The magic number

.. is 29. Right now Michigan's football team sits at 25 commitments, with room for 2 (or maybe more) possible de-commitments.

With that being said, Michigan is expected to be able to give out 29 scholarships in this recruiting cycle. That's why the staff are still actively pursuing a number of different options around the country.

Offensively, the staff isn't focusing on any "sleepers" or "diamonds in the rough". At this point, they're going for top-250 caliber talent, mainly on the offensive line.

Miami, Florida OG Torrian Wilson, who at one time named Michigan his leader, recently de-committed from Stanford and now has a top 3 of Tennessee, Michigan, and South Florida. He'll be visiting Michigan early in January so this is definitely one to watch.

According to a number of current Wolverine recruits, the staff is also in on a very good offensive lineman. It appears that this mystery recruit is either Iowa-commit Andrew Donnal or North Carolina-commit James Hurst. Most gamblers' money is on Donnal at this point, but recruiting analysts aren't spilling any details until more definitive information (like an official visit) becomes public.

With that being said, the staff are still in on a number of defensive recruits. In the secondary Hollywood Hills, Florida CB Tony Grimes has consistently listed Michigan as his leader. He has stated though that he plans on waiting until National Signing Day to announce, so Wolverine fans may have to wait to hear his plans.

Harbor City, California Safety Sean Parker is actually a recruit that has only come on strong to Michigan as of late, but many experts think that Michigan now leads for his services. The Wolverines will have to beat out both in-state schools California and USC, but Parker has repeatedly stated he wants to leave the state of California, and at this point Michigan looks to be in strong position with him.

Another cornerback/safety to watch is Jacksonville, Florida CB Rashad Knight. Earlier in the year he listed Michigan as his leader, but didn't get a chance to visit for the Ohio State game after he missed his flight. Depending on how Sean Parker's recruitment plays out, Michigan may or may not increase their pursuit on Knight. He still looks favorably upon Michigan, and will be visiting in January.

A huge area of concern for Michigan's defense is linebacker, and the staff is still trying to address that situation even with the scholarship crunch. With Josh Furman and Antonio Kinnard committed Michigan is still looking for a true MLB-type. Probably the staff's two top options at this point are Florida LB's Darrin Kitchens and Georgia-Tech commit Quayshawn Nealy. Kitchens was initially interested in Florida but it will be interesting to see how that situation pans out with Urban Meyer taking a leave of absence. He's also very interested in Syracuse, but will be visiting Michigan in January. Nealy seems pretty solid with GT and it's doubtful that he'll end up blue.

Perhaps the most intriguing situation is that of Detroit DT Jonathan Hankins. Everybody knows the story, as Hankins grew up a Michigan fan but didn't get that offer at their camp. The staff wanted to see his senior film and decided later that they wanted to offer him. Unfortunately, top programs like Ohio State and Florida had already jumped aboard, leaving Michigan behind in the running for the nose tackle. Alabama has recently gotten into his recruiting as well.. so things will definitely be interesting to watch with Hankins as NSD approaches.