2020
Jordan Morant – S – Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic: Morant is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Makari Paige – S – West Bloomfield (MI) West Bloomfield: Paige is committed to Michigan (LINK). This is his official visit.
Andre Seldon, Jr. – CB – Belleville (MI) Belleville: Seldon is committed to Michigan (LINK). This is his official visit.
Dan Villari – QB – Massapequa (NY) Plainedge: Villari is a 6’4″, 215 lb. prospect with FBS offers from Buffalo, Kent State, and UMass. He was previously committed to Fordham, an FCS program. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star, the #40 pro-style quarterback, and #1239 overall, but the other major sites have not ranked him. He took an official to UMass last weekend and will take this official to Michigan, which means this is not a “blueshirt” situation. Michigan has already offered him a grayshirt opportunity, which means that he would not be on the team and start his eligibility until 2021. From anecdotal evidence, the majority of “grayshirt” guys seem to end up with straight-up scholarships by the following fall due to guys transferring out, getting injured, etc. The most recent example in Michigan’s case is kicker Jake Moody, who was supposed to grayshirt until some people transferred out; Moody then ended up on scholarship for his freshman year in 2018 and played quite a bit.
Hit the jump for more on Villari.
Since there aren’t many recruits coming in this weekend and the quarterback situation is a big deal, I’ll spend a bit of time here breaking down his game:
Right off the bat, I hope the “star-gazers” calm down a little bit. Villari is a good “jumbo” athlete from an area of the country that doesn’t get a lot of recruiting attention. Long Island isn’t exactly a recruiting hotbed; Wisconsin starting quarterback Jack Coan’s hometown is 35 minutes away from Massapequa in West Sayville, and Coan was probably somewhat undervalued, too.
Villari has a bit of “Vicious Vic” Viramontes in him; in case you don’t remember, Viramontes is the QB once committed to Michigan who has been to Cal, Minnesota, Riverside Community College (twice), and now UNLV on an odd trek because he wanted to play QB but found that linebacker was probably his best fit. Viramontes was a more accomplished player and had better competition, but both are thick athletes who can run a little bit.
As a pure thrower, Villari leaves something to be desired. I have seen him described as having a cannon, but I don’t find that to be an accurate description. He has an okay arm, which is aided by the fact that he spins the ball well. Peyton Manning had a strong arm but threw an ugly ball. Villari doesn’t have a strong arm but throws a pretty ball. He has some ball security issues he needs to clean up.
As a runner or position-switcher, Villari is a “live” athlete. He has flexibility, swagger, and power. He could very easily end up as an H-back or even a linebacker. If Michigan does end up landing him, he could end up like Zach Gentry where he’s a quarterback for a year before switching positions. I do not believe Villari is a long-term, top-tier quarterback option.
2021
2022
Josh Kattus – TE – Cincinnati (OH) Moeller: Kattus is a 6’4″, 235 lb. prospect. On his visit this weekend, Michigan extended a scholarship offer. He’s the son of former Michigan tight end Eric Kattus, who caught 38 passes for 582 yards and 8 touchdowns from 1981-1985.
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