With spring practice over for the Michigan Wolverines, recruiting takes center stage for Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff. Texas is off to a strong start early, ranking 19th in the nation with six commits - but the Wolverines is far from done and there's plenty of action around Michigan football recruiting. Here are all the latest Michigan recruiting news and rumors you need to know.
Very close race for Jeremy Ruckert between Michigan, Ohio State
Four-star tight end Jeremy Ruckert (Lindenhurst, NY) released a top four of Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin, and while the Wolverines are thought to be his biggest challenger, many thought he was leaning heavily towards the Buckeyes. That may not be the case.
According to Steve Lorenz of 247sports, the race between Michigan and Ohio State for Ruckert is much closer than that.
I think the race for Jeremy Ruckert is closer than some realize.
The choice very well could be Ohio State at the end of the day, and there really hasn't been a tangible reason to think they're still not the favorites for his services. However, it appears Michigan wasn't ready to push for legacy Will Mallory until the Ruckert race was over (with Mustapha Muhammad now a heavy Michigan lean). While it looks to be a risk on their end, our strong assumption is that it was a calculated risk and that the Michigan staff sees this one as really, really close.
Running backs coach Jay Harbaugh was actually in New York before Michigan left for Rome and saw Ruckert on the first possible visit day. This is a recruitment we've heard he's worked really hard on, and Greg Frey has entered as well as the future position coach. Naturally, Jim Harbaugh is also involved. I would argue that Ruckert is one of the top two or three overall targets on Michigan's recruiting board as of today and has been for a while.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pounder is ranked as the No. 2 tight end and No. 62 overall prospect in 247sports' Composite Rankings.
Michigan's huge recruiting weekend
Michigan had a school-record 11 players picked in this past weekend's NFL Draft, and also finished their groundbreaking trip to Rome. While neither of those things directly relates to recruiting, ESPN's Dan Murphy explains why both will have such a big impact for the Wolverines:
Intentional or not, Michigan managed to once again head into summer in control of college football headlines and distill a powerful recruiting pitch into a single weekend. Hey, kid, want to play in the NFL? And how about a couple international vacations on us in the meantime? It should be a good month for Harbaugh's staff as they turn back to the recruiting trail.
"I think it's a huge plus. It's an opportunity to experience a different life," said Thomas Wilcher, head coach of Detroit-area high school powerhouse Cass Tech, which produced a couple of this year's draft picks from Michigan. "That just shows the coach is really trying to develop young men. He's trying to let football open a lot of avenues for them in life."
International travel is a new addition to the recruiting pitch. The NFL angle has been around since Harbaugh arrived and brought with him a staff that has plenty of pro level experience. Talking about pro aspirations used to be nearly taboo in the team's practice facility. Now, Michigan's coaches talk in the middle of a season about limiting workloads to avoid long-term wear and tear and have regular conversations with players about getting to the next level.
Michigan becomes first to offer 2020 ATH
2020 athlete Isaiah Ratcliff (Ellenwood, GA) received a scholarship offer from Michigan early this week, the first scholarship offer he has received.
He is the fourth 2020 prospect in Georgia that Michigan has already offered a scholarship to, joining defensive tackle Myles Hinton, athlete Arik Gilbert and athlete Cartavious Bigsby.
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