2022 Michigan target sets decision timeline

The four-star athlete from Ohio shares when he intends to make a final decision.

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Josh Gattis and Ed Warinner have been hard after a highly-touted athlete from Buckeye territory.

2022 Westerville (OH) South four-star ATH Kaden Saunders grew up an Ohio State fan, which makes sense given that he grew up 20 minutes from The Horseshoe, but while the Buckeyes have been recruiting him, the Wolverines have made him a priority on the offensive side of the ball — with wideout being his preferred position.

“Ohio State is recruiting me as a DB – they’re the only school that’s recruiting me not on the offensive side of the ball,” Saunders told WolverinesWire in March. “But my heart is on the offensive side of the ball. That’s what I’m gonna do in college.”

According to 247Sports, Saunders is leaning towards Arizona State, Penn State and Indiana, but Michigan is certainly still in the mix — and he’s a player the maize and blue desperately seek to join the 2022 class. He told WolverinesWire before that his intention was to cut his list to 10 over the summer and commit his junior year — however, this was before the COVID-19 pandemic took ahold.

However, he seems to be on the same pace, as he shared on Twitter on Friday evening that he intends to commit sometime around his birthday, which is September 25.

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Currently, there’s a moratorium on visits by the NCAA until July 31, but Saunders and his father visited for Michigan’s big junior day this winter. And it was one that he certainly raved about.

“It went really well,” Saunders told WolverinesWire back in March. “I wasn’t expecting a lot of the stuff that happened today. Coach Roundtree showed me, my dad and I, around the whole day. And we were really impressed by him and all the coaches that we talked to.

“I sat in a meeting with Coach Gattis and he went over some football stuff. Watched some film. I like the way he coaches. He goes over all the minor details and elevates all his players’ games off those minor details that he critiques and emphasizes in the way he coaches.

“At lunch, I talked to Coach Harbaugh. He sat with my dad and I. We talked about my background, his background, family. Just overall, it was a great visit.”

Roy Roundtree has since departed to join the GVSU staff, but with Gattis, Warinner and Harbaugh on his trail, it will certainly be a recruitment to keep an eye on.