From The Road: Thoughts, intel on Top 100 Michigan CB target Shamari Earls

*** I got back from Future 50 last night and immediately made the drive up to the Richmond-area to see Top 100 Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale cornerback Shamari Earls at a workout with his his private DB coach. Earls measured in at 6-foot-2, 206 pounds on his recent Georgia official visit and is quite the physical specimen. Remember, Earls also has impressive verified track times as well. Overall, he has the length, size and speed to be an immediate impact player at a place like Michigan, which still have some question marks at the cornerback position. Much like Will Johnson, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Earls get significant time as a true freshman if he ends up in Ann Arbor.

*** Right now, Earls is ranked just outside of the Top 100 on the On3 Industry Ranking due in large part to Rivals’ atrocious three-star ranking. You have to be blind as a bat to not see that Earls is clearly a Top 100 recruit and may even be a five-star before the end of the cycle. Michigan is valuing him as such and has gone all in on Earls at the cornerback position. Earls checks a lot of boxes and looked great going through a series of individual drills. He can get his hips a little looser, but the way he moves at that size along with his long speed makes him a very unique prospect this cycle. There aren’t many ‘must-lands’ in the recruiting world, but I do think Michigan sees him in that light.

*** So can Michigan flip Earls away from South Carolina? Look, I don’t think Earls is going to stick with the Gamecocks. Honestly, I don’t really consider him a South Carolina commit and believe the Gamecocks are running third behind Georgia and Michigan. Earls has gone back and forth between UGA and U-M after making visits to both schools earlier this month. The trip to Michigan was an unofficial visit, but it was during an official visit weekend, so Earls got a chance to do everything except the photoshoot. Georgia really impressed him on his OV there. Michigan obviously has a big need for corner, but Georgia did a nice job of negating that by going through the depth chart with Earls and showing him a pathway to playing time that he was happy with.

*** Earls originally planned to take his time with the process and go into the fall, but that is no longer the case. Earls told me he is now looking to make his final decision soon — potentially before the end of the week. Michigan was hopeful that it would get him in for the BBQ at The Big House next month and/or for an official visit the weekend of the Texas game. However, that’s no longer in play. Michigan secondary coach LaMar Morgan is in daily contact with Earls, his family and those around him and is working around the clock to win this recruitment. With that said, I would probably give the edge to Georgia. I think it’s clear Michigan has the bigger need at corner, but again, whatever the Bulldogs showed Earls in terms of depth chart and development really moved the needle. I’m not saying Earls can’t play right away at UGA, but it’s evident Michigan views him as a true plug and play. Michigan and Morgan need to find a way to lay that out and pitch the development of Will Johnson — pronto. Remember, Will picked Michigan over USC and Donte Williams, who is one of the best recruiters nationally but lacked in the development department. Williams is Earls’ lead recruiter at UGA.

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