The Michigan Wolverines' 2021 football recruiting class took an interesting geographical twist recently. The first 17 commitments in the class all resided in the eastern half of the country, with the Northeastern region of America being hit especially hard (six of those 17 pledges currently reside in either Massachusetts, Connecticut or New Jersey).
To further exemplify just how east-heavy Michigan's recruiting class was, consider this: of the first 17 pledges, three-star linebacker Tyler McLaurin lived the furthest west of the bunch, residing in Bolingbrook, Ill., which is just 29 miles southwest of Chicago.
The script was then flipped on its head in late June when a trio of Westerners pledged to the Maize and Blue. The trend began on June 20 when Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro four-star defensive end Quintin Somerville made his commitment, and was continued just five days later when Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star receiver Cristian Dixon pledged.
Fresno (Calif.) Central three-star wideout Xavier Worthy kept the pattern alive when he joined the fold on July 10, turning what had been a east-dominated class into a more geographically-even haul.
TheWolverine recently spoke to Mountain Pointe High School (in Phoenix) head coach Eric Lauer about prep football out west, and he insisted that the level of talent the region is producing is on the rise for a multitude of reasons.
Lauer — who has coached against Somerville and lives just 30 minutes away from Scottsdale — also touched on U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh's reputation out west, and why high schoolers in that part of the country are eager to play for him.
