Recruiting Roundup: More official visit reactions from last weekend’s visitors

Reactions from visitors who visited Ann Arbor this weekend continue to pour in, as the Wolverines seem to have knocked it out of the park with a handful of prospects.

On today’s Recruiting Roundup, we will discuss some of the most prominent visitor reactions from the first of four official visit weekends in June for the Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan ‘shot way up’ for priority WR target

The Wolverines already have a pair of Providence Day (NC) kids committed in the 2024 class in five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis and three-star wide receiver Channing Goodwin, but one more probably won’t hurt, right?

Over the weekend, four-star wide receiver Jordan Shipp was in town for his official visit. It was a last second addition to what was a short list of visitors, but his appearance may have been among the most important.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder spoke with The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb ($), and Shipp said “Michigan shot way up” his list following the visit. So much so, in fact, he may come back for an unofficial visit the weekend of the 16th with the aforementioned Davis and Goodwin during their official visits.

Shipp has upcoming official visits to NC State (June 9) and UNC (June 22), and he could also potentially make a trip to Virginia Tech. He also bluntly stated Georgia “ghosted me for while, I’m pretty sure I won’t be going to Georgia,” so you can pretty much eliminate the Bulldogs.

All in all, things are looking very, very good for Michigan here.

Four-star edge recaps OV to U-M

One of the top targets that visited Michigan last weekend was 2024 four-star Jacob Smith. The twin brother of four-star defensive line commit Jerod Smith, the 6-foot-4.5, 230-pounder from Cheshire, Connecticut enjoyed his first of two trips to Ann Arbor this month, as he’ll be back for his brother’s official visit the last weekend in June.

As for Jacob’s official visit, which was a return trip to Michigan, he recapped the experience with 247Sports’ Brian Dohn ($).

“I was with the team more this time and I got to stay a little bit more with them,” he said. “The conversations we had were all casual, interesting. Nothing bland. I could see myself playing there. It was good times. It was like I was a part of the team.”

Smith got to meet with Mike Elston, Jesse Minter and Jim Harbaugh. When it came to the head ball coach, he said they “talked about everything,” and not just football, which seems to have resonated with him.

Smith has two more official visits scheduled for Kentucky and Nebraska, respectively, and then will return to Ann Arbor for his brother’s official visit June 23. After that is when a decision is expected, so be on the lookout for some potential good news closer to the end of the month.

2025 LB commit details weekend visit

It wasn’t just 2024 prospects who were in town, as there were also a handful of kids in the 2025 class who made it through. One of them just so happens to be committed to Michigan’s junior class — four-star linebacker Mantrez Walker.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pounder from Buford, Georgia committed to the Wolverines back in February and has been a vocal advocate of Michigan to other recruits. But he isn’t just going after kids in 2025, as he told On3’s Zach Libby ($) that he was actively recruiting 2024 prospects during their official visit last weekend.

“We are the best” is what he told the official visitors this past weekend, according to Libby.

Walker also detailed some of the activities they all got to do last weekend, which included going bowling and just spending time with one another. He hung out a lot with Jacob and Jerod Smith, Brian Robinson, Jordan Shipp and more.

Additionally, he was given a presentation by strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert, had a conversation with Jim Harbaugh for more than an hour, and also got to catch up with his future position coach Chris Partridge.

At the end of the day, it sounded like an eventful weekend for Walker and all the recruits who got a chance to visit Ann Arbor.