Class of 2022: Early National Signing Day Preview

Class of 2022: Early National Signing Day Preview


December 14, 2021
Keon Sabb (image via On3)

With the early signing day approaching tomorrow, December 15, it certainly seems like things have gone wacky. Gone are the days when teams lost and hired new coaches around the New Year, giving those staffs five or six weeks to come together and sign players in early February. Welcome to the days of coaches being fired or jumping ship so the school can have someone in place to try to salvage recruiting classes for mid-December. I won’t say it’s an unforeseen problem – plenty of us talked about it – but it has put fans, players, coaches, and schools in positions we’ve never seen.

Here’s a list of current Michigan commits:

  • QB Jayden Denegal (early enrollee)
  • RB C.J. Stokes
  • WR Tyler Morris (early enrollee)
  • TE Marlin Klein
  • TE Colston Loveland (early enrollee)
  • OL Andrew Gentry (transfer from Virginia)
  • OL Connor Jones
  • OL Alessandro Lorenzetti
  • DT Mason Graham (early enrollee)
  • DT Kenneth Grant
  • DE Ethan Burke
  • DE Kevonte Henry
  • LB Aaron Alexander (early enrollee)
  • LB Micah Pollard
  • LB Jimmy Rolder
  • LB Deuce Spurlock
  • CB Will Johnson (early enrollee)
  • CB Myles Pollard (early enrollee)
  • S Zeke Berry
  • S Damani Dent
  • S Kody Jones (early enrollee)

Hit the jump for more.

ANY SURPRISE DECOMMITS?

Okay, if there are any “surprise” decommits, then they’re not really surprises. So yes, there’s always a chance. You may want to watch out for two prospects in particular, though, and those are defensive end/outside linebacker Kevonte Henry and safety Kody Jones. Henry was targeted by recruiting coordinator Courtney Morgan, who ditched Michigan in favor of Washington; Henry took an official visit to Washington over the weekend, and I would not be surprised at all if he ended up signing with the Huskies. Jones has long been committed to Michigan, but he’s also long been flirting with the home-state Tennessee Volunteers and has taken multiple visits there.

ANY SURPRISE COMMITS?

Once again, surprises are called “surprises” for a reason. I’m not aware of any potential signees that could be floating unseen below the surface, but there are several players Michigan is pursuing who could sign their National Letter of Intent to Michigan on Wednesday (in order of ranking):

  • Joshua Conerly, Jr. – OT – Seattle (WA) Rainier Beach: Conerly is a 6’5″, 275 lb. tackle who has visited Michigan a couple times. He’s a 5-star, the #3 offensive tackle, and #23 overall. Conerly is waiting to sign in February, so while the Wolverines still have a chance there, I’m not expecting any news on his commitment this week.
  • Kiyaunta Goodwin – OT – Charlestown (IN) Charlestown: Goodwin is a 6’8″, 340-pounder who’s a 5-star and the #25 player in the country. He’s committed to Kentucky and took a visit to Michigan for The Game, but I don’t think there’s any serious chance for Michigan here.
  • Derrick Moore – DE – Baltimore (MD) St. Frances: Moore’s a 4-star, the #12 defensive lineman, and #79 overall. At 6’4″ and 250 lbs., he’s a bit of a defensive end/defensive tackle tweener. Michigan has to get an exception to sign him since his high school head coach used to be Biff Poggi, now a Michigan staffer. As of Monday night, his most recent crystal ball is for Michigan. The only others are for Oklahoma, a school from which Moore decommitted.
  • Keon Sabb – S – Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy: Sabb is a 4-star, the #9 safety, and #94 overall in the class. He recently decommitted from Clemson after taking an official visit to Michigan for The Game, and it’s unclear who else really even seems to be in the picture. There’s a good chance he ends up signing with the Wolverines.
  • Darrius Clemons – WR – Portland (OR) Westview: Clemons is a 6’3″, 205 lb. wideout who has bounced around the country a little bit, from Michigan to Idaho to Oregon. He’s a 4-star, the #19 wide receiver, and #131 overall. A childhood friend of Michigan wide receiver Andrel Anthony, he may be convinced to join up in Ann Arbor. Auburn, Oregon, and Penn State are also in decent shape to land him, though the biggest contender seems to be Auburn. Clemons took an official visit to Michigan this past weekend.
  • Deone Walker – DT – Detroit (MI) Cass Tech: Walker is a 6’6″, 340 lb. player who could play defensive tackle or offensive line at the college level. He’s a 4-star, the #30 defensive lineman, and #243 overall. Things seem to have been trending toward Kentucky lately, where he took an official visit this past weekend. However, Michigan’s coaching staff got him to take another unofficial visit to Ann Arbor upon his return on Sunday, so there’s still a chance this goes in favor of the Wolverines. It seems to be 50/50 right now.
  • Alex Orji – QB – Sachse (TX) Sachse: Orji is a 6’2″, 226 lb. quarterback who could maybe play linebacker at the next level. He’s a 3-star, the #28 quarterback, and #422 overall. He took an official visit to Michigan this past weekend, but I feel like the interest has only been lukewarm. Michigan was on him, then they were off him, and now they seem to be back on him a little bit.
  • Amorion Walker – WR – Ponchatoula (LA) Ponchatoula: Walker is a 6’4″, 175 lb. kid who could play wide receiver or defensive back. He’s a 3-star, the #33 athlete, and #527 overall. He has been committed to Notre Dame since March 2021, but he has been flirting with Michigan over the past few months. There have been three crystal ball picks for him to flip to the good guys.
  • Bryce Archie – QB – Powder Springs (GA) McEachern: Archie is a 3-star, the #53 quarterback, and #826 overall. He’s committed to Coastal Carolina. His teammate, wide receiver Kaleb Webb, recently committed to Tennessee. I think it’s possible that if Webb committed to Michigan, Archie might have joined him. But at this point, I don’t see Archie signing with the Wolverines.
  • Koen Entringer – S – Walled Lake (MI) Western: Entringer is a 6’2″, 190 lb. prospect with offers from Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin, among others. He’s a 3-star, the #120 athlete, and #1489 overall. He took a recent official visit to Michigan, and the two leaders seem to be Michigan and Wisconsin.
  • Deamonte Trayanum – RB – Arizona State: Trayanum took a recruiting visit to Michigan this past weekend. At 5’11” and 235 lbs., he’s mostly a between-the-tackles runner who could somewhat fill the role of Hassan Haskins. Trayanum rushed 78 times for 401 yards (5.1 yards/carry) and 6 touchdowns this past season. He had an offer from the Wolverines when he came out of high school at Akron (OH) Hoban.
  • Olu Oluwatimi – C – Virginia: Oluwatimi is a 6’3″, 310 lb. center who was a finalist for the Rimington Trophy as a Cavalier. As a grad transfer, he would be immediately eligible and could probably be penciled in as Michigan’s starting center in 2022.

HOW DOES THIS CLASS END UP?

As of Monday night at about 10:00 p.m., here’s who I think will end up in Michigan’s class:

  • WR Darrius Clemons
  • WR/DB Amorion Walker
  • C Olu Oluwatimi
  • DT Deone Walker
  • DE Derrick Moore
  • S Keon Sabb

I also think Kevonte Henry will end up at Washington. UPDATE ON HENRY: He tweeted on December 14 that he will plan to sign in February.

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