Wolverines Aiming For Stacked Defensive Line Class In 2021

Michigan has assembled one of the nation’s toughest defenses over the past few years. To keep that lofty rating, U-M is working to pull in a few physical, talented and dedicated defensive ends to learn under D-Line coach Shaun Nua.

So far, Michigan has two defensive commits in the 2021 class with Middletown (N.J.) Mater Dei defensive end Dominick Giudice and Dedham (Mass.) Nobles linebacker Casey Phinney in the fold. That said, the Wolverines are aggressively pursuing several other prospects to add to its future defensive line to play alongside Giudice and Wolverine Digest breaks down several targets to keep a close eye on as U-M fills out its ’21 class.

Name	Hometown	Height	Weight	Stars	247Sports.com composite ranking (by position) 
Quintin Somerville	Scottsdale, Arizona	6-2	230 lbs.	4	No. 4
Aaron Armitage	Blairstown, New Jersey	6-5	260 lbs.	4	No. 13
Derek Wilkins	Rancho Santa Margarita, California	6-4	250 lbs.	4	No. 20
Arden Walker	Englewood, Colorado	6-4	245 lbs.	3	No. 54
Landyn Watson	Hutto, Texas	6-3	235 lbs.	4	No. 16
Kelvin Gilliam	Highland Springs, Virginia	6-3	250 lbs.	4	No. 5
Ru'Quan Buckley	Grand Rapids, Michigan	6-6	260 lbs.	3	No. 36
Joshua Robinson	Douglasville, Georgia	6-4	230 lbs.	3	No. 27

Ranked as the No. 4 strong-side defensive end in the country, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Saguaro prospect Quintin Somerville is one of the marquee players at the position in the country, and Michigan has the standout high on their board.

Somerville has visited Michigan in the past, and the two parties have stayed in contact as U-M tries to sell the four-star on a future in Ann Arbor. Last month, Somerville put the Wolverines in his top eight, so this puts Michigan in fairly sound position to land an official visit from the nationally-ranked top 50 recruit.

Michigan will work to get Somerville back on campus before he commits.

While U-M stands in good shape with Somerville, another top target on the Wolverines’ board is Blairstown (N.J.) Blairstown four-star Aaron Armitage. Growing up, Armitage was more than fond of the Michigan program, and the nation’s No. 13 defensive end had multiple opportunities to check out U-M’s campus last year.

Unsurprisingly, Armitage reportedly enjoyed his trip to Michigan, and the Wolverines currently possess 25% of the crystal ball predictions for Armitage on 247Sports.com.

Had a GREAT time at the University Of Michigan today!
Thank you so much to @CoachNua for hosting my family and I!
@SaylorBlairFB @MikeCoyle12 @gbowman26 @DavidOjabo pic.twitter.com/xJ410Tu7Tf

— Aaron Armitage (@aaron_armitage9) July 27, 2019

On tape, Armitage moves quite well for a 6-5, 260-pounder and shows both quickness and power from the edge. Armitage sheds blocks well and has a growing array of pass moves that he uses to best offensive tackles. These traits have a netted nearly 40 offers for the New Jersey product, but Michigan is one of the top schools in consideration.

In recent weeks, the Michigan staff has reached out to Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita Catholic four-star Derek Wilkins on numerous occasions. Wilkins told Wolverine Digest that he’s had the opportunity to FaceTime with U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh, defensive coordinator Don Brown and defensive line coach Shaun Nua.

Though Wilkins is unsure of his future visit schedule due to the coronavirus, the 6-4, 250-pound strong-side end is certain that he’d like to see Michigan as one of his five official visits.

“Michigan is one of the ones that I definitely want to take,” said. “The rest, I’m still kind of up in the air on, especially with all this [coronavirus] stuff. I don’t know how it’s going to affect recruiting yet, so I don’t want to make any decisions yet. Michigan is definitely one that I want to take because I want to go check it out.”

Wilkins went on to mention that Michigan’s academics are an important selling point to his family. However, Michigan is far from the only school with a strong pair of athletic and academic opportunities in the mix for Wilkins. The four-star shared that he’s hearing the most from Cal, Boston College, Nebraska, Washington and Oregon, so the Wolverines will have to work to earn the West coast prospect’s commitment.

Trending Up: Arden Walker

Block quote: As Michigan works to round out its 2021 class, the Wolverines staff had a big call with Englewood (Col.) Cherry Creek three-star defensive end Arden Walker and his family.

Walker, who picked up an offer from Michigan last week, is using his time while quarantined to learn more about the U-M program and to build a rapport with the coaching staff.

“When I first got on the phone with Coach Nua, I can tell he is a really good coach and wants the most out of his guys,” Walker told Wolverine Digest. “Teaching-wise, he teaches them technique and makes sure his guys understand defensive reads.”

Once Walker is able to take recruiting visits, Michigan is one of the trips he’d like to take with Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma also checking in as potential visit destinations.

Though he is listed as a strong-side defensive end, Walker says he can play strong-side, weak-side or play on the edge from a stand-up position.

Trending Down: Landyn Watson

Last month, Landyn Watson released a top 13, and Michigan had already reserved a position in that group for the Hutto (Tex.) High four-star prospect thanks to Nua’s steady recruiting efforts.

Watson told Wolverine Digest that he is especially fond of the Wolverines’ coaching staff and the scheme that U-M employs on defense. These were important factors that helped secure Michigan’s place in his preliminary top group.

At 6-3 and 235 pounds, Watson sheds blocks well and shows patient gap discipline on his highlight tape. Watson quickly builds up a head of steam and is exceedingly difficult to handle on the edges. These qualities helped Watson yield 50 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a junior for the Hutto standout.

Lately, Watson has been hearing from Arkansas pretty consistently, and the four-star prospect appears to be pretty high on the Virginia Tech program as well. Watson named in-state schools Texas Tech and Baylor to his top 13, so those schools could be a factor for the highly sought after recruit defensive end as well.

Watson's contact with Michigan, though, has dropped off a bit as of late.

With almost 30 offers to his name, Highland Springs (Va.) High four-star defensive end Kelvin Gilliam, who ranks as the No. 5 weak-side DE in the country on 247Sports.com, cut that list down to 15 schools in late March. Michigan was included in that group.

Gilliam took a trip to Ann Arbor last year, and the 6-3, 250-pounder enjoyed the game day environment of Michigan Stadium. Gilliam also mentioned that he took note of Michigan’s defensive scheme, one that included an aggressive pass rush strategy courtesy of Don Brown.

In terms of in-state defensive lineman, Grand Rapids (Mich.) Godwin Heights Senior three-star Ru’Quan Buckley. Last season, Michigan hosted Buckley for U-M’s home victory over Michigan State, and Buckley picked up his offer from the Wolverines the same day.

This visit helped Michigan secure its position in Buckley’s top three, and the in-stater placed U-M at No. 2 in his recruitment. Who currently occupies the top spot? Nebraska.

“My recruitment has been exciting, and I’ve been overwhelmed sometimes,” Buckley told Wolverine Digest. “I’ve been hearing the most from Nebraska. Obviously, I went down there and they love me. They’re trying to recruit me like I’m their top player yet. I’m feeling the staff, and they’re cool. They all talk to me. Every day, two coaches talk to me and once in a while the whole staff hits me up, gives me a call and checks on me.”

Though Michigan is a high-ranking school, Buckley is not planning on taking an official visit to Ann Arbor since he can visit U-M’s campus much easier than some other schools that have offered. So, the Wolverines will work to add Buckley into the fold without the luxury of hosting the three-star for an official.

Another player that currently holds U-M in high regards is Douglasville (Ga.) Douglas County three-star Joshua Robinson. Late last month, Robinson released a top 10 that featured Michigan, but the 6-4, 230-pound pass rusher has a crowded top group with Florida, Duke, Vanderbilt, Miami, Stanford, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Arizona State and Georgia Tech also in the mix.

Robinson, who is quick off the ball and shows an ability to maintain edge control, took a visit to Florida last month before the NCAA’s ban on in-person contact. Netting a pledge from Michigan might be an uphill battle, but the 2021 defensive end clearly shows a preference for academically sound institutions based on his top 10.

Right now, Michigan has one defensive line commit secured for the 2021 cycle. Which of these prospects catch your eye? Who would be a good fit in Don Brown’s scheme? Which recruits should Shaun Nua focus on? Let us know!