Michigan obviously got its guy at quarterback during the 2021 cycle in JJ McCarthy. In 2022, options have been a bit thin and recently, they got a bit thinner. Just five days after wrapping up his official visit at Michigan, Clovis (Calif.) High quarterback Nate Johnson committed to Utah.
Now, U-M is focusing on trying to find the right guy to come in after McCarthy in the 2022 class and currently the staff has its sights set on just two players.
Harrell hails from Alabama and holds more than 30 offers making him an atypical target for Michigan. Out of region prospects with a lot of options are usually tough pulls, but Harrell does seem very open to leaving his home area. He officially visited Northwestern and Arizona State within the past couple weeks indicating that he's looking at all options. He's extremely focused on academics, which bodes well for Michigan and explains the legitimate interest in the Wildcats as well. Michigan just got involved in late-May, so it's hard to say exactly how hard he's looking at the Wolverines at this time.
Harrell is a plus-athlete, has a very live arm and really makes things happen when the play breaks down. He completed 73.4% of his passes for 3,568 yards and 42 touchdowns against just three interceptions last year. He also ran the ball 61 times for 319 yards and five touchdowns. Harrell's Thompson Warriors went 14-0 last fall and won a state championship in the 7-A classification, Alabama’s largest.
Martin has been committed to Cal since January, but he's still been on Michigan's radar for a while. The coaches had been in contact with him and then on May 29, offered the 6-4, 210-pounder. Just before the offer came through, Martin had this to say about the Wolverines.
"If I was offered by them I would be interested," he said. "I’d have to look into the quarterback room and the offensive scheme and all that stuff, but it definitely would be an option."
Now that Martin has has had the offer for nearly a month, he's expected to take a very hard look at the Wolverines, which will likely include a visit. Even though he's committed to the Bears, he's expected to focus on a small group of schools moving forward and U-M will almost certainly be on that list.
Martin is a good athlete but not the runner that Harrell is, however, he does have a monstrous arm. There are several clips of him on his Twitter page and throughout his highlight tape where he shows it off with 60-70-yard throws.
More must-reads: