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Giovanni El-Hadi Working To Bring Donovan Edwards, Drew Kendall Into The Fold
Although it was in a losing effort, Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson lineman and Michigan commit Giovanni El-Hadi made an impact at not one, not two, not three but four positions on Friday night as he worked hard to produce a winning result.
El-Hadi, who Michigan likes at offensive tackle, is listed as the No. 10 player in the country at that position according to Rivals.com. Though that may be the position that has earned him the most notoriety so far, El-Hadi also chipped in as a defensive end as a defensive tackle for the Titans as well, and his physical prowess was palpable in the contest.
"To be honest with you, I've been feeling a lot better," El-Hadi told Wolverine Digest after Friday night's game. "I think this game was a nine out of 10. Still can improve-- always improvement. I'm getting really good at the D-Line too. With only 30 players, you have to do what you have to do to win."
Though El-Hadi confirmed that U-M sees him as a tackle at the next level, he did relent by saying that he's open to offensive guard if it helps Michigan win and speeds up the timeline for him making the NFL. However, these are just two of many large goals on what he'd like to accomplish in Ann Arbor.
"Just to train, get better and fight for that starting spot," El-Hadi said. "I want to make it to the league as soon as possible and win a National Championship."
Dating back nearly two years, El-Hadi is the longest standing Michigan commit in the 2021 class, so he's seen 21 other prospects commit to U-M (as well as two recruits who later rethought that decision and decommitted). Over that time frame, El-Hadi has built up a strong relationship with the Wolverines' other commits, such as Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is the second-longest tenured U-M pledge. Both El-Hadi and McCarthy are two of the more social members of the group, which makes for a pretty lively mass text message chain.
"We are all in the group chat," El-Hadi said. "We are always messing around, always talking serious, talking about early enrollment and all that as well as other recruits."
Along that same, El-Hadi did confirm that he is trying to enroll early at Michigan. But before he would step on campus in 2021, El-Hadi is hoping to help the Wolverines land a couple high profile commits to round out the nation's No. 7 class.
"For sure Donovan Edwards, probably another receiver-- I haven't really been talking to receivers-- and Drew Kendall for sure," El-Hadi said.
The addition of Edwards and Kendall would likely vault Michigan into a top five position for the '21 cycle. Michigan continues to stand in good shape for Edwards even though he is interested in taking an official visit to Georgia, but Kendall appears to be trending more towards Boston College over the past couple months. In fact, Kendall's high school teammate Casey Phinney, who was a one-time Michigan commit, recently flipped to BC, which is also the school Kendall's father played at.
Still, El-Hadi is looking to persuade his decision and help bring the four-star offensive guard to Ann Arbor before National Signing Day comes.
How do you think Michigan wraps up the 2021 class? Is Kendall all but gone to BC? Let us know!
