Michigan Football Recruiting: Visitor Updates and Concerns

Things are starting to settle down a little bit after a few big-time recruiting weekends for the Maize and Blue. That is not to say that anything negative is happening, just that there are no 5-star prospects coming in this weekend as there have been for the past couple of weeks.

I'll start with a recap of where some of the recent visitors stand with Michigan now that they have been on campus.

Starting with the highest ranked name on the list Andrus Peat (OT, No. 5 Overall). Peat had a great visit to Ann Arbor and is not listing Michigan firmly in his top group along with the likes of Texas, Florida State, Auburn, Notre Dame, Nebraska, and USC.

Obviously, there are some pretty heavy hitters in the bunch, but Michigan does have a shot. He's a kid who really seems to do his homework on each school and seems to have a genuine respect and understanding for Michigan's tradition along the offensive line and otherwise.

Do I expect him to end up a Wolverine? The short answer is no. He wants to take all of his official visits which could make his chances of playing for Michigan a timeline issue. Typically, you always hold a spot for a player of his caliber and if they feel like they have that big of an opportunity to sign him, they may just do that.

However, Michigan has very high interest from so many quality kids along the offensive line that it would be hard to turn down commitments from any of them just to maintain hope of landing Peat.

Former Ohio State commitment Kyle Kalis (OT, No. 24 Overall) has been the talk of Michigan recruiting for quite some time and with his official decommitment from OSU followed by a trip to Ann Arbor it isn't hard to understand why. It's a rare opportunity that you get to steal a top-25 player from your bitter rival.

Kalis had a great visit to Ann Arbor as well, though he did not commit as many had anticipated he might. Kalis is good friends with current Michigan commitment Tom Strobel (DE, No. 242 Overall) and becoming closer with Chris Wormley (DE, No. 103 Overall) who has named Michigan as his outright leader, so there are a lot of positives for Michigan in the Kalis recruitment beyond his love of the coaches, facilities, etc.

Michigan is the leader for Kalis right now and I think he ultimately becomes part of this class, but there will be plenty of other programs looking to sway Kalis to their campus.

Chris Wormley was on campus with Kalis and Michigan was able to further their lead over any other school. Everyone (including Kalis) is basically resigned to the fact that Wormley will be a Wolverine, but for whatever reason Wormley hasn't pulled the trigger yet.

Much has been made about offensive line and defensive line recruiting and rightfully so, but wide receiver is a position that is getting lost in the shuffle a bit. Most fans are under the impression that Rich Rodriguez ONLY recruited receivers and that position is set well in to the next millennium, but it is Michigan Foot a position of real need in the 2012 class.

Sure, they have numbers now, but the bigger play-making receivers will be gone and 5'10 guys won't get it done in this offense. Michigan MUST take at least one wide-out in this class and more importantly it has to be a good one. Here's the shortlist of names to look for:

Dwayne Stanford (No. 111 Overall)
Aaron Burbridge  (No. 135 Overall)
Amara Darboh (No. 165 Overall)

Each of these guys has the ability to step right in and make plays at the next level, but Michigan isn't necessarily out front for any of them. They certainly have a great shot at any of these three, but it's an area to keep a close eye on as the 2012 class nears its scholarship limit.

For daily updates on Michigan recruiting check out the Michigan Football Recruiting Board!

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