Recruiting can be a bitter game. For former Michigan assistant turned Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, slamming his former program appears to be one of the angles he is taking with one of the nation's top recruits.

In a recent interview with 247Sports Midwest analyst Allen Trieu, 2021 four-star offensive lineman J.C. Latham was asked about his initial talks with Mattison after he ended up in Columbus. A long-time defensive line coach at Michigan, he was Latham's primary recruiter for the Wolverines before leaving.

"When I first went to Ohio State back in the spring time for practice, [Coach Mattison] was the first guy I talked to because I knew him right off the bat," Latham told Trieu last weekend. "He was telling me how different Ohio State's program was and how their facilities, practices, culture, all that was a lot better at Ohio State than Michigan. He was really telling me at their school, it's a business and they ran it strict to a T. He was telling me, 'if you're here, I can see you getting developed ten times better than I could see at any other school.' So he was kind of really just breaking the ice with me when I first visited."

Both Michigan and Ohio State are under consideration for Latham, a Wisconsin native who transferred to Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy for his junior season. LSU and Georgia are among the other programs currently being looked at closely by the defensive line-turned offensive line recruit.

With Michigan’s 2020 recruiting class looking like the second-best in the Big Ten heading down the final stretch, the foundation of the 2021 cycle looks really strong for Jim Harbaugh and company with early commitments from Top100 prospects J.J. McCarthy (quarterback) and Giovanni El-Hadi (offensive line).

The Michigan coaching staff has put themselves in strong early position with a plethora of elite prospects, including in-state stars Donovan Edwards (running back) and Rocco Spindler (two-way lineman) among others.

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Michigan will also move onto the 2021 cycle without one of their best recruiters in safeties coach Chris Partridge, who departed for Ole Miss in early January. The Wolverines are currently led on the trail by tight ends coach Sherrone Moore, offensive line coach Ed Warriner and running backs coach Jay Harbaugh among others.

The Wolverines finished the 2019 season with a record of 9-4. All four losses came to Top15 teams, with two on the road. The Wolverines will look to rebound in 2020 as they open their season against Washington on the road. They will host Penn State and Wisconsin among others and will also travel to Minnesota, Michigan State and Ohio State. Michigan will return big-time contributors across the board on both sides of the football, including wide receiver Nico Collins and defensive end Kwity Paye among others.

For a full list of Michigan’s 2021 verbal offer sheet, click HERE

For a full list of Michigan’s 2021 ‘top targets’ list, click HERE

For a full list of Michigan's current commitments and signees in the 2020 recruiting cycle, click HERE