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Visitors: June 14-16, 2024

2025

Andrew Babalola – OT – Overland Park (KS) Blue Valley Northwest: Babalola is a 6’6″, 280 lb. prospect with officials to Stanford, Missouri, Auburn, Oklahoma, and this one to Michigan. He’s a 5-star, the #4 offensive tackle, and #25 overall.

JaDon Blair – S – Winston Salem (NC) Mount Tabor: Blair is a 6’4″, 190-pounder with offers from Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Penn State, among others; he also has official visits to all five of the aforementioned schools. Blair is a 4-star, the #13 safety, and #158 overall. He plans to announce his decision on July 5, 2024, but no crystal ball predictions have been logged yet.

Shamari Earls – S – Chester (VA) Thomas Dale: Earls is a 6’2″, 180 lb. corner who has been committed to South Carolina since April; he’s taking an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor this weekend and also has offers from Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, USC, and others. Earls is a 4-star, the #11 cornerback, and #102 overall.

Hit the jump for more.

2024 Season Countdown: #102 Jake Guarnera

Name: Jake Guarnera
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 308 lbs.
High school: Ponte Vedra Beach (FL) Ponte Vedra
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
Jersey number: #53
Last year: Guarnera was a senior in high school (LINK).
TTB Rating: 80

Guarnera was a somewhat anonymous recruit when he committed to the Wolverines. His father Jim played defensive line at Rutgers, but Jake wasn’t getting a ton of recruiting attention. He committed to Michigan in April of 2023 with the belief that he was headed for center after playing offensive tackle, and his high school coaching staff transitioned him to center to help him get a jump start on his college career. I think that was a positive thing for Guarnera to get used to snapping the ball, as he now has almost a full season of playing in the middle (he still played some occasional tackle as a senior when the team needed him there).

Guarnera enrolled early and is up to 308 pounds, which is 20+ pounds heavier than he was as a recruit. There are still a lot of things to work on as a center, such as speeding up his initial step and being quicker with his off (non-snapping) hand. I like the way he gets all his cleats in the ground to make contact, but the initial movements are just a hare slow right now. I’m guessing those traits will get markedly improved as he gets more and more practice playing the center position. But for the 2024 season, Michigan has Greg Crippen slated to be the starter and Raheem Anderson II penciled in as his primary backup. Guarnera may get a few snaps in four games to get him some experience while preserving his redshirt, but he’s probably headed for a season of watching from the sideline.

Prediction: Redshirt

Visitors: June 7-9, 2024

2025

Seuseu “S.J.” Alofaituli – OG – Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman: Alofaituli is a 6’3″, 290 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Miami, Oregon, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #3 interior offensive lineman, and #77 overall. He’s a former teammate of incoming freshman running back Micah Ka’apana and a current teammate of 2025 offensive tackle Douglas Utu and 2025 wide receiver Derek Meadows, who both visited last week. This is an official visit.

Jordon Davison – RB – Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei: Davison is a 6’0″, 225-pounder with offers from Alabama, Ohio State, and Oregon, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #6 running back, and #96 overall. New running backs coach Tony Alford is the reason Davison became interested in the Wolverines, but Alford’s former school Ohio State is still the crystal ball leader with two predictions.

Mariyon Dye – DE – Elkhart (IN) Elkhart: Dye is a 6’5″, 255 lb. edge prospect with offers from Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #15 edge, and #171 overall. He canceled an official visit to Georgia for this weekend’s official to Michigan.

Hit the jump for more.

2024 Season Countdown: #103 Bryce Wilcox

Name: Bryce Wilcox
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 188 lbs.
High school: Sharpsburg (GA) Trinity Christian
Position: Safety
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #38
Last year: I ranked Wilcox #131 and said he would be a backup safety (LINK). He did not play.
TTB Rating: N/A

This is the year.

I’m going to stand on the table for my guy Bryce Wilcox. He turned down an offer from Navy to walk on at Michigan, and he has spent the past two seasons biding his time on the sideline. He came in scrawny at just over 170 pounds, but has since added about 17 pounds to his frame. Now he’s at a respectable 188 pounds for a guy who’s probably just a special teams player, at least for right now.

So going into 2024, I think Wilcox might finally be ready for some special teams action.

This is the year.

(Unless it’s not.)

Prediction: Backup safety, special teamer

2024 Season Countdown: #104 Noah Howes

Name: Noah Howes
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 242 lbs.
High school: Rochester (MI) Rochester
Position: Tight end
Class: Redshirt junior
Jersey number: #45
Last year: I ranked Howes #124 and said he would be a backup tight end (LINK). He played in three games.
TTB Rating: N/A

Howes was a high school offensive lineman who has since transitioned to tight end. After playing in one game as a redshirt freshman, he has since played in three games last year. He’s two pounds heavier than last season, which is a pretty inconsequential gain, but his past history as a lineman may help him play a blocking role for a team that lost a pretty solid blocking tight end in A.J. Barner. He will likely be a pretty deep backup, but some snaps may be available now that Barner (NFL), Matt Hibner (transfer to SMU), and walk-on Josh Beetham (transfer to Georgia Tech) have moved on.

Prediction: Backup tight end