We spoke with three of the top experts in the recruiting world — Adam Friedman, Josh Helmholdt and Tom Lemming — to break down the Michigan Wolverines' 2020 football signing class, and asked them for their thoughts on several intriguing topics surrounding U-M's haul.
Lemming is the co-host of CBS Sports' television show The Lemming Report, the editor of Prep Football Magazine and has been scouting high school prospects since 1978.
Helmholdt, meanwhile, serves as the Midwest recruiting analyst for Rivals and has been covering recruiting for 17 years, while Friedman currently acts as the Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst for the same company, an area of the country the Wolverines targeted heavily in their 2020 class.
What are your thoughts on Michigan's 2020 signing class as a whole?
Adam Friedman: “It’s a class filled with players who are going to help Michigan get closer to getting over the hump. They have some good play makers on the offensive side of the ball like [Shrewsbury (Mass.) St. Johns three-star receiver] Eamonn Dennis and [Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East four-star wideout] A.J. Henning, both of whom can score from anywhere on the field.
"[Baltimore St. Frances four-star running back] Blake Corum is an explosive play maker who should be able to help create momentum shifting plays. They also have some big bodies on the offensive line like [Cambridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols four-star offensive tackle] Zak Zinter and [San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic four-star offensive tackle] Jeffrey Persi, so I really like what they did as a whole on offense.
"Michigan reloaded at linebacker with [Baltimore St. Frances four-star linebacker] Osman Savage and [Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall Campus four-star linebacker] William Mohan, two active players who can play sideline to sideline. [Milton (Mass.) Academy four-star linebacker] Kalel Mullings is also a big time player in the middle of the field.
"U-M has some high ceiling guys who will be able to develop on the defensive line down the road. I’m a fan of what they did in the secondary as well, bringing in some good players who have no problem being physical with receivers.
"They’ll be able to match up well with some of the bigger receivers they’ll see, and they should be able to help prevent explosive plays from opposing offenses.”
Josh Helmholdt: “It’s a strong class from an overall rankings standpoint, and it’s a top-10 caliber class, though I don’t know if it will finish there. They recruit from so many different areas, and melding a group like that together isn’t easy.
"Team chemistry and locker room chemistry are important to winning. Will Michigan be able to do that with how wide of a net they cast? They have kids all the way from Hawaii to Massachusetts in this class.
"I think they'd have a good chance of doing that if there was a foundation of local talent, because these last two classes in the state of Michigan have been the most top-end talented since I’ve been covering recruiting, which has been 17 years.
"Michigan only got six total guys out of those two classes, and I think that’s a concern long term. U-M is obviously valuing in-state prospects differently than both the way we do and the way other schools do.
"We’ve seen an influx in the number of programs recruiting the state of Michigan. U-M is not as aggressive with the in-state prospects, and instead has been more aggressive particularly out east, though I’ll be interested to see if that changes with [former safeties/special teams coach] Chris Partridge now gone [to Ole Miss].”
Tom Lemming: “Michigan recruited to a lot of their needs, which I thought was important. I’ve seen most of the kids they signed in person, and I’ve been impressed with their athleticism.
"Even some of the bigger players — like [Port Huron (Mich.) Northern four-star defensive end] Braiden McGregor — are athletic pass rushers, so I was really impressed with the overall athletic ability of the class.
"Michigan did a good job of evaluating before they even offered a lot of these prospects, because it seems like everybody who they got is a good athlete who can play multiple positions.”
