Michigan In Good Position With Top 2022 Tight Ends

Michigan has elevated the tight end position in terms of importance under Jim Harbaugh, and U-M is looking at several high level tight end prospects in the 2022 class.

Andre Dollar / submitted

So far, Michigan has only offered nine tight ends in the 2022 class, and their recruiting board shrunk a bit further on Tuesday when offered Milwaukee (Wis.) King 6-6, 218-pound prospect Jerry Cross committed to Penn State.

Over the offseason, Wolverine Digest saw Cross compete at a 7-on-7 camp back in March, and Cross stood head and shoulders above his peers both from an athletic standpoint and based on his performance. Cross showed that he's a physical specimen and with soft hands, and he'll be playing college football for the Nittany Lions a couple years from now.

Cross picked up his Michigan offer in April, and the big red zone target spoke about his reaction to the news.

“Ever since I got my first offer, I had dreamed of getting offers from schools like that” Cross told said. “I really wanted an offer from Michigan. I really liked them all my life, honestly. It’s almost like another dream school for me, so I was pretty excited.”

In light of yesterday's news, Cross is the only junior tight end that U-M has offered to commit elsewhere already, so the Wolverines have already made inroads with numerous other prospects. Here are the tight ends currently holding an offer from Michigan:

Name	Height	Weight	Hometown	Stars	247Sports.com Composite Ranking (by position)
Donovan Green	6-4	220 lbs.	Dickinson, Texas	4	No. 1
Holden Staes	6-4	220 lbs.	Atlanta, Georgia	4	No. 4
Jerry Cross	6-6	218 lbs.	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	4	No. 6
Andre Dollar	6-5.5	230 lbs.	Mustang, Oklahoma	4	No. 9
Trent McGaughey	6-3	224 lbs.	Peerland, Texas	3	No. 11
Jake Johnson	6-5	210 lbs.	Watkinsville, Georgia	N/A	N/A
Micah Riley	6-5	228 lbs.	Bellevue, Nebraska	N/A	N/A
Josh Kattus	6-4	235 lbs.	Cincinnati, Ohio	N/A	N/A
Marlin Klein	6-6	205 lbs.	Rabun Gap, Georgia	N/A	N/A

One of those recruits is Mustang (Okla.) High four-star Andre Dollar, a player that has been building a relationship with Michigan tight end coach Sherrone Moore.

“I told him Michigan would be a great fit for me,” Dollar told Wolverine Digest. “I grew up watching college football, so I saw the success that they’ve had using the tight end. My mom is actually from Grand Rapids, Michigan. She is from there, and I would always like to go back. My uncle lives up there in Flint. It would be cool to be close to some family members, but it’s an awesome offer.”

Over the offseason, Dollar said that he has been keeping up with various programs over Zoom meetings and through FaceTime during the dead period, and Michigan is included in that group of schools.

Heading further South, Michigan extended an offer to Peerland (Texas) Shadow Creek junior tight end Trent McGaughey, a player that has seen his recruitment take off over the past several months by landing a boatload of Power Five offers. Michigan extended a scholarship on March 26, and this was notable for to McGaughey who has long held an affinity for the Wolverines.

“When I was a little kid, Mario Manningham used to play [at Michigan],” McGaughey said. “My dad coaches for the [New York] Giants, so we met Mario Manningham. I was a big fan of Michigan at that time when he was there with Chad Henne, and I paid attention to them ever since then.”

For the 2022 cycle, the Midwest is rather deep in the tight end department, so Michigan has spent a good deal of time scouting the region. Hailing from Bellevue (Neb.) West, four-star Micah Riley is a dangerous receiving threat who received his Michigan offer in the middle of April. At that time, Riley shared his impression of Michigan and the school's campus.

“Michigan is a powerhouse,” Riley said. “I would be playing for great coaches in great games in front of great fans. Ann Arbor is beautiful. I went there when I was little and love it. Seeing Michigan on TV all the time makes it even sweeter.”

The Wolverines have also passed out offers to top 2022 tight end prospects like four-star Donovan Green and four-star Holden Staes. If Michigan stands pat with one tight end commit in the 2021 class with Louis Hansen, look for U-M to pursue to tight end pledges in the '22 cycle but only one commit if the Wolverines take a second tight end this year.

Which tight end recruit do you most want Michigan to pursue? Who should the Wolverines reach out to right when the contact period opens up on Sept. 1? Let us know!