Rayshaun Benny Has Michigan In Top Group, Damon Payne To Alabama

Over the weekend, Michigan was one of eight teams to make the cut for Oak Park (Mich.) High offensive and defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny announced his top eight schools.

Along with Michigan, Benny listed Michigan State, LSU, Penn State, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Arizona State as programs in his top group, so Michigan will have its work cut out if the program is to close on the SI All-American candidate.

However, quite a bit of momentum exists for the Wolverines at this point. Benny has mentioned that he hears from the Michigan staff the most out of any program recruiting him, so U-M is putting in the time and effort to show the in-state prospect that he is a priority during this cycle.

Previously, Benny has taken multiple visits to both Michigan and Michigan State given the proximity, so he is quite familiar with that those two schools offer. The four-star two-way lineman has also been on trips to Penn State and Kentucky in the past, and the Wildcats received positive returns on their time hosting Benny on campus.

When Benny was in Ann Arbor, though, he received a taste of what his future could look like since U-M commit J.J. McCarthy was on campus along with running back target Donovan Edwards. McCarthy has been one of the most vocal recruiters for the Wolverines in this cycle, and he did his best to pull Benny into the fold on that weekend too. Still, Benny has strong relationships with players at other schools, such as former Oak Park lineman Marquan McCall, who is down at Kentucky, so he is receiving pitches from a variety of directions.

Though Benny is talented enough to play on either the offensive or defensive line in college at 6-5 and approaching 300 pounds, the 2021 prospect prefers the defensive side of the ball and more specifically defensive tackle. This fits quite well with Michigan's recruiting pitch since U-M would prefer him on defense too.

At the moment, Michigan has yet to pick up its first defensive tackle pledge in this cycle, so the recruitment of Benny is not only important due to his status as a talented in-state prospect, but he projects to a position of strong need for the Wolverines. But since the U-M staff is not taking an ultra aggressive approach in identifying and recruiting a host of other defensive tackles, it is likely that the combination of tight ends coach Sherrone Moore and defensive line coach Shaun Nua, Benny's two primary recruiters, feel good about their chances to land the coveted recruit.

Damon Payne commits to Alabama

According to Rivals.com, the No. 1 player in the state of Michigan for this cycle is Belleville (Mich.) High defensive tackle Damon Payne. Now, much discussion has centered around Michigan's perceived inability to pull top recruits out of Belleville in recent years, and this recruitment on the outside would support that notion, though Payne was not strongly considering Michigan even though U-M was part of his top 10. That was a two-way street, though, since Michigan had long moved on to other targets at the position understanding that Payne would be a long shot.

On Sunday, Payne shut down his recruitment with a commitment to Alabama. Although it was well known that he would not be choosing Michigan, this is still significant because it takes the No. 3 defensive tackle in the nation out of the Big Ten as Payne had Ohio State and Penn State listed as two other schools in his top group before now. So, Michigan will not have the unfortunate luck of facing off against Payne once a season down the line.

Currently, Michigan has the No. 7 class in the country according to Rivals, but the addition of Benny would provide a solid boost to that ranking. The Wolverines remain in good position for Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep four-star defensive tackle George Rooks as well.

How do you feel about Michigan's defensive tackle recruiting in the 2021 cycle? Will U-M be able to reel in Benny when it is all said and done? Let us know!