Michigan Football Recruiting 2012: The Latest on 4-Star OT Jordan Diamond

Last week, Michigan lost out on one of the top offensive linemen in the 2012 recruiting class when 4-star prospect Joshua Garnett (Puyallup HS, Washington) announced that he had chosen Stanford over the Wolverines. 

Losing Garnett to the Cardinal was a tough blow, but the fact that Michigan still has commitments from four premier offensive line prospects—Kyle Kalis (St. Edward HS, Ohio), Blake Bars (Montgomery Bell Academy, Tennessee), Erik Magnuson (La Costa Canyon HS, California) and Ben Braden (Rockford HS, Michigan)—certainly makes it easier to take.

It also helps that the Wolverines are still right in the thick of the race to land highly touted tackle prospect Jordan Diamond (Simeon HS, Illinois).

Diamond is rated as one of the top overall prospects in the Midwest and one of the top tackle prospects in the nation by every major recruiting service. He would be a key pickup for head coach Brady Hoke, who has already done a terrific job building one of the best recruiting classes in the country this year.

The big 6’6’’, 290-pound tackle possesses the type of size, strength and athleticism to grow into a potential All-American at the collegiate level. The only question that remains is, where will he actually end up?

According to ESPN Chicago, Diamond will reportedly make his announcement on Feb. 3, and he’s said to have narrowed his choices down to Arkansas, Auburn, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Yes, it will be a battle between the SEC and the Big Ten for the coveted tackle.

Diamond has taken an official visit to all four schools, with his visit to Michigan coming back in mid-January. And, he’s met with coaches from all four schools at his home in recent weeks.

The Chicago native hasn’t given any strong indication about where he’s leaning just yet, but if staying closer to home is a factor, then his choice will likely come down to either the Badgers or the Wolverines.

However, the lure of playing in the SEC spotlight also has to be appealing.

We’ll have to wait until Friday to find out which school Diamond will end up at, but right now, it seems like Michigan is definitely right in the mix.

If the Wolverines can land the 4-star tackle, it will possibly give them the best set of offensive line recruits in the country this year.