There isn't a bigger college football recruiting showcase than Nike's 'The Opening' and this year's edition featured several Michigan Wolverines targets and commits. 'The Opening' finished its five-day event Sunday, and here are the biggest takeaways for Michigan Football from the event.
Dylan McCaffrey Was Recruiting WRs
Michigan's QB recruit for the Class of 17 wasn't just working on throwing, he was also working on convincing two of the best WR recruits to join him at Michigan. McCaffrey was on the same team as four-star Nico Collins and spent time with five-star Donovan Peoples-Jones. Peoples-Jones wasn't able to play because of injury, but was still at the event. McCaffrey spent plenty of time recruiting Collins.
"Coming out here on the field, when it's time to shine, he's throwing the ball," Collins told Bleacher Report. "It plays a big part because that might be my quarterback the next three or four years. He wants me there pretty bad, and I'm kind of loving Michigan."
The QB was named "best leader" from the Elite 11 and that's a very promising sign for the Wolverines going forward.
Christian McCaffrey Worked With RBs
Dylan wasn't even the best McCaffrey at The Opening. Rather, it was Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey, a Heisman Trophy finalist last year. McCaffrey helped out the running backs during the opening, including a pair of Michigan commits. Four-star recruit O'Maury Samuels and three-star recruit A.J. Dillon both got to work with McCaffrey and Dillon was excited about it.
"It's definitely an awesome opportunity," Dillon told Bleacher Report. "He's done huge things at the next level. Now he's kind of taken us under his wing and helped us a lot, while giving us a bunch of little tips about how to improve and be most effective."
Unsurprisingly, Dillon and Samuels spent plenty of time working with Dylan McCaffrey.
Michigan Pushing Hard For Southern Recruits
Michigan has made it a focus to recruit the South, from Georgia to Alabama and Florida. That's already paid off since Jim Harbaugh took over, and it's continuing to pay off. That's clearly evident with the previously-mentioned Collins, who is from Alabama. He had already showed plenty of interest in Michigan and the recruitment by McCaffrey likely helped. Going into the Alabama and stealing one of the best WR prospects doesn't happen often. But ESPN predicts that's exactly what will happen with Michigan and Collins.
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