Apple Valley forward Gary Trent Jr., right, defends against Champlin Park on March 14, 2015, in Minneapolis.
Sean Merriman is a recruiting aficionado who used to work for rivals.com and the Big Ten Network and now is with Intersport. Look for his mailbag every other week (with some live chats sprinkled in, too). If you have a recruiting question for Sean, email him at merriman.sean@gmail.com or tweet him @merrimantweets.
What are the chances Baron Browning comes to Michigan? – Blitz
Michigan is in the running for Baron Browning, but it is going to have to beat the likes of Alabama, Texas and Ohio State for his services. Browning is scheduled to visit Columbus for the Ohio State-Michigan game on Nov. 26. The connection with Michigan is that his brother Barry Browning played for Stanford under Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh left and took the San Francisco 49ers job after Browning’s freshman season, prompting Browning’s mother to ask Harbaugh whether he planned on leaving Michigan. It turned into a pretty big story in recruiting circles. If I had to put a percentage on it right now, I would say there is a 33% chance Browning comes to Michigan. So much depends on how his visit to Columbus goes. He is expected to announce his college decision shortly afterward.
Gary Trent Jr. Is he a future Spartan? – Go Spartans
I’ll say this: I like Michigan State’s chances a lot more with Gary Trent Jr. than I did 30 days ago. Getting him on campus for a visit last week was huge for Tom Izzo and his staff, and everything I heard about his visit was positive. I still think Duke is the team to beat here, but Michigan State is right in the mix. He is discussing everything with his family and is expected to make a decision within the upcoming months.
Is UofM still trying to gets bigs after Mo Bamba? Or are they trying to make inroads with kids like Brandon McCoy? – Flintstone
Michigan isn’t totally out of the Mo Bamba sweepstakes, but I do think he ends up at Duke or Kentucky. Remember, Michigan is signing a very talented big man in Isaiah Livers of Kalamazoo. He is one of the top power forwards in the Midwest. I haven’t heard anything about McCoy and Michigan. My guess is his commitment comes down to Arizona or Michigan State.
Do you see Michigan State targeting bigger, faster recruits at the linebacker position in the future? – Randy
Linebacker actually was supposed to be a strength of this team this season. In fact, heading into the year, I thought the Spartans had the best linebacking group in the Big Ten. I was wrong. Riley Bullough and Andrew Dowell have underachieved. Jon Reschke went down with what could end up being a season-ending injury, and Ed Davis just isn’t quite the Ed Davis everyone hoped he would be following an ACL injury. The Spartans have two young linebackers that I think have the chance to be really good in Joe Bachie and Brandon Randle. They do not have a linebacker signed in the 2017 class. I think you are spot-on in the fact that they do need to get faster.
Spartans’ Chris Frey: I’m fine with the hit vs. Michigan and from it
Who are the starting Michigan linebackers next year? – E
Assuming Jabrill Peppers leaves early for the NFL, the two names that stand out right away are Devin Bush and Noah Furbush. The third linebacker sport could be filled by a true freshman, especially if the Wolverines land an elite talent like Baron Browning, Drew Singleton or Jordan Anthony. Josh Ross is another kid who could play right away.
I saw that Brother Rice’s sophomore QB made another visit to East Lansing this weekend. What are your thoughts on Mariano Valenti? I heard Notre Dame is looking too. – Spartan13
Yes, he did. Valenti is a very talented quarterback who likely will see his offer sheet pick up over the next year. Remember, this kid is only a sophomore, so it is really early to tell how his recruitment will turn out. Michigan State has shown interest, as has Notre Dame, but neither has offered him a scholarship yet. Keep an eye on Valenti. He should be one of the top quarterback prospects in the Midwest.
Ohio State seems to be going pretty hard after Nojel Eastern. Is Michigan State still the favorite? – Snoopy
Yes, I believe MSU remains the favorite for 2017 four-star guard Nojel Eastern. Ohio State has been in hot pursuit, and he took his official visit to Columbus last weekend. But I didn’t hear much on his visit, which could be a positive or a negative. I do know that he really likes Tom Izzo and the Michigan State staff, and the chance to play with the likes of Jaren Jackson, Xavier Tillman and possibly Brian Bowen has to be enticing.
Recruiting: Several top targets to visit Michigan this weekend