Four top-100 2023 prospects, other top targets officially visiting Michigan this weekend

Michigan will welcome over a dozen official visitors this weekend, including a handful of touted unofficial visitors in the 2023 and 2024 classes. There are a few commit candidates to watch following these visits, which could help propel the class forward and get the ball rolling with Victors Weekend coming up next week.

Official Visitors

Christian Brothers College (MO) four-star ATH Jeremiyah Love - No. 72 overall, No. 5 ATH

Michigan is recruiting Love in an interesting way. He’s listed as an athlete, but virtually every other school is pitching him as a running back. But since Michigan already has two running backs, Jay Harbaugh is taking over and pitching him as a defensive back. Mike Hart is still involved, though, and Michigan is leaving the door open for Love to play either side of the ball.

We’ll see how this strategy plays out, as Love doesn’t have as much tape playing defensive back as he does on offense. Love has already taken official visits to Texas A&M and Oregon, and has Notre Dame and Alabama officials lined up later in the month.

Bixby (OK) four-star TE Luke Hasz - No. 81 overall, No. 5 TE

After Andrew Rappleyea decommitted, Michigan has been looking to land another tight end and there are few better than Hasz. Despite him being committed to Arkansas, Hasz actually reached out to Michigan to show his interest.

Hasz took an official visit to Alabama last weekend as well, so his recruitment is pretty open. Arkansas is trying to hold on, though, even offering his brother who is not the same caliber of recruit.

John Paul II Catholic (FL) four-star S Makari Vickers - No. 84 overall, No. 5 S

With the 2022 class being so loaded at defensive back, Michigan can be picky at the position. Vickers is versatile enough to play either cornerback or safety, and has both Steve Clinkscale and Jay Harbaugh recruiting him.

An Oklahoma Crystal Ball was submitted after his official visit to the Sooners last weekend, but he still has Michigan, Alabama and Texas visits for the next three weekends.

Osceola (FL) four-star DL John Walker - No. 96 overall, No. 11 DL

Michigan got Walker on campus for an unofficial back in the winter and are now getting rewarded with an official visit this weekend. He’s going to be a tough pull from the south, but getting two visits from him already is a good start.

Walker took an official visit to UCF last weekend and will visit Miami and Ohio State later in the month. He plans to go to Florida for an official visit in the fall. Ohio State has the lone Crystal Ball prediction, but this recruitment could go on for a while.

Imhotep Institute (PA) four-star LB Semaj Bridgeman - No. 281 overall, No. 18 LB

Bridgeman shuffled his top schools list recently to include Michigan, which is good news since the linebacker board is pretty thin right now. Notably, Bridgeman’s teammate Rahmir Stewart will also be visiting for an unofficial this weekend (more on him later).

The other schools on Bridgeman’s list are Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Rutgers and South Carolina. Georgia is the only other school on his list that he has another official visit scheduled with, on the 17th.

Trinity Christian (FL) four-star ATH Aaron Gates - No. 299 overall, No. 20 ATH

Gates was initially slated to visit for Victors Weekend, but moved it up a week to join this group. The Florida commit already visited Michigan for the spring game in April and multiple coaches stopped by his high school during the evaluation period.

He also doesn’t have any other visits set up as of now, which all points to a flip seeming very likely if everything goes well.

Kankakee (IL) four-star CB Jyaire Hill - No. 304 overall, No. 31 CB

Once thought to be a slam dunk, Michigan actually has some work to do with Hill on this visit. Reportedly, the Wolverines will have to win Hill’s mom over as she was disturbed by Jim Harbaugh’s flirtation with the NFL this offseason.

The other competitor here is Illinois, who is making Hill its top priority. Hill apparently likes Michigan more, but getting mom on board is a huge step in securing a commitment. This visit will determine a lot about the Wolverines’ chances.

Fairmont Preparatory (CA) four-star ATH Collins Acheampong - No. 319 overall, No. 22 ATH

Acheampong is one of the several high-ceiling edge prospects on Michigan’s board. An immigrant from Ghana, the 6-foot-7, 230-pounder originally came to the states to play basketball, but starred on the football field instead. Interestingly, because of the pandemic, Acheampong’s high school disbanded their football program so when he gets to college it will have been over two years since he played organized football.

The schools in contention for Acheampong are UCLA and LSU, where he has officially visited already, and Miami and Washington, where he’ll officially visit after Michigan. Originally, he wanted to stay closer to home, but with UCLA the only California school on the list, it appears he’s more open to leaving, which only helps Michigan.

Liberty (AZ) three-star DL My’Keil Gardner - No. 383 overall, No. 53 DL

Gardner was offered during the evaluation period in May and quickly set up an official visit to Ann Arbor. Michigan will get his third official visit, following Cal and Wisconsin and preceding Texas and Oregon. It’s hard to tell where the Wolverines stand since they haven’t been recruiting him for long, but this visit will help determine that.

Buford (GA) three-star OT Paul Mubenga - No. 520 overall, No. 43 OT

This weekend will help shake out the offensive line in a big way with three top targets at the position taking official visits. Mubenga is probably the most likely to commit since this is the last official he’s set up following a trip to UNC last weekend.

Michigan is very high on Mubenga and stopped by to see him in May. At 6-foot-4, Mubenga likely projects as a swing tackle/guard at the next level. Expect some Crystal Balls and maybe even a commitment following this weekend.

Hun School (NJ) three-star OT Logan Howland - No. 46 OT

Howland is another lineman with high interest in Michigan and at 6-foot-7, he is a true tackle prospect. He was just on campus for an unofficial visit a couple weeks ago before scheduling his official visit soon after, which is a great sign for the Wolverines.

He does have a few other official visits scheduled, though. He visited Oklahoma last weekend and will check out Miami and Iowa in consecutive weeks after Michigan.

Cardinal Ritter (MO) three-star WR Fredrick Moore - No. 763 overall, No. 109 WR

Moore is another evaluation period find by Jay Harbaugh, who recruits the St. Louis area. Ron Bellamy agreed with his talent and Moore quickly became a top target for the staff.

This will be the second official visit for Moore following one to Illinois last weekend. He has another to Michigan State scheduled for June 17. Given the competition here, the Wolverines could land Moore quickly if they push.

Strake Jesuit (TX) three-star TE Chico Holt - No. 850 overall, No. 41 TE

Michigan offered Holt back in early May and almost immediately jumped to the front of his recruitment. He’s already taken official visits to Northwestern and Cal, so he clearly values academics. Holt is another potential commit candidate following his official visit, though he did just pick up an offer from Texas that could give him pause.

Glenbard West (IL) three-star OT Christopher Terek - No. 939 overall, No. 83 OT

While he’s the lowest rated offensive lineman visiting this weekend, Terek may be the best prospect given the schools going after him. Terek visited Wisconsin last weekend and has Illinois and Iowa official visits coming up after this trip.

Iowa has already received two Crystal Ball picks and have the last official visit, so the Hawkeyes to be the biggest competition. But Michigan could make a real move here while he’s on campus.

Unofficial Visitors

Imhotep Institute (PA) four-star S Rahmir Stewart - No. 239 overall, No. 19 S

Stewart was mentioned above with his teammate Bridgeman taking an official visit this weekend. It’s interesting Stewart will be on campus as well but as an unofficial, though the staff probably prefers it since they can get him back on campus during the season.

However, it’s not clear if Stewart is as high on the board as others. They may wait to see how their top targets play out before turning the heat up on him.

North Gwinnett (GA) four-star DL Kayden McDonald - No. 298 overall, No. 44 DL

It’s even better news McDonald will be up on campus for an unofficial since he is from much farther away. McDonald is near the top of the board for Mike Elston at nose tackle. Unfortunately, Georgia is also pursuing him hard and will be tough to beat.

McDonald has official visits to Florida and Michigan State lined up after the unofficial to Michigan. The Michigan State one is interesting since it indicates he’s not afraid to play up north. If Michigan can get him back on campus during the season for an official, it will increase its odds.

2024 Visitors

Johns Creek (GA) five-star DL T.A. Cunningham - No. 5 overall, No. 1 DL

St. John Bosco (CA) four-star CB Marcelles Williams - No. 92 overall, No. 9 CB

Both Cunningham and Williams were actually on campus yesterday, but they deserve to be mentioned since they are such high-profile prospects.

Cunningham is the top defensive lineman in his class and will visit Michigan during a Midwest swing after stopping by Notre Dame and Michigan State the day before. Cunningham has offers from basically every school and there is already a Crystal Ball pick in for Oklahoma.

Williams will be on a similar Midwest trip coming from the West Coast. He’ll also be at Notre Dame the day before visiting Michigan, though it doesn’t look like he’ll be stopping by Michigan State. The Wolverines have done pretty well with defensive backs from California so they probably have a better shot with Williams at this point, though there’s a long way to go with both.

Good Counsel (MD) three-star OT Kyle Altuner - No. 339 overall, No. 21 OT

Rounding out the 2024s is Altuner, who was offered by the staff at the end of April during the evaluation period. Altuner also holds offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Penn State, Pitt and Rutgers, so it looks like he has potential to rise in the rankings.