Recruiting Roundup: 2024’s best RB schedules official visit to Michigan

We are just a week away from the heart of official visit season, and the Michigan Wolverines are looking to continue their impressive start to the 2024 class. Here are some headline-grabbing stories to keep tabs on as we head into June, arguably the most important month in the summer recruiting period.

Top RB target locks in official visit

The hype surrounding Michigan’s potential 2024 tailback haul is about to hit another gear, as the newly-crowned best running back in the class, Taylor Tatum, has penciled in a June 23 visit to Ann Arbor.

This comes on the heels of mounting excitement over the news that current Wolverine running back commit Jordan Marshall is actively recruiting Tatum to join him at Michigan, as well as the Lone Star back’s admission that a duo with Marshall is “a one-two punch that I’m ready to be a part of.”

USC and Oklahoma will also receive visits from him earlier in the month.

Michigan’s offensive identity, academic environment, and the chance to compete with some great ball carriers are points that will be emphasized when Tatum arrives on campus. The Wolverines have the opportunity to nab another superstar tailback, and with this upcoming visit, fans have to be optimistic about the Maize and Blue’s chances.

New predictions in for four-star edge rusher

Moments after 2024 three-star Princeton, New Jersey edge rusher Owen Wafle decommitted from Notre Dame yesterday, a volley of seven crystal balls came in projecting him to the Wolverines.

Although listed as an edge rusher, the 404th-best recruit in the 2024 class possesses greater potential at defensive tackle. Quick off the snap and overpowering against blocks, Wafle could help shore up Michigan’s interior defensive line and, with some coaching, add to his run-stuffing capabilities.

He has reportedly scheduled an official visit to Michigan the weekend of June 9. Expect any potential decision to come following that trip.

Blue-chip 2025 DB views Michigan offer as ‘dream come true’

After a recent in-person visit from Steve Clinkscale, 2025 four-star Miami Booker T. Washington defensive back Antonio Branch Jr. received an official offer to become a Wolverine. And his reaction to it in an interview with The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich is sure to resonate with many U-M fans.

“I had a shocking reaction because it was a real dream come true,” he said. “Always been a Michigan fan since a kid. It means a lot to me getting an offer from Michigan. I know they don’t recruit a bunch of Florida guys, so just the coach actually physically coming to the school and offering me afterwards meant a lot to me.”

Childhood dreams are one thing, but where does this offer place the Wolverines in his recruitment? According to Marich, the 6-foot-2 safety placed Michigan inside his top-three offers.

Michigan already holds an early commitment from fellow Miami-area defensive back Chris Ewald Jr., and adding Branch could be the beginning of greater things for the Maize and Blue in the South Florida recruiting circuit.