Michigan does not have any safeties committed yet in its 2020 class, but one of its top targets at the position appears to be Pearland (Tex.) Shadow Creek four-star Xavion Alford.
He reciprocated the interest on Tuesday when he released his top-10 schools and included Michigan on his list, along with Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oregon, TCU, Texas and Texas A&M.
Though he’s rated No. 222 overall nationally, Alford’s offer list would rival that of most five-stars, with invitations from all the aforementioned schools (obviously), in addition to notable inquiries from the likes of Florida State, Miami (FL), Oklahoma and Penn State.
What’s unique about Michigan being in Alford’s top-10, however, is the fact that he has actually never even visited it before.
“They’re in there because of Coach [Chris] Partridge, Coach [Sherrone] Moore and Coach Jay Harbaugh,” the four-star revealed. “Coach Partridge and I talk almost every day and just have normal conversations — it’s not even necessarily always about football, but other things like comedy too.
“Our conversations are so natural and that’s exactly what I’m looking for. He also tells me how he could see me playing a number of different spots on defense, and how I’ll absolutely love it when I get up there for a visit. He also says how I’ll never want to leave.
“I’m actually planning on heading up in the summertime, and that’ll be my first ever trip there. Michigan was one of my first early offers and I’ve always been thankful for that.
“They’ve made it clear I’m one of their guys, and that they love my game.”
It’s obviously difficult pulling significant recruits from the Lone Star State away from the likes of Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma, though U-M has done so on numerous occasions in the past.
