Michigan Football Recruiting: Joshua Garnett Would Be Icing on a Recruiting Cake

On Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines lost a key offensive line recruit when Caleb Stacey decommitted, choosing instead to go to Cincinnati.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Stacey wanted to stay closer to home. He does, after all, already live in Cincinnati.

But it's possible the sting of Stacey's decommitment won't be felt for long. If the Wolverines land Joshua Garnett, it will be water under the bridge.

And, the Wolverines have a very good chance of landing Garnett. Per Dave Miller of the National Football Post, we know that Garnett has narrowed his choices to two schools: Michigan and Stanford. He will announce his decision on Thursday.

Rivals.com has Garnett rated as a 4-star player and the second-ranked offensive guard in the country. The Puyallup, Wash., native reminds Rivals of Baltimore Ravens tackle Michael Oher, which is high praise. 

According to Scout.com (subscription required), Garnett met with both Michigan head coach Brady Hoke and Stanford head coach David Shaw last week. Predictably, he did not hint which school he is leaning toward, saying merely that both coaches were "awesome."

If there's one thing we know about Hoke, though, is that he knows how to lure offensive linemen. If you ask Rivals, they'll tell you that the Wolverines already have the top-rated offensive line haul in the country. If they get Garnett, a strength will be even stronger.

Just as Michigan doesn't really need Garnett to have a strong offensive line haul, it doesn't really need him to make its overall recruiting class any stronger. This is widely recognized as one of the best recruiting classes in the country, a tell-tale sign that the success Hoke established in 2011 is going to continue.

Because of that, it goes without saying that the Wolverines are an attractive option for Garnett. He knows he's probably going to be a part of a winning football team if he heads to Ann Arbor.

The question is whether or not Michigan is more attractive than Stanford, and it's far from a certainty that the Wolverines are. Stanford has arranged a very strong recruiting class, and there simply aren't many FBS schools that can match the kind of education one can get at Stanford.

If Garnett does choose Michigan, you'll have to tip your cap to Hoke for swooping in and securing yet another top offensive lineman. It's not something he necessarily had to do, but he's clearly operating under the notion that you can never have enough talent at any area of the field.

One look at Michigan's recruiting class will convince you that you can't argue with the idea.