Is Michigan Done At WR In 2021?
Right after winning a big in-state recruiting battle for Andrel Anthony on Friday, Michigan kept its focus within the state's borders and extended a scholarship offer to Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central athlete Nolan Ziegler on Saturday.
Listed at 6-4 and 205 pounds, Ziegler is a versatile player that can cover receivers downfield but is also strong enough to step up and provide run support as well. Given his frame, Ziegler may translate more to outside linebacker in college, but he plays in the secondary quite a bit for the Cougars as well.
As was the case in Anthony's recruitment, Michigan is one of the first major programs to offer Ziegler, beating out Michigan State in the process. With U-M in the mix, Ziegler also holds offers from Iowa and Nebraska as part of his double-digit offer sheet.
Michigan has done well recruiting Grand Rapids Catholic Central in recent years as current U-M offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield is also a Cougars product. According to 247Sports.com, Ziegler is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 21 safety in the country for his class.
Is Michigan done recruiting WRs in 2021?
Now with Andrel Anthony in the fold, Michigan has four wide receivers committed in this cycle, so there is reason to suspect U-M may stand pat at that position barring further attrition. Before Anthony committed, it looked like either he or Atlanta (Ga.) Pace Academy's Jayden Thomas would be the last receivers in the '21 class for the Wolverines.
Right now, Thomas has a much longer timeline than Anthony did, and the four-star wideout is down to six schools at the moment, so it is not even clear where his official visits would be if the dead period were to be lifted. Still, Wolverine Digest has continued to hear that Thomas is favoring Michigan and Notre Dame the most, so those are two likely destinations.
But will Michigan continue to pursue Thomas with Anthony committed? The early returns in that scenario point to yes. On Saturday, schools were allowed to send out official offer letters to 2021 prospects for the first time, so many recruits across the country tweeted out which schools they heard from on Aug. 1. Thomas was one of many players to share the news of his official offer letter from Michigan.
On top of that sign, the 2021 cycle has been filled with a bunch of atypical activity due to the COVID-19 situation and the NCAA's dead period. As a result, many players have committed to schools they have not yet visited, and even more prospects are choosing a school far earlier than planned due to the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season.
With that in mind, it is possible that Michigan's 2021 class or the actual team itself experiences attrition in the future, so there could be some flexibility in how many players Michigan can take in this cycle. And since Thomas is looking to decide sometime in mid-December, the Wolverines have some time to see how the rest of the class shapes up and can address needs at a later point in time. So, expect for Thomas to continue to hear from the Michigan staff over the next several months.
Now regarding Thomas' official offer from Michigan, one interesting element is that these offer letters include a special section titled Medical Assurance. This portion of the letter shared insight on what would happen to a player's scholarship if he were to suffer a career-threatening injury down the line.
“When you make a public commitment to the University of Michigan, we want to provide any and all assurances that we are committed to you as well. Should anything happen to you medically that would put your athletic career at risk we, your football family, will honor your commitment and your full athletic scholarship will still be intact. We acknowledge that you would have shut down your recruitment and stopped visiting other institutions, so accordingly we want to make you this pledge.”
That piece of language is new to the 2021 class, but it undoubtedly is a reassuring to know that Michigan stands behind its players in sickness and in health.
What do you think about Michigan's recruiting efforts in the 2021 class so far? And will offering early give the Wolverines a leg up with Nolan Ziegler? Let us know!
