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Michigan football: Ranking the Wolverines’ 2019 recruiting class by position group
By Tom Brew
Published:
Michigan’s 2019 recruiting class is ranked No. 7 in the 247Sports team composite rankings after the first day of the Early Signing Period that runs Wednesday through Friday. They are the highest ranked Big Ten team and trail only four SEC schools (Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M and LSU), plus Oregon of the Pac-12 and Clemson of the ACC.
The Wolverines have a 24-member class signed at the moment, with three other hard commits that will wait to sign down the road. There is one 5-star recruit and 14 4-star recruits.
The Wolverines have done a good job of filling some immediate needs. Here’s how we rank the Wolverines’ class by position:
No. 1: Defensive line
4-stars: Chris Hinton, DT, Norcross, Ga.; Mazi Smith, DT, Grand Rapids, Mich.; Trente Jones, T, Logansville, Ga.; David Ojabo, DE, Blairstown, N.J.
3-stars: Mike Morris, DE, Delray Beach, Fla.; Gabe Newberg, DE, Clayton, Ohio.
Skinny: One thing we learned this year is that Michigan’s defense works best when they play plenty of people along the front. So recruiting in this area is critical, especially after a lot of losses this offseason, and the Wolverines did a good job of grabbing four different 4-star recruits with a good bit of variety in skill sets. They really wanted 5-star DE Zach Harrison out of Columbus, but he picked Ohio State on Wednesday. Still, this group has plenty of potential to be something special.
No. 2: Defensive backs
5-stars: Daxton Hill, S, Tulsa, Okla.
4-stars: Jalen Perry, CB, Dacula, Ga.
3-stars: D.J. Turner, CB, Bradeton, Fla.; Mike Sainristel, CB, Everett, Mass.; Joey Velasquez, S, Columbus, Ohio.
Skinny: The biggest get of all was Daxton Hill, the talented safety from Tulsa who was a Michigan commit for a long time, but then seemed to be lost. It was a huge win for Michigan to get him back in the fold. He could very well start immediately in Ann Arbor, and any time you can beat Alabama for a recruit, that’s always a good thing.
No. 3: Offensive line
4-stars: Nolan Rumler, G, Akron, Ohio; Trevor Keegan, T, Crystal Lake, Ill.; Karsen Barnhart, Paw Paw, Mich.
3-stars: Zach Carpenter, G, Cincinnati; Jack Stewart, New Canaan, Conn.
Skinny: There’s an enormous amount of pressure — and eyeballs — on Michigan’s offensive line group and it was big that the group improved so much in 2018. Michigan coaches love all three of the 4-star recruits and have high hopes for them being great players during their careers in Ann Arbor. It’s always a crapshoot with offensive linemen, but this group looks pretty good.
No. 4: Wide receivers/tight ends
4-stars: Cornelius Johnson, WR, Greenwich, Conn.; Giles Jackson, WR, Oakley, Calif.; Erick All, TE, Fairfield, Ohio.
3-stars: Quintel Kent, WR, Lakewood, Ohio.
Skinny: Michigan has plenty of depth in the wide receiver room, so it will be interesting to see how quickly Johnson and Giles get on the field. It might be sooner than we think. They’ve both had great high school careers. All is your prototypical Michigan tight end and he should fit in nicely.
No. 5: Backfield (QB/RB)
4-stars: Zach Charbonnet, RB, Westlake Village, Calif.; Cade McNamara, QB, Reno, Nev.;
Skinny: There’s not a lot of quantity here, but the quality is pretty good. Everyone loves running back Zach Charbonnet, and he could see playing time early, especially with starting running back Karan Higdon moving on. McNamara is the two-time player of the year in the Nevada, so it’s going to be interesting how quickly he can move up Michigan’s lengthy depth chart.
No. 6: Linebackers
4-stars: Anthony Solomon, OLB, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
3-stars: Charles Thomas, ILB, Oakdale, Conn.
Skinny: Michigan missed out on a few linebacker targets, too, so this group is pretty thin. They might need to address this quickly between now and February to add a few others to this list.
Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.