Michigan Recruiting Board Shrinks As Prophet Brown Picks USC

With 2021 two-way athlete Prophet Brown off the board, Michigan is still in good shape at the running back position in this cycle.

A couple days ago, 2021 Elk Grove (Calif.) Monterey Ridge athlete Prophet Brown announced that he would be making his college commitment known on Sunday, and earlier today the speedy two-way prospect picked USC in a bit of surprising news.

Throughout his recruitment, Brown was often linked to Oklahoma as the Sooners were recruiting the SI All-American candidate at his preferred position of cornerback. If Brown were to leave his home state, many thought it would be for Oklahoma, and if not OU then Michigan had a decent chance to land the 5-11, 180-pounder.

However, Michigan views Brown as a running back, so the Wolverines chances of reeling in the four-star prospect dwindled as he continued to pursue his options. And as it turned out, Brown would not end up leaving his home state as he committed to USC as a defensive back earlier today.

With Brown off the board, Michigan still stands in good position at the running back spot. The Wolverines continue to view West Bloomfield (Mich.) High four-star Donovan Edwards as the top running back in the country, and that assessment has been well communicated between the two sides. Unlike many tailbacks, Edwards is not only a competent receiver but began his high school career split out wide, so his ability to become a threat in the receiving game is one factor that has U-M so high on the in-state recruit.

In fact, Wolverine Digest has long predicted that Michigan would go after two running backs in the 2021 cycle, and for a while that seemed to hold water as U-M running backs coach Jay Harbaugh passed out offers to a host of talented ball carriers. Some prospects, such as Del Valle (Texas) High four-star Tavierre Dunlap, have been very receptive to Michigan's recruitment as he placed the Wolverines into his top group. Others, such as Cincinnati (Ohio) Roger Bacon four-star Corey Kiner, showed interest in Michigan but eventually chose to commit elsewhere.

But as time goes on, Harbaugh and the rest of the U-M staff have slowed down their pursuit of new running back targets. In fact, back in April the Wolverines offered a trio of 2021 running backs in Alton McCaskill, Rutgers commit Al-Shadee Salaam and Quandarius Smith, but there has not been much contact between U-M and those prospects since that time.

With all of those factors working together, Michigan may be comfortable with only taking one running back in the '21 cycle, and U-M may be demonstrating just how much of a priority Edwards is by slowing down recruitment of other players at his position. Now, that strategy can be risky because recruiting is fluid and top targets can always have a change of heart. However, considering how close Edwards is to the Michigan program, the relationship his head coach Ron Bellamy has with the staff and other West Bloomfield players who hold U-M offers, there is a open stream of communication between the two schools. The Wolverines do not want to jeopardize those ties, so take Michigan's decision to focus solely on Edwards as a sign for how good the team feels about its chances to sign the highly coveted prospect.

Other schools, such as Oklahoma and Georgia, are still in the mix, and Edwards is likely to take all five of his official visits in order to evaluate his options. Coach Bellamy told Wolverine Digest how important that process is to Edwards a couple months back, so his status as an uncommitted prospect should not be conflated with a lack of interest in Michigan. Rather, Edwards is doing his due diligence and wants to stick with whichever school he chooses, so his methodical journey through the recruiting process is one that Michigan is going to stick with from start to finish.

What was your reaction when Prophet Brown committed to USC? Do you agree with Michigan's strategy to condense its running back board and focus on Edwards in 2021? Let us know!