How Jayden Denegal became Michigans answer at QB for 2022, plus more Wolverines recruiting notes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For elite quarterback prospects, the recruiting process is a complicated dance that can play out over several years and culminate in a matter of hours.
That was the situation for Jayden Denegal, a four-star quarterback in the class of 2022. Denegal had a flurry of recruiting attention after his sophomore year at Apple Valley High School in California, landing offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Michigan State and Utah. Interest plateaued after that, in part because COVID-19 delayed the California high school season and wiped out in-person evaluations.
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Related: Michigan recruiting tracker; Wolverines State of the Program
When in-person recruiting resumed in June, Denegal sat down with his quarterbacks coach, Danny Hernandez, to survey the options. Classes were filling up, and Denegal felt some urgency to figure out his future.
“You’re looking at all the programs out there, and they’re pretty much drying up,” said Hernandez, who trains quarterbacks through a group called QB Collective. “He’s looking at it and saying, ‘Coach, man, we’re running out of spots.’”
Hernandez and Denegal made a list of schools that had yet to take a quarterback for 2022. One of those schools was Michigan, which had shown interest in two other California quarterbacks, Justyn Martin and Nate Johnson.
After looking around, Martin seemed to be holding firm on his commitment to Cal. When Hernandez found out Johnson was committing to Utah, he reached out to Michigan quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss and encouraged him to take a look at Denegal. Weiss watched Denegal throw at a satellite camp in Redlands, Calif., and invited him to work out in front of Michigan’s coaches. Michigan extended a scholarship offer after the workout, and Denegal committed the same day.
“He knew he wanted to make a decision and lock himself in somewhere and focus on that next step,” Hernandez said. “We had a shortlist of programs he was not offered by, and if they were to offer, he would highly consider it. Michigan was one of those schools. When the offer was there, it was like, ‘Hey, man, why fool around with this? Everything feels right. Let’s make this happen.’”
Weiss came to Michigan from the Baltimore Ravens and seemed intrigued with the idea of signing an athletic quarterback in the mold of Lamar Jackson. Johnson, an elusive quarterback with sprinter’s speed, was a natural fit. Denegal is a different type of player at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, but if the Wolverines liked Martin — another pro-style quarterback known primarily as a pocket passer — Hernandez figured they would like Denegal, too.
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“If you have someone like Nate, you’re probably going to run a good amount of zone read and give the quarterback a fair amount of carries,” Hernandez said. “If you have someone like Jayden, you’re going to let that guy pepper the field all around. Two different styles, but they were open to both of those styles.”
After playing at around 225 pounds, Denegal shed some weight to become lighter on his feet and improve his mobility, Hernandez said. Denegal has some physical and mechanical development ahead, but he’s an accurate passer with the arm strength to attack the entire field.
“I think he’s always had the physical ability,” said Kyle Godfrey, Denegal’s coach at Apple Valley. “Over the last year and a half or two years, the mental side and maturity side has definitely grown.”
Playing for a smaller high school, Denegal didn’t have the exposure or the big passing numbers of other quarterback prospects in the region, Godfrey said. Denegal played well as a sophomore, but his recruiting momentum stalled a bit when COVID-19 brought high school football to a halt.
“We’re a small little town in the high desert up in California,” Godfrey said. “We don’t play a lot of top teams. We have a pretty balanced offense. It’s about a 50-50 (split). With the offense in high school, you see guys whose numbers are crazy because they’re throwing 40 or 50 times a game. We just don’t do that.”
Godfrey said he was pleasantly surprised by the improvement Denegal showed when the team returned to the field this spring. He’s not the most outspoken player, and developing the gravitas to command a college huddle will be a point of emphasis as he prepares for the next level. Godfrey has no doubt that he’s capable.
“He has the respect from his peers,” Godfrey said. “They really like him and enjoy who he is as a human being. I know he wants to play early. That’s the reason he’s going to Michigan, to compete. Being able to lead grown men is a thing we want to see him improve on our team.”
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With five-star freshman J.J. McCarthy on campus and Dante Moore, a five-star prospect in the class of 2023, playing just down the road at Detroit’s King High School, quarterback wasn’t Michigan’s No. 1 need for the 2022 class. The ideal fit for 2022 was a player with talent, room to grow and the confidence to compete with no guarantees of immediate playing time.
Denegal fit that description.
“Not to sound cocky, but there’s not anybody he’s worried about in the quarterback room,” Hernandez said. “He’s just got to worry about what he does. Hopefully what he does comes across well with the coaches and leads to him being able to play on Saturdays.”
Who’s visiting this week?
After welcoming a big group of recruits for Victors Weekend, Michigan will finish June with a smaller contingent of visitors.
Sebastian Cheeks, a four-star linebacker from Evanston, Ill., was in Ann Arbor earlier this week and tweeted photos from his visit. Cheeks, ranked No. 126 in the 247Sports Composite, also has North Carolina, Texas and Oregon on his visit list.
Ann arbor was all love! 〽️〽️ Thanks for having me @UMichFootball pic.twitter.com/0ZdnNOLBeX
— Sebastian Cheeks (@SebastianCheeks) June 24, 2021
Other 2022 players scheduled to visit this weekend are four-star edge rusher Anto Saka, three-star cornerback Jahlil Florence, three-star athlete Ja’Kobi Albert and three-star tight end Colston Loveland, according to 247Sports.
Michigan makes final cut for three-star lineman
After spending last weekend in Ann Arbor, offensive tackle Alessandro Lorenzetti announced he’ll be choosing from a final group of Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State.
Grateful and blessed …. Commitment coming soon ‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/6OveLPZfft
— Alessandro Lorenzetti (@lorenzetti_66) June 23, 2021
Lorenzetti, who’s from Canada and attends the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, Conn., isn’t ranked in the 247Sports Composite but has interest from schools in the Big Ten and beyond. He has ideal size at 6-6 and 285 pounds and fits a need for the Wolverines as they look to build depth at tackle. If you pay attention to the offer list and not the ranking, he’s one of the most intriguing offensive line prospects on Michigan’s board.
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(Photo: Courtesy of Danny Hernandez)
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