Recruiting Roundup: Michigan picks up Crystal Balls for two top-100 recruits

The Michigan Wolverines are hitting the ground running after the winter dead period with two massive, back-to-back recruiting weekends in Ann Arbor.

In this installment of the recruiting roundup, we take a look at Michigan’s chances with some elite recruits in the 2024 class, as well as revisit the recruiting efforts of an early Michigan commit that just might be starting to pay off.

Two elite 2024 prospects pick up Crystal Balls for Michigan

Michigan is now officially the favorite, albeit an early one, for two of the nation’s most coveted class of 2024 recruits, as four-star running back Taylor Tatum and four-star linebacker Aaron Chiles received Crystal Balls projecting them to the Wolverines.

Many recruiting analysts saw Michigan as the leader in Chiles’ recruitment for some time, and the success of his visit last weekend — the latest of several — spurred the prediction.

However, Tatum’s Michigan pick was a bit more unexpected. 247Sports’ Mike Roach posted a slew of crystal balls Monday night, which included his prognosis of Tatum’s recruitment. This is what he had to say about Michigan’s chances with the elite running:

“Going away from Texas, I think Michigan is trending early for Longview RB Taylor Tatum. The Wolverines have been all in on both the football and baseball side. I think they will be tough to beat but the race could heat up if USC or Texas make a big push.”

Adding an elite running back like Tatum would be a tremendous boost to the 2024 class and ensure the continuity of talent at the position for some time.

Both recruitments will likely wage on into the fall, but these crystal balls indicate Michigan has the inside track.

Key OL targets visit Ann Arbor mid-week with U-M commit

Michigan 2024 four-star offensive line commit Luke Hamilton was in Ann Arbor a couple days ago for another unofficial visit. It’s not very common for committed players to visit during the week, but he wanted to make sure another two offensive linemen felt the love as 2024 four-star Max Anderson and 2024 three-star Jake Guarnera took in visits.

Hamilton has been a vocal advocate with several other 2024 recruits from Ohio, and it appears he’s been doing some recruiting of his own with his fellow guests in Ann Arbor this week. Here’s what he had to say ($) about that to The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb:

“The trip was another great day to watch the team go at it. Yes, I talked to Jake (Guarnera) a lot and I could tell he was having a blast. Jake is my guy and getting to talk to him all day was awesome. I talked to Max (Anderson) a little bit, but he had a busy day.”

Hamilton has all the traits of a natural leader, and it will be exciting to see who else he can bring to Ann Arbor and what he can do once he hits the gridiron.

Top CB target visiting this weekend

Aaron Scott — a four-star cornerback in the 2024 class and a significant target for the Wolverines — is scheduled to join ($) the bevy of other top-rated recruits visiting Ann Arbor this weekend, according to 247Sports’ Allen Trieu.

He also has other visits this spring to Oregon, Pitt, Penn State, Tennessee and Notre Dame, as well as Ohio State, the current favorite so far. However, this is his second trip to Michigan in the past three months, so Michigan is right in the mix.

Winning over Scott will take persistence on the part of Michigan and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale, but they have a golden opportunity to make their job much easier this weekend.