Michigan's edge recruiting has taken a lot of turns this cycle but Michigan finally reeled in one of the top ends on their board.

GURU RATINGS

Baxter is a relatively new discovery to the recruiting world. His profile popped up on the sites last March, but the offer history shows a wave last November and another in early February. Any recruiter who asked would be told that the school "likes my film and the way I play" and that [lead recruiter] is a "high energy guy." In our case edge analyst Dylan Roney was also a "chill dude" who tells it like it is. Recruitment over.

[AFTER THE JUMP: Between a Hutchinson and an Ojabo.]

SCOUTING

Not a whole lot. The only site with a national analyst take online is Rivals. The good news is that take is Adam Friedman including Baxter on a list of who should come after his #1 edge Dylan Stewart.

A new and intriguing name … At 6-foot-7, 230-pounds, Baxter's junior film shows him making plays against the run and the pass from his defensive end position, but he also lines up as a tight end and receiver, showing off his impressive athleticism for his size.

This was among the SDEs. Jerod Smith also got a mention.

EJ Holland of The Wolverine got his own scouting by going to see Baxter work out.

…has a really impressive frame with a ton of length. Baxter is listed as 6-foot-7 on On3, but that’s pretty generous. I would say he’s closer to 6-foot-5. Still, Baxter is that tall, long, athletic prospect that Michigan desires in its pass rushers.

I exchanged messages with a source close to the program, and he told me Michigan loves Baxter’s athletic ceiling and ‘dog’ attitude. Baxter definitely has a lot of both. This is a kid that started off playing quarterback and tight end and only recently made the transition to pass rusher.

He gave a comp to David Ojabo, including the rawness. EJ also talked to Baxter's trainer Marlon Curtis of Pass Rush Academy($):

He’s a raw talent. He has such a high ceiling with his athletic ability and gain of knowledge at the EDGE position. He’s very versatile. He has the range to do a lot of things.

Curtis also noted that Baxter was up to 260 as a freshman, and was down to 231 as of April. Curtis has had a *LOT* of pro edges to come through his program, and offered up a build of Josh Sweat with the head of Jevon Kearse.

His speed continues to grow. His length and speed kind of reminds you of these guys moving and doing things.

There's no scouting up from 247 right now.

OFFERS

This was a quick recruitment but as he blew up PSU, Tennessee, Pitt, West Virginia, and Virginia Tech seemed to be the players, with Rutgers (visited June 9) and VT (offered when he was in 9th grade) the schools involved early going "aw shit, they found him!" Virginia Tech was supposed to get a return visit on June 23. He was also looking to visit Tennessee, Pitt, Syracuse and West Virginia as of May. He took unofficials to VT, UNC, Duke, Virginia, and Syracuse.

HIGH SCHOOL

The last 4-star to come out of Gwynn Park was PSU DT Phillip Taylor in 2006. They've sent some 3-stars to Pitt, NC State, Virginia, and Vandy. Brandywine is just outside the edge of the DC Metro Area, to the southeast of the city, with Waldorf close enough to share a Costco and rural Southern Maryland in the other directions. It has nothing to do with the Revolutionary War's Battle of Brandywine, unless it was named for it. Think quaint train town in tobacco country that got big box stores and suburban sprawl in the early 21st century.

STATS

Via his 247 profile:

2022: Made 48 tackles, including two sacks and 21 tackles for loss, and caught 12 passes for 181 yard and four touchdowns in seven games.
2021: Made 23 tackles, including two sacks, and caught seven passes for 73 yards.

FAKE 40 TIME

None found.

VIDEO

There's also a workout from his trainers.

His Hudl page has game highlights and sophomore film. Lifting.

ETC

Plays basketball. OMG Shirtless.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Flimsy evidence indeed. He looks like a basketball player out there, with ridiculous length that makes it impossible for high schoolers to control him or escape him. Seems like an obvious candidate for a Herbertization Project, after which Michigan hopes to have their next super-long superfreak to play their Ravens games on the edge. If he's been 260 before he can probably get there again, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of linebackerness to him, so we can pretty comfortably project Baxter to the four-down (four as in 4-3 or 4-2-5) "EDGE" position and figure out later if they want him on the Ojabo or Hutchinson side depending on how Herbertized he ends up. Michigan has a few of these types in various stages of development right now, and Baxter can get in the pipeline.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Michigan wants to take four edges this cycle—right now they're counting Jaden Smith at LB and Jerod Smith (no relation) at edge. This Clemson reporter seems to have a good idea of where Michigan's priorities are:

Per a contact, a best-case scenario for the Wolverines at DE/EDGE might be adding four more in addition to the one already committed. Those ideal four additions would be Mayo, Nichols, Baxter, and Elias Rudolph.

Michigan views Mayo as an elite talent and he will be a take regardless of numbers. People think Michigan leads for Nichols and Rudolph, and via EJ Holland its likely Baxter and Nichols will end up in the same place($). Jerod's brother Jacob is another edge recruitment. They've also been after Brian Robinson and Marquise Lightfoot forever, but the longer those recruitments have gone on, the more it feels like Michigan's gotten as far as they can with them.

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS