One Down, One To Go: Michigan Projected To Land Two Of The Top Safeties In The 2025 Class
The off-season has been a tough one for those who thought the Michigan Football program was going to fall off of a cliff once Jim Harbaugh departed for LA. Not only did the Wolverines retain all of their top returning talent from last season, Sherrone Moore and the new-look coaching staff are doing a stellar job on the recruiting trail for the 2025 class and beyond.
As of this writing, the Wolverines currently have 13 commitments in the 2025 class - including the No. 3 overall safety in the nation in Kainoa Winston. On Sunday, Michigan also became the favorite to flip the No. 2 overall safety in the nation (and current Notre Dame commit), Ivan Taylor. If the Wolverines can convince Taylor to choose Ann Arbor over South Bend, it would give Michigan two of the top ten safeties in the nation as part of the 2025 class, which would be an incredible win for Sherrone Moore and DB coach LaMar Morgan.
The rankings for both Winston and Taylor are slightly different depending on which recruiting service you use. 247 Sports has Taylor at No. 2 nationally and Winston at No. 3, while On3 places Taylor at No. 7 and Winston at No. 10. Regardless of where you look, it's clear that the addition of Taylor would go along way toward ensuring a dominant secondary in Ann Arbor for years to come.
Here's the scouting report on Taylor, courtesy of 247 Sports' Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins:
"A high-IQ safety prospect with elite NFL bloodlines and a top-flight testing profile. Measured roughly 6-foot, 170 pounds spring before junior campaign, clocking a 4.5-second effort in the 40-yard dash that day to go along with a 4.25-second short shuttle. Quick-footed with plenty of agility. Has spent most of prep career working in a two-deep system and has shown that he can get where he needs to be. Competitive at the catch point and does a nice job of turning his head to find the football. A sound open-field tackler at this stage that will launch at legs and get ball carries on the ground. However, needs to get a little bit better at getting off blocks and sifting through traffic. Will eventually need to add some mass and improve play strength, but should be viewed as a potential multi-year starter for a top 25 program. Likely to find a home at the third level of a defense, but sticky enough in man-coverage possibly warrant a look as an inside corner on Saturdays."
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