This weekend is the final official visit opportunity for football recruits before the summer dead period. With that, Michigan is scheduled to welcome 14 recruits to campus, the largest of the three groups who have come in during the month of June.
In advance of the visits, the Wolverines have taken the 247Sports Crystal Ball lead for Stockbridge (Georgia) linebacker Chase Taylor. The 6-foot-3, 201-pound Taylor has 27 offers, but Georgia Tech and South Carolina are considered the biggest competitors. A long, athletic prospect, Taylor finished his junior season with 73 tackles (six for loss), six sacks and three forced fumbles.
Philadelphia St. Joseph’s Prep defensive tackle Maxwell Roy will return for his official visit this weekend after recently taking a visit to campus earlier in June. Michigan leads the Crystal Ball predictions for Roy (6-3, 270) , but he did visit Ohio State officially last week and the Buckeyes are making a play for him.
Two of Michigan’s commits, defensive linemen Nate Marshall and Bobby Kanka, are on their officials this weekend. These are notable because both players have recently taken officials to other schools. Kanka, a 6-4, 285-pound Howell native visited Michigan State last weekend and Marshall, a 6-4, 265-pound Oak Park (Illinois) Fenwick product, visited Auburn.
The Wolverines hope to solidify those commitments this weekend.
Quarterback commit Carter Smith will also be on his official to Michigan. He will look to recruit fellow offensive players to join him and Michigan leads on the Crystal Ball for Brookline (Massachusetts) Dexter School offensive lineman Hardy Watts and Red Oak (Texas) wide receiver Taz Williams Jr. Watts is a physical 6-6, 290-pound prospect who also plays lacrosse. Williams is a 5-11, 185-pound technician who has set a July 13 commitment date. Penn State, Texas A&M and SMU are his other finalists.
In addition to Williams, Marrero (Louisiana) Archbishop Shaw wide receiver Jacob Washington will also be up. Michigan has more of a battle with the 6-3, 180-pound Washington as he took officials with Georgia Tech, Missouri and Baylor, but fellow Louisiana native Ron Bellamy has made headway in the recruitment. Washington took an unofficial visit with the Wolverines in April.
Michigan may be the leader for tight end Andrew Olesh out of Center Valley (Pennsylvania) Southern Lehigh. A highly skilled 6-5, 212-pound pass-catcher, Olesh is also considering Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss, but in-state Penn State may be the biggest competition. He has built a strong relationship with tight ends coach Steve Casula and the Wolverines’ usage of the tight end is a big plus in the recruitment.
There is talk the Wolverines are one of the leaders for Bradenton (Florida) IMG Academy offensive lineman Kaden Strayhorn, a 6-3, 295-pound center prospect. He is notable because he has been a standout at IMG but began his career at Detroit Catholic Central. His father, Jason, played at Michigan State, but Strayhorn has stayed open to Michigan and has built a good relationship with the staff that has been cultivated, in part, with several unofficial visits.
Winter Garden (Florida) West Orange defensive back Ivan Taylor is committed to Notre Dame but is still taking an official to Michigan this weekend. He took an official visit to Alabama in early June, then returned to South Bend for his official. He is considering Florida and other schools as well. Taylor, a 6-foot, 175-pound four-star prospect, said he wants to make certain he didn’t rush the process and Notre Dame is the place for him.
He is the son of former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor. He has long held a Michigan offer, but new defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator LaMar Morgan has picked up the relationship with him and got the official visit scheduled. This will be Taylor’s first time on campus since the defensive staff changed.
Morgan has also made an impact in recruiting Jordan Young, a four-star safety from Monroe (North Carolina). The 6-foot, 184-pound Young took an unofficial visit to Michigan in April. He plans to make a commitment in the fall. Clemson, N.C. State, Tennessee and Florida State are also vying for his signature. Clemson leads on his 247Sports Crystal Ball.
Linebackers Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Kamar Archie will be on their official visits. Owusu-Boateng is a 6-foot, 205-pound Baltimore native who is now at IMG Academy. A top-100 prospect nationally, he is also considering USC, Ohio State and Notre Dame, where older brother Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was a standout and became a second-round draft pick.
Archie is a 6-1, 225-pound Princeton (New Jersey) Hun School product who has one Crystal Ball prediction for Clemson. He also took an official visit with Rutgers and plans to make a decision by the middle part of July.
Michigan also will host Andrew Marsh, a four-star receiver from Fulshear (Texas) Katy Jordan. The 6-1, 173-pound Marsh was planning to visit Oklahoma, but switched his official visit to Michigan. Marsh visited Michigan earlier this month.
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Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for 247Sports. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.