Michigan football is off to a really strong start in the 2022 recruiting class but here are five key targets for the Wolverines.
The Michigan football program finished the 2021 recruiting class in strong fashion and the Wolverines are hoping to carry that over to 2022.
One thing that will help in that regard is that the state of Michigan is home to some really talented prospects, such as five-star cornerback Will Johnson, who is the No. 8 player overall in 2022 according to the 247 sports composite rankings.
Johnson is the kind of elite player Michigan has been missing on defense, but he’s far from the only elite player being targeted on that side of the ball.
In fact, after landing elite offensive talents such as J.J. McCarthy, Donovan Edwards and Xavier Worthy in 2021, some elite talent on defense is much-needed and that’s where the focus will start with our top Michigan football targets for 2022.
5-star CB Will Johnson
I already mentioned Johnson, but he makes the top five because he’s probably the top recruit on the board for the Wolverines right now. He’s 6-foot-3, has first-round pick written all over him and is very interested in Michigan, which controls all of his crystal ball projections right now.
Ohio State was thought to be a contender and USC is another. Yet, the thought all along was that Johnson wanted to stay in the midwest and if that’s the case, he will likely wind up as a Michigan football commitment when he makes his decision this weekend (Feb. 28).
4-star OLB Joshua Burnham
Johnson is the No. 1 recruit in the state of Michigan, but the No. 2 player in the state according to the 247 sports composite rankings is Joshua Burnham, another player that has a number of crystal ball picks projecting him to Ann Arbor.
Burnham is 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and listed as an outside linebacker. He’s the No. 9 player at his position and his recruitment had started to go national with an offer from Alabama. Yet, he narrowed his list to Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin.
The Wolverines have been after the Traverse City prospect for a long time and have been the leader in the clubhouse for a while. Notre Dame and Wisconsin both made a push and the Wolverines struggled this past season didn’t help, but that’s over now.
Jim Harbaugh is back and even with the staff changes, Burnham seems to be comfortable with the Wolverines. He hasn’t said when he will make a decision but as long as it’s not too far off, I’d expect the Wolverines to be the pick, as they could get some serious in-state momentum early in this cycle.
Dillon Tatum
Another in-state target that’s a top priority for Michigan football is Dillon Tatum, a four-star athlete from West Bloomfield.
Tatum is 5-foot-11, 190 pounds and is ranked as the No. 249 player in the 2022 class, as well as the No. 5 recruit in the state of Michigan.
Right now, the biggest competition for the Wolverines might be in-state rival Michigan State, which had some strong momentum with Tatum earlier in this cycle and continues to push really hard for him.
Yet, the Wolverines added his former high school coach, Ron Bellamy to the staff and that’s going to give the Wolverines a built-in advantage. They are recruiting more him more as a defensive back than a running back and if they are able to win the recruitment of Johnson, that could certainly help.
West Bloomfield has also sent a number of recruits to Michigan in recent cycles, including Donovan Edwards in 2021, so there are a few signs that the Wolverines could be the team to beat here.
Tyler Morris
This top-five list doesn’t list recruits in order of importance or talent, outside of recognizing that all are priority targets that U-M has a solid chance of getting.
Tyler Morris certainly fits the bill as the top-100 wideout from Illinois has been recruited as a top target for well over a year now. He’s 6-foot-1 and used to play with J.J. McCarthy before McCarthy transferred to Florida for his senior season.
So Morris, who is ranked as the No. 76 player overall in the 2022 class, as well as the No. 11 wide receiver has a strong connection to U-M and landing a top-100 pass catcher for the second straight class would be huge.
Notre Dame appears to be the biggest threat, which makes sense with Morris being from Illinois, but the Wolverines have started winning more recruiting battles there and Josh Gattis has built a strong relationship with Morris.
Michigan owns all five of his crystal ball projections right now, which is a good thing because Morris would be a huge get for U-M in 2022.
5-star DT Walter Nolen
Defensive tackle was a big need in the 2021 recruiting class, until the Wolverines were able to reel in three additions in the final week before national signing day.
Still, the Wolverines don’t have a ton of 300-pound defensive tackles and that’s going to be a focus going forward. Alex VanSumeren was committed and is another top recruit in the state but his brother, a former U-M player, just transferred to Michigan State and VanSumeren re-opened his recruitment soon after his brother entered the portal so that seems like a dead end.
But with the addition of new assistant coach Maurice Linguist, who has some ties to Tennessee, U-M has already a pair of four-star defensive backs from that state in 2022, and the Wolverines are now in the running for five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen.
Nolen is out of Cordova, Tennessee and is 6-foot-4, 300 pounds. He’s the top-ranked defensive tackle in 2022 and the No. 2 recruit overall.
Michigan recently made his top list but it feels like the Wolverines are one of his top teams and if they are able to land Johnson, that could give them some real momentum.
Of all the recruits on this list, Nolen is probably the longest shot, in terms of winning his commitment, but U-M has a shot and that’s all you can ask for.