Michigan Wolverines

Latest Big Ten recruiting news: Will Michigan land coveted DT Solomon?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated

The latest recruiting news and notes around the Big Ten.

Prospect of the week: Aubrey Solomon

The race for five-star defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon is heating up and he has been in the headlines recently because of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh's in-home visit with him where Harbaugh brought his daughter and spent the day bowling and racing go-karts along with Solomon's family, defensive coordinator Don Brown and linebackers coach/area recruiter Chris Partridge. At one point, Georgia appeared to be the school with the best chance to land him but now it looks like Alabama will be Michigan's primary opposition with the Wolverines making a move in recent weeks.

Visit of the week: Alex Palcewski

One of the Midwest's late risers in this cycle, Mount Prospect (Ill.) offensive tackle Alex Palczewski will visit Illinois for his official visit this weekend. An injury caused him to be off the radar until later in his senior season, but the Illini were not only one of the schools to jump in and offer, they were the first. Vanderbilt and Syracuse are also on his list, but we favor the Illini to win out in this one and this visit could be the final piece of the puzzle.

Prospect on the rise: Max Cooper

When wide receiver Max Cooper committed to Central Michigan in the summer, he was a relatively unknown prospect. Even by the time he flipped to Iowa last month, Cooper was still under the national radar. After having a chance to review his senior film, we will move Cooper from two to three-stars. He shows excellent ball skills and run after the catch ability. He's a 4.5 guy who has all the skills to be an effective slot guy for the Hawkeyes.

Underclassman of the week: William Putnam

Chatham (Ill.) Glenwood sophomore offensive lineman William Putnam added new offers from Missouri and Ohio State on Tuesday. Illinois, Pittsburgh, Georgia and Northwestern are among his other offers. Currently in wrestling season, Putnam says he will have to finish that before he can visit the Tigers, Buckeyes, or any other school. A 6-foot-4, 265-pound prospect, Putnam shows excellent explosion and power on film and should be one of the Midwest's top prospecs in the 2019 class.

Commitment of the week: Jaylen Harris

The Ohio State Buckeyes picked up in-state wide receiver Jaylen Harris. He is an important piece to the class because Tyjon Lindsey had recently de-committed and Trevon Grimes will be coming off an injury, so Harris will have a chance to provide immediate depth at that position. He is a very long, rangy 6-foot-5 prospect with the ability to use that size and catch radius to create matchup problems. While not a track star, he does show ability to get down the field and also make some things happen after the catch.

Commit watch: Jon Lovett

After a good official visit to Michigan State last weekend, we have New Jersey running back Jon Lovett on commit watch. Lovett may take additional official visits, but if he decides to shut it down soon, we believe the choice will be the Spartans. Michigan State has a tailback in the class we like, Weston Bridges, but Bridges suffered an ACL injury at the end of the season so another back is a need in the class and Lovett, a former Rutgers commit, has risen quickly since the end of the season.