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Jyaire Hill, Wolverine

Kankakee (IL) Kankakee cornerback Jyaire Hill committed to Michigan on National Signing Day. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Notre Dame, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee, and UCLA, among others.

Hill is listed at 6’1″ and 170 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 81 grade, #34 CB, #239 overall
On3: 4-star, 93 grade, #15 CB, #112 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #51 CB
247 Sports: 4-star, 92 grade, #22 CB, #212 overall

Hit the jump for more.

A.J. Barner, Wolverine

Former Indiana tight end A.J. Barner committed to transfer to Michigan. Originally out of Aurora (OH) Aurora, Barner spent the past three seasons in Bloomington and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Barner is listed at 6’6″ and 250 lbs. He had 28 catches for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns this past season. As a redshirt freshman in 2021, he caught 13 balls for 160 yards and 1 score.

RANKINGS (2020)
ESPN: 3-star, 73 grade, #168 DE
On3: N/A
Rivals: 3-star TE, 5.5 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #30 TE

Hit the jump for more.

Preview: 2023 Early National Signing Day

Happy National Signing Day!

The first National Signing Day takes place today, December 21, 2022. Michigan has landed a number of commitments in recent days, both from the transfer portal (QB Jack Tuttle and TE A.J. Barner from Indiana; OL LaDarius Henderson from Arizona State; OL Drake Nugent and OL Myles Hinton from Stanford; LB Ernest Hausmann from Nebraska; and EDGE Josaiah Stewart from Coastal Carolina) and from the high school ranks (LB Hayden Moore, DT Roderick Pierce, DB D.J. Waller).

Michigan has offered upwards of 330+ players in the class of 2023, so I will not do a rundown here of every single uncommitted prospect. But there are some uncommitted players of note that are still available and being pursued by Michigan. Here are some of the more noteworthy ones:

• Karmello English – WR – Phenix City (AL) Central: English (4-star, #25 WR, #178 overall) was previously committed to Auburn, but the coaching change altered that situation. His final five includes Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Michigan, and Jackson State. Some crystal balls came in last night for him to pick Michigan.
• Chance Fitzgerald – WR – Nolensville (TN) Nolensville: Fitzgerald recently committed to Virginia Tech and was being slow played a little bit while Michigan prioritized English.
• Aaron Gates – S – Sharpsburg (GA) Trinity: Gates (4-star, #21 ATH, #382 overall) has been committed to Florida all along, but at one time, there was optimism that Michigan could get him to flip. That appears unlikely at this point and he will probably stick with the Gators.
• Nyckoles Harbor – WR/TE – Washington (DC) Archbishop Carroll: I throw 5-star athlete Harbor in here just to reiterate that he is not signing until February.
• Jyaire Hill – CB – Kankakee (IL) Kankakee: Hill is a 4-star, the #23 cornerback, and #194 overall in the 247 Composite. He released a top five that does not include Michigan, but the Wolverines had appeared to be battling Illinois neck-and-neck for his services. It will be interesting to see whether his top five was a smoke screen or if he truly has eliminated the Wolverines.
• Jamel Howard – DT – Chicago (IL) Marist: Howard is also not signing until February. Some southern schools like LSU and Ole Miss have come in with offers lately, and he will likely take some more visits in January.
• Taliafi Taala – OT – Sandy (UT) Alta: Taala (3-star, #38 OT, #508 overall) has been a target for Michigan, but he appears unlikely to end up in Michigan’s class at this point.

Another story line to watch is that of Michigan defensive end commit Enow Etta, who has been courted by Miami to join Collins Acheampong. Etta has said all the right things to the media about remaining committed to Michigan, but crazier things have happened.

I will keep a running list below of updates:

• RB Cole Cabana – SIGNED NLI
• RB Benjamin Hall – SIGNED NLI
• WR Kendrick Bell – SIGNED NLI
• WR Karmello English – SIGNED NLI
• WR Fredrick Moore – SIGNED NLI
• WR Semaj Morgan – SIGNED NLI
• TE Zack Marshall – SIGNED NLI
• TE Deakon Tonielli – SIGNED NLI
• OT Evan Link – SIGNED NLI
• OG Nathan Efobi – SIGNED NLI
• C Amir Herring – SIGNED NLI
• DE Enow Etta – SIGNED NLI
• DE Aymeric Koumba – SIGNED NLI
• DT Brooks Bahr – SIGNED NLI
• DT Roderick Pierce – SIGNED NLI
• LB Semaj Bridgeman – SIGNED NLI
• LB Jason Hewlett – SIGNED NLI
• LB Breeon Ishmail – SIGNED NLI
• LB Hayden Moore – SIGNED NLI
• CB Cameron Calhoun – SIGNED NLI
• CB Jyaire Hill
• CB D.J. Waller – SIGNED NLI
• K Adam Samaha – SIGNED NLI

PLAYERS COMMITTING ELSEWHERE

• DE Malachi Coleman – Nebraska
• DE Matayo Uiagalelei – Oregon
• CB Daylen Austin – Flipped from LSU to Oregon
• CB Daniel Harris – Georgia
• CB Kayin Lee – Flipped from Ohio State to Auburn
• S Peyton Bowen – Flipped from Notre Dame to Oregon

Josaiah Stewart, Wolverine

Former Coastal Carolina outside linebacker Josaiah Stewart announced he would be transferring to Michigan and has two years of eligibility remaining. He picked the Wolverines over transfer opportunities from LSU and USC.

Stewart was listed at 6’2″ and 230 lbs. at Coastal. As a sophomore in 2022, he made 37 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass breakup, and 5 quarterback hurries. As a freshman the year before, he made 43 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 quarterback sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 quarterback hurries.

RANKINGS (2021)
ESPN: 3-star, 76 grade, #93 DE
On3: N/A
Rivals: 3-star SDE, 5.5 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #34 EDGE

Hit the jump for more.

Drake Nugent, Wolverine

Former Stanford center Drake Nugent committed to Michigan as a grad transfer. As a class of 2019 signee out of Littleton (CO) Highland Ranch, he has two years of eligibility remaining. In the 2019 cycle, he was a 3-star, the #15 center, and #1141 overall.

Nugent is listed at 6’1″ and 300 lbs. and has started the past 24 games at center for the Cardinal. He was named a captain in 2022 and is a two-time Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 honoree.

Nugent redshirted in 2019, does not lose a year of eligibility for 2020, and has been a starter since 2021. According to PFF (LINK), he has only allowed 2 quarterback hits in 993 dropbacks over the past two seasons.

Nugent is a little bit undersized at the aforementioned 6’1″, but he is tough and stout on the interior. I watched some cuts of a couple of games, and the biggest thing I came away with is that he’s unlikely to get pushed around very much. He may struggle at times with mammoth nose tackles, but those are few and far between. But if he’s supposed to block back and wash a nose tackle/defensive tackle away, then he gets the job done. He also has the quickness and leverage to reach block, get out and move, and stay underneath defenders.

Michigan is losing center Olu Oluwatimi to the NFL after winning the Rimington and Outland trophies as the nation’s best center and interior lineman, respectively. So they need a replacement at that position, and it could be Nugent; however, there’s also rising redshirt sophomore Greg Crippen waiting in the wings, who redshirted in 2021 because of Oluwatimi’s presence. Crippen is taller and longer and could potentially play guard if he’s good enough to win a position, but Nugent is limited to center due to his size. It will be interesting to see how that battle plays out going into the future.

Michigan has landed several prospects in the transfer portal so far this cycle, including offensive guard LaDarius Henderson (LINK), linebacker Ernest Hausmann (LINK), and fellow Stanford Cardinal offensive tackle Myles Hinton (LINK).