Recruiting Roundup: Recapping how July has gone for Michigan recruiting

The start of July has been eventful for Michigan Wolverines football recruiting, with the program picking up a couple commitments while also losing out on some top targets. Let’s recap what’s been going on since the calendar flipped to July.

The Commitments

July 1 went mostly as expected, with Michigan landing the commitments of 2023 three-star wide receiver Fredrick Moore and 2023 four-star linebacker Semaj Bridgeman.

These two commitments pushed Michigan alllll the way up to No. 49 in the recruiting rankings as of this writing. The Wolverines do still only have eight commitments, which includes a kicker, so there is plenty of room to improve, but it does still speak to what a struggle this recruiting cycle has been so far.

Moore told 247Sports’ Allen Trieu (FREE) his “primary reason for choosing the University of Michigan is that it felt like a place I felt safe at. And I had a really close relationship with coach Bellamy. He’s a cool guy. I like his coaching style.”

Moore joins Semaj Morgan as the second wide receiver in Michigan’s class. Michigan would like to add one more receiver, preferably a larger target who can play on the outside.

Bridgeman became Michigan’s first linebacker in the class, and second funnily enough the second Semaj.

“I know it was the right fit for me because on our official visit when I went up there, they showed me the plan they had for me, they showed me my film and how I fit into their defensive schemes,” Bridgeman told 247Sports’ Brian Dohn (FREE). “The relationship I have with (linebackers) coach (George) Helow, (assistant) coach (Grant) Newsome has been an ongoing thing, so that was big.”

The Misses

Of course, Michigan couldn’t win them all. On July 1st, the Wolverines lost out on 2023 top-100 edge Jaxon Howard when he chose LSU.

Michigan felt good about Howard following his official visit, but he took official visits to LSU and Miami within a week of leaving Ann Arbor. Miami was thought to be the biggest threat to Michigan here, but LSU was the school that started picking up steam as his commitment date neared closer.

Another defensive prospect Michigan hosted on an official last month but ultimately went elsewhere is 2023 three-star LB Phil Picciotti. Picciotti came up for a midweek official visit in June, but has been seen as an Oklahoma lean for a while now and that’s the school he chose yesterday.

The Wolverines may not see this as a huge loss after picking up Bridgeman as they want prospects with higher upside athletically they can mold rather than players with higher floors that could contribute earlier given their young linebacker room

The Delay

2023 four-star edge Collins Acheampong was supposed to announce on July 1 with most of the other guys outlined above, but instead decided to push back his decision date.

This wasn’t that surprising because it became clear he was extremely torn between Michigan and Miami leading up to his original deadline. Michigan had given itself a big lead following his official visit, but Miami’s NIL pitch helped get it back in the race.

The delay is probably a good thing for Michigan, since the late buzz was towards Miami and was likely going to be the choice if he announced on July 1. Now, there is some optimism Michigan has been able to quell any concerns Acheampong had and has more time to get back out in front.