True freshman defensive lineman Aaron Lewis is reportedly entering the transfer portal. Lewis enrolled at Michigan in January, but he went home along with everyone else during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Two commitments into the 2022 class, 50% of them have already dipped.
Belleville Detroit King Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy safety Myles Rowser decommitted from Michigan recently. His social media account originally showed less, uh, Michigan flavor, and then word came out that he had officially decommitted. He originally committed to the Wolverines on the day of the national championship game back in January (LINK).
I tend not to get too worked up about players so far ahead of their signing – whether positive or negative – so almost two years in advance of National Signing Day, I don’t have much of an emotional reaction to this story.
Rowser is a solid prospect and his older brother is Michigan freshman cornerback Andre Seldon, Jr. That means there’s still a good chance that he ends up back in Michigan’s class. But for now, Essexville (MI) Garber defensive lineman Alex Van Sumeren (the younger brother of Ben) is the only committed player in the 2022 class.
Rising fifth year linebacker Devin Gil announced on Tuesday that he would be transferring elsewhere for his final year of eligibility.
Gil was a part of the 2016 class that brought teammates Gil, Josh Metellus, and Devin Bush, Jr. from Charles P. Flanagan High School to Michigan. He was a 3-star, the #67 safety, and #997 overall. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 58 (LINK) and bumped it up to a 63 after his senior year (LINK).
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San Antonio (TX) Christian tight end Nick Patterson committed to Princeton on Wednesday evening, National Signing Day. While he never publicly decommitted from Michigan, rumors had been swirling for months that he would not end up playing in Ann Arbor.
I had acknowledged this development for a while, but I just wanted to post the closure of his recruitment. When he committed back in September of 2018 (LINK), I wasn’t giving out TTB Ratings for 2020 class members yet. But when I got around to it in May of 2019, I gave him a 49 (LINK). Patterson just isn’t a Michigan-level athlete, and I’ll leave it at that.
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Baltimore (MD) St. Frances offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua committed to Baylor and their new coach, Dave Aranda. According to a source, Baylor is not Michigan.
Mazzccua committed to Michigan in February 2019 (LINK) and I gave him a TTB Rating of 69. However, there were questions about whether he would ultimately end up in Michigan’s class. He tweeted after the early National Signing Day that he would be signing on February 5 . . . but he didn’t necessarily say that signature would be for Michigan.
Mazzccua played with running back Blake Corum and linebackers Osman Savage and Nikhai Hill-Green at St. Frances, all of whom signed with Michigan in December. He also joined Corum at the Under Armour All-American Game, but as I somewhat expected, Mazzccua did not start and looked just okay when he did play.
I expected Mazzccua to end up at guard at the next level, and I think the other linemen in Michigan’s 2020 class have more upside. The Wolverines are still pursuing the limited options still available to sign in February, and they are also looking at grad transfer options on the offensive line (LINK).
This departure from the 2020 recruiting class has been expected for a while. I have not included him in the 2020 Scholarship Count for several weeks (LINK), so this doesn’t change the outlook much; Michigan is currently sitting at 85 scholarship guys.
Mazzccua is the fifth player to rescind his commitment to Michigan in some way, shape, or form, joining RB Tim Baldwin (Indiana), WR Kalil Branham (Kentucky), QB J.D. Johnson (retired), and DT Denver Warren (undecided).