Mailbag: What changed with Michigan recruiting and NIL in June and OL questions

The Michigan Wolverines are getting closer and closer to fall camp as we turn the page to the month of July. June was plenty busy on the recruiting trail, and there are still plenty of narratives around the team heading into the meat and potatoes of the summer.

We took to The Fort, our premium message board, to answer some questions surrounding the current discussion around the Wolverines. Here is what was on our readers’ minds to close out June.

Recruiting storylines

With the sudden rush of high-end verbal commitments, did something change on the NIL front concerning collectives offering high-school prospects? – Ctblue72

Michigan has missed on a few targets in the days since these questions were collected, but the point more or less stands that June was a great month for head coach Sherrone Moore and his staff. The once-dormant 2025 recruiting class added 8 commitments last month, headlined by four stars in defensive back Kainoa Winston, running back Donovan Johnson, EDGEs Jaylen Williams and Julius Holly and wide receiver Jacob Washington. Not a bad haul.

I’m not sure how much has changed in terms of “what” exactly the collectives are offering, but Michigan has stepped up its game in selling a more cohesive and put-together NIL plan. Sources say General Manager Sean Magee has been more involved during visits and the pitch process, while some other prominent donors have been brought in to give presentations. Everything is just working better in tandem, especially from a communication and synergy perspective.

Mum’s the word on what the plan with high school recruits is with NIL moving forward, but there have been some moves made behind the scenes. During a recent run-in with someone in the know, it was revealed that the narratives surrounding Michigan’s unwillingness to engage in paying high schoolers are mostly false. It is a measured, calculated approach that needs to keep clearing hurdles, especially when rules can seemingly change by the day. The want-to is there, but there is still some red tape involved.

While NIL may still be a source of frustration to fans, it is getting better. It is not where it needs to be at an iconic football school like Michigan. But incremental progress is still progress.

I hope this turns out to be immediately dated, but are any of you guys having recruiting flashbacks to this time last year? Do you think this time we’ll end up with a better outcome, and if so, why? – dangoldss

As mentioned above, there have been some notable misses of late, headlined by defensive tackle Maxwell Roy. He was a shoo-in for Michigan until he wasn’t, and then wound up picking Ohio State. It happens. Recruiting is not a Toys-R-Us shopping spree.

The next few weeks could be telling. Right now, it feels like Michigan has a great shot to land a pair of top-100 offensive playmakers in wide receiver Andrew Marsh (No. 61 overall) and tight end Andrew Olesh (On3’s No. 78 overall player, 115th composite). If they can close the deal there, that doubles the amount of top-100 players to four in the class, along with EDGE Nate Marshall and Winston. That might be enough to have them sitting somewhere in or near the top 10 with still several spots to fill.

Recruiting just feels more optimistic than it has. It was no secret that last year felt like a “last dance” for Michigan under Jim Harbaugh. Now, there is legitimate stability and an all-hands-on-deck effort to turn things around on the trail. It feels like they will.

Michigan offensive line questions

Myles Hinton…would he be the starter at LT if the season started today? I thought he looked like a completely different guy at LT than RT [last season]. – joelhindy1

If the season started today, Hinton would be the favorite to start at left tackle. He’s a guy some people in the building think has legitimate high-end NFL talent but needs a streak of good health and enhanced consistency to put it all together on the field. On one hand, having him back gives him a chance to do that. On the other, does banking on him to assemble all of his tools finally in his fifth collegiate season inspire confidence?

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Michigan was able to get through last season with guards essentially manning both tackle spots, and there are good reps from Hinton on film. There were also valleys, though. The task at hand is getting those to smooth out to create a more consistent, well-rounded player. They just don’t come off the conveyor belt at 6-6, 340 with the type of athleticism he has.

On the other side, we would still expect Andrew Gentry to take the starting job at right tackle heading into his junior season. A lot of what he brings to the table is Andrew Stueber-esque in terms of his ability to swing between tackle and guard, and given that he was a top-100 talent on the recruiting trail, the upside could be there for more. After two years of regaining strength and technique, it seems like a safe bet he will be one of Michigan’s starting five.

Bonus question: Raheem Anderson, why is he not talked about more at center? In his limited snaps, he looked powerful and suddenly it’s all Greg Crippen? – joelhindy1

To be fair, it’s not “suddenly” Crippen. There was buzz dating back to Orange Bowl practices in 2021 about how the program felt he was a future starter at center. Then, the staff went out and landed stars at the position in two consecutive years in Olu Oluwatimi, who won the Rimington and Outland awards and Drake Nugent, a first-team All-Big Ten performer last year.

Anderson’s time at Michigan has been interesting. There have been stretches of spring and fall camps over the last few years that say Anderson could push for a role, and then that buzz tends to dissipate. He should be in the two-deep this year at both guard and center, but all of the feedback we received out of spring ball and throughout the offseason is that Michigan has been grooming Crippen for the role. It could be a sneaky fall camp battle, but “Crip” is the favorite here.

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