Thank you to 247's Steve Lorenz for joining us, as always, for a Podcast-length edition of Across the Crooked Blue Line.

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THE VIDEO:

[After THE JUMP: People in yellow puffy jackets.]

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1. Things We're Watching and Offensive Recruits

Starts at the top

PEOPLE OF INTEREST: Jayden Sanders will sign tomorrow; that's just when his school does that. Olesh might get caught up in Oregon's big day, since he's their final target. Good that he's held out, Michigan's working the phones. Lean? Who knows. Derek Meadows: sounds like Alabama came in with a bigger NIL offer. Ty Haywood: 5-star, as long as he makes it up to campus we're in good shape.

QB BRYCE UNDERWOOD: The cackling segment. Been a five-year recruitment—there was a Bryce Underwood recruitment paragraph on every QB target since Dante Moore was on their radar; shows M is serious. Steve's comp is Trevor Lawrence, but runs like Vince Young. Ivins thinks the distance between #1 overall the the #2 and #3 guys in the class is massive.

RB JASPER PARKER: So underrated he can't be called underrated anymore. Not fast but is Hart-But-Big.

RB DONOVAN JOHNSON: Freaks list, early 5-star because IMG, big injury drop and other schools dropped out, but made Freaks list after recovery.

WR ANDREW MARSH: Elite WR. How? Bellamy did work. Seth comps to Cornelius Johnson, because elite double-moves and intellectual family.

WR JACOB WASHINGTON: Never wavered even though big Sr season and had Washington come calling. Bellamy's HS, his HC is still the HC. Adrian Arrington/Marquise Walker tall possession type, but needs a redshirt.

WR JAMAR BROWDER: Might be 6'5"—flipped from NC State and big riser, contested baller. NC State thought they had a dude. Common pick for class sleeper. Nico? Nico was a unicorn because of his speed. Bellamy recruiter of the year? West Bloomfield legend, Louisiana legend, and owns North Carolina since brother-in-law Biakabutuka lives out there.

FB ELI OWENS: Wants to be Max Bredeson!!!!

LT ANDREW BABALOLA: Comps to Stanford guys don't work; Jake Long in that he's a bit raw, basketball, length.

OG AVERY GACH: Yay Groves, Yay Seth's Temple. Zinter/Sainristil of the OL who led Groves to the greatest season in school history (along with Barry Sanders's son). Why hasn't been bumped up? Nobody was at his games.

C KADEN STRAYHORN: Funniest commit; dad is the color guy on MSU radio, but MSU was out a long time ago, won over OSU. IMG center, might be a little small.

2. Defensive Line and Linebacker

Starts at 43:25

DE/DT NATE MARSHALL: Most surprising commit x2. Big win out of Chicago. Steve sees him growing into a DT but has the athleticism to stay outside.

WDE JULIUS HOLLY: Injury meant nobody got to see him after a killer start to his Sr year but great measurables, guy Michigan sees as next Dom Nichols.

DT BOBBY KANKA: Matt Godin.

SDE BENNY PATTERSON: Might be the Wormley of the class. Build-a-bear rose late, should have been a 4-star. Edge for sure. PSU and USC were also trying to flip off senior tape.

DT TRAVIS MOTEN: Wrestlers have the stamina as well as the leverage. His Hudl looks like Chris Hinton. Might be 280 already. Seth comp: Rayshaun Benny.

MLB NATHANIEL OWUSU-BOATENG: Another early highly ranked IMG kid, injury hid him as a senior, probably much much larger than his listed 6'0"/200. More of a MIKE to Michigan.

WLB CHASE TAYLOR: The Sullivan-esque super long athlete, outside linebacker with crazy athleticism and length, finally rose late.

3. Secondary and Class Wrap

Starts at 1:00:40

CB JAYDEN SANDERS: Legit 6'3" and long. Ceiling is insane. Amorion Walker but this time he's starting as a CB. Freakish ability to move—if you can play cornerback at that size…

CB SHAMARI EARLS: Will Johnson Memorial Hey Elite Cornerbacks Are Good. Sam Webb all over this recruitment. Expect the 5-star cornerback track.

ATH ELIJAH DOTSON: Pat Narduzzi complains about Michigan throwing around money. Freaky athlete, late riser, CB-WR-S freaky athlete type. Might be best as a CB (think Jeremy Clark).

FS JORDAN YOUNG: Clemson decommit because "their recruiting class wasn't that good." Michigan operating in the real world. Flipped him after we lost Ike Taylor, similar ceiling, similar profile (think Zeke Berry) but he's right that he needs some development.

NK KAINOA WINSTON: Reminds Brian of Quinten Johnson. Reminds Seth of Rod Moore and Mike Sainristil in that Winston is a football savant. Also a sprinter.

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS: Talent parity with Ohio State! What happens when Michigan isn't disadvantaged by rules they follow and their competition doesn't? Look at 1990s: they had a LOT of talent on those teams. Now they just need to get an OC who isn't going to run 80% of the time when he has Tom Brady. Class put together in adverse circumstances: Yes a natty run but also Will Harbaugh Go to the NFL? Their slow walk to taking NIL seriously. Their rough 2024 before winning The Game.

OFFENSE Pos Player State Stars In a nutshell QB Bryce Underwood MI 5.0 Drew Henson 2.0, basically. RB Donovan Johnson GA 4.0⬇⬇ Elite as a Fr, IMG, injured as Jr. RB Jasper Parker LA 3.8⬆ Hart-selected, Alford approved WR Andrew Marsh TX 4.5⬇ Gliding track athlete/deep threat WR Jacob Washington LA 4.0 Parker's teammate. Big & Tall WR Jamar Browder FL 3.6⬆ Giant contested baller. TE Andrew Olesh PA 4.4⬆⬆ #1 target, catchy-blocky, Bama wanted. TE Eli Owens TN 3.7⬇⬇ Blocky FB/TE. OT Andrew Babalola KS 4.8 Elite 1st rnd type but a bit raw too. OG Avery Gach MI 4.1⬆ Smart and nasty Zinterish G. C Kaden Strayhorn MI 3.8 IMG, top C in class, son of MSU radio DEFENSE Pos Player State Stars In a nutshell NT Travis Moten KY 3.5⬆ Wrestling build-a-bear DT Bobby Kanka MI 4.0⬆⬆ Tenacious DT DT/DE Benny Patterson IN 3.6⬆ Build-a-bear flipped from Cincy. SDE Nate Marshall IL 4.6⬆ Elite heavy edge, maybe DT WDE Julius Holly GA 3.9⬇ Solid high-floor pass rusher. MLB Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng MD (IMG) 4.3⬇⬇ Ravens-type, BJM top target all cycle. WLB Chase Taylor GA 3.6 Lanky/speedy underrated athlete Nk Kainoa Winston DC 4.4⬆ Rod Moore-ish Mike Sainristil. S Jordan Young NC 4.3 Zeke Berry-ish burst CB Shamari Earls VA 4.5 Elite tall CB flipped from UGA CB Jayden Sanders TX 3.9⬆ Tall/skinny super athlete ATH Elijah Dotson MI 4.2⬆⬆⬆ Very tall CB/S/WR, Belleville 4. Hoops vs Wisconsin

Starts at 1:21:29

What did we learn? We learned WOLF! He wasn't playing like this at Yale—he was a p...