chance for Michigan to make an impression before he makes a final decision.