After a stop in Nashville, I was back on the road this weekend as I made my way to Detroit to see a slew of Michigan recruiting targets.
The first of my four pack of games was Clarkston vs. Southfield. Top 2021 offensive line target Garrett Dellinger did not play as he is still recovery from a labrum injury that caused him to miss a good chunk of last season.
Dellinger told me it was more precautionary than anything, and he expects to be back on the field next week.
Fortunately, Clarkston is home to two premier offensive linemen, so I still had the chance to watch four-star guard Rocco Spindler.
One of the more athletic linemen I’ve evaluated, Spindler moves extremely well for his size. The Rivals100 prospect is a freight train when pulling, and he has tremendous footwork. There is a reason he starts both ways for Clarkston.
With that said, I would like to see Spindler play with more physicality throughout the game. He was obviously a level above the guys he was going up against. He needs to finish blocks and punish defenders.
Some schools like Spindler as a defensive tackle, but I feel like he's best suited to play in the interior of the offensive line. He did play some tackle for Clarkston, but he's not long enough for the position at the next level.
I do want to mention that Spindler was gassed from playing along both lines. The dude hardly came off the field. If he focused on just playing guard, there is no doubt he would be an even more dominant force in the trenches.
West Bloomfield vs. Oak Park was the best game I saw all weekend as the former came away with a clutch 20-14 victory. It also happened to feature a plethora of Michigan prospects, including commits Makari Paige and Cornell Wheeler.
Let's start off with Wheeler. One of the more unheralded recruits in the 2020 class, Wheeler is a fantastic true inside linebacker and a guy more people should get excited about.
There are some questions about Wheeler's size, but height isn't really something I care to much when evaluating inside linebacker. The four-star prospect is a tackling machine and loves to hit people. He's extremely physical and loves to smack his opponent.
Wheeler did a great job of sifting through blocks and meeting ball carriers in the hole. He's deceptively athletic and will be a nice scheme fit for the Wolverines.
I'm not sure why some other pundits are down on Paige. This is a kid I saw when I was still on the Texas beat and loved him. In a club 7v7 setting, Paige was terrific on the back end against elite level wide receivers.
Paige was just as impressive with pads on. He had around eight tackles, played everywhere in the secondary and came away with the game-clinching interception as time expired.
Four-star wide receiver Maliq Carr scored on a 91-yard touchdown early in the game — it was called back due to illegal formation — then disappeared. The reason was Paige. He moved from his natural safety position to corner and followed Carr around almost all night.
There is a lot to love about Paige's length, height and athleticism. But he will need to add weight at the next level. Paige is really skinny, so hitting the weight room is a must. Once he adds weight, he'll be fine. He has no problem being physical.
West Bloomfield is also home to a monster 2021 target in four-star running back Donovan Edwards.
After losing a fumble and muffing a punt to open the game, Edwards got rolling. He is a punishing runner that loves to get north and south. He runs angry and is fast enough to break a long one as evidenced by his 60-yard touchdown.
Edwards doesn't have too much wiggle, but that's okay. He follows his blockers extremely well and explodes once he gets going uphill. Edwards is also patient and can make plays in the receiving game.
Edwards faced a stacked Oak Park defensive line with multiple FBS prospects, including five-star Justin Rogers, but he was able to wear them down with his running style and managed to eclipse 100 yards. He reminds me of Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones.
One prospect to familiarize yourself with is 2022 West Bloomfield athlete Michael Williams, who already has an offer in hand from the Wolverines.
Williams made his first varsity start on Friday night and had some flash plays at defensive end. He is a jumbo prospect that could play multiple positions at the next level. It will be interesting to see how his body develops over the next few years.
One of the more intriguing prospects on the field was Oak Park's Rayshaun Benny, who started at offensive tackle and defensive end.
Benny has long arms and did well handling West Bloomfield's pass rush. I certainly think he can stick at tackle — he does lack some height (not much) — but Michigan is recruiting him as a guard. For that position, he'll need to add a bit of weight.
I actually like Benny on the defensive side of the ball. With his frame and athleticism, I feel like he can fill out and be a great strong-side defensive end. Either way, the Rivals250 prospect has oodles of potential.
I wish I had more clips of Benny, but he was limited by cramps, which is understandable considering he started on both sides of the ball.
Saturday presented an opportunity to see one of Michigan's youngest targets in 2023 Detroit King quarterback Dante Moore.
Making his first varsity start, the freshman made his expected fair share of mistakes, including tossing a pair of interceptions. However, it wasn't hard to see why Michigan offered so early in his recruitment.
Moore is a pro-style quarterback, but he can move around the pocket when necessary. For such a young signal-caller, Moore does a terrific job of scanning the field and progressing through his read.
Moore has a good arm and made some pretty clutch throws in a close loss. He does need to add some weight to his very thin frame and continue to improve his arm strength. But the kid is a freshman. It's only up from here.
The last game of the weekend featured three 2021 Michigan targets, including four-star 2021 offensive lineman Raheem Anderson, who was the most impressive of the trio.
Anderson played guard early in his career, so he is still getting used to playing the center position. But he's a natural at it. Anderson is a true center prospect and one of the best I've seen in a while.
Anderson latches onto defenders and loves to get physical. He did a tremendous job of finishing blocks and served up a handful of pancakes. Anderson excels as a run blocker and has a nasty streak about him.
When watching centers, it's important to get a grasp of their football IQ. While the Cass Tech offense struggled as a whole, Anderson was a vocal leader and helped his fellow offensive linemen recognize things pre-snap.
Cass Tech is also home to the King brothers in three-star linebacker Kobe King and three-star cornerback Kalen King.
Kobe had a very impressive day while playing inside linebacker. He actually reminded me of the aforementioned Wheeler. While he's a bit on the short side (6-1), Kobe fills gaps quickly and loves to lay the wood.
Kobe told me that Michigan is recruiting him as an outside linebacker, but I see him as an inside backer all the way. He's a natural fit for that position.
Kalen, on the other hand, is a versatile athlete. He played both cornerback and wide receiver and actually scored Cass Tech's only touchdown while on the offensive side of the ball.
Kalen is being recruited as a cornerback, which is where he should play. The three-star recruit didn't see much action, but he's an instinctive player and has really good speed. He also has the tools to be a nickel in certain schemes.
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