From the road: Thoughts, intel on top Michigan targets in Dallas
*** Let’s just get the bad news out of the way. On300 Frisco (Texas) Reedy offensive lineman Max Anderson has completely eliminated Michigan and is down to Georgia, Oklahoma and Tennessee. I’ve gone ahead and moved my On3 prediction to the Volunteers. Anderson was pretty candid with me and told me he loved everything about Michigan but wasn’t ready to make a decision. With the Wolverines now having five offensive linemen in the class, Anderson felt it was better to explore options with more favorable situations. That opens the door for On300 Fort Bend (Texas) Christian tackle Bennett Warren to be the sixth offensive line take. However, as I reported a couple of days ago, Warren has pushed back his decision timeline to the fall.
*** The search for Michigan’s second running back take in 2024 is ongoing. Top 100 prospect Taylor Tatum is an obvious take, and it appears Chicagoland recruit Darrion Dupree has ascended to the top of the Tier 2 board. Dupree is the only Tier 2 running back current slated to make an official visit to Michigan in June. However, Mike Hart and co. are still monitoring a few others, including three-star Frisco (Texas) Centennial running back Harry Stewart, who made two visits in March. Contact with Stewart has been on and off as Michigan continues to work on Tatum and Dupree. However, Stewart is still interested and has told Hart he will OV if the opportunity arises. Right now, Kansas is the favorite in this one.
*** One of the most highly touted visitors for this year’s Michigan spring game was Top 100 2025 McKinney (Texas) High linebacker Riley Pettijohn. Michigan linebackers coach Chris Partridge and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter are making Pettijohn a top priority for next cycle. And Pettijohn is definitely interested in U-M as evidenced by his visit. Pettijohn is also very willing to leave the region. Michigan, USC and Florida are school far away from home that are serious players early. Pettijohn told me that he enjoyed his time on campus and is looking to get back for a game day visit this fall.
*** It’s easy to see why Pettijohn is a top target for Michigan next cycle. I had the opportunity to watch a padded spring practice, and Pettijohn looks the part of a Michigan linebacker. He has tremendous downhill speed, can run sideline-to-sideline and is hellacious when coming off the edge and blitzing from his traditional spot. Pettijohn, who has safety experience, is also comfortable in pass coverage. He’s the perfect scheme fit and has the same type of skillset as Junior Colson and top 2024 target Aaron Chiles. Before I saw Pettijohn this week, I had several people in Texas tell me ‘you have to go to Mckinney. Pettijohn is a freak.’ He lived up to the hype. He’s filling out his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame nicely and very much looks like a freak.
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