Trieu: 5-star Harrison among planned Michigan visitors
Michigan is hosting a junior day on Saturday, which will have prominent names from around the country.
The highest ranked of the attendees is from the Midwest, however, as Olentangy (Ohio) Orange defensive end Zach Harrison, ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the country by the 247Sports Composite, and the top prospect in the country by 247Sports, will be in town.
Harrison, a five-star pass rusher with elite testing numbers from last year’s combine scene, camped at Michigan last summer. He has fielded offers from Ohio State, Alabama, Notre Dame and many others as well.
Michigan has dipped more into Illinois of late, and two prospects who received offers from the Wolverines in the last two months are Chicago Phillips tight end Jahleel Billingsley, and St. Charles North cornerback Tyler Nubin. Both will attend Saturday’s junior day.
Billingsley (6-5, 230 pounds) is considered the top tight end prospect in the Midwest. Michigan offered in early February, and this will be his first visit to campus. Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, Penn State, Wisconsin, and others have offered.
Nubin, a physical 6-foot-2 cover-man who has seen his stock rise swiftly since a strong performance at January’s U.S. Army All-American Combine. He visited Michigan for last April’s spring game, but this will be his first trip to campus since earning an offer from the Wolverines. Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue are among the schools who have offered.
Another very high-level defensive back who will be in town is Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington safety Daxton Hill, ranked by the composite as the No. 2 safety in the country. Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State are considered to be among the top contenders along with the Wolverines, but LSU and Florida State also offered in February.
Allen (Texas) offensive lineman E.J. Ndoma-Ogar was offered by Michigan in February and will make his way to Ann Arbor on Saturday. A 6-foot-2 1/2, 305-pound guard, Oklahoma and Texas are thought to be two of the schools the Wolverines and 36 other programs who have offered, would be gunning for.
Trussville (Ala.) Hewitt-Trussville quarterback Paul Tyson, a 6-foot-4, 217-pound prospect, has a Michigan offer, which he received in January. He has not been to campus since he camped in Ann Arbor in June 2016. He was offered right at the end of January, and quickly set the visit up and called the offer “huge.” That gives Michigan an opportunity to move up in a race most analysts have the Crimson Tide of Alabama pegged as leading.
Not all the visitors on Saturday will be juniors. Cincinnati St. Xavier offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. is one of the more highly recruited sophomore prospects in the Midwest. Michigan has offered the 6-foot-7, 275-pound Johnson Jr., but so has much of the rest of the country. Ohio State, Notre Dame, Clemson and more already have extended offers.
MORE INFORMATION
Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for 247Sports. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.