In-state Michigan football target surprisingly eliminates Wolverines

Not ideal.

Recruiting for the 2025 cycle is heating up. The Wolverines hold just three commits in the class and are moving on other top-priority targets across the country.

Unfortunately, Michigan has surprisingly been eliminated from contention for in-state athlete Xavier Newsom out of Martin Luther King High School. Newsom can play either tight end or edge at the next level, and he was projected by many experts to end up signing with the Wolverines. In fact, prior to his top-five list, On3 Sports gave Michigan an 87.8% chance to land Newsom. The On3 industry ranking has Newsom as the 415th-ranked player in the country.

Newsom included Louisville, Penn State, Tennessee, Rutgers and Kansas in his top five, notably leaving off the in-state Wolverines. Michigan State did not make the cut either, but 247Sports reports they had not yet offered Newsom.

This could be a sign the Wolverines were recruiting Newsom as an edge defender instead of a tight end. Of course, Michigan lost its 2023 defensive line coach Mike Elston to the NFL and recently had the replacement Greg Scruggs resign. That amount of turnover at a recruit’s position coach makes it difficult to build a bond.

Michigan has one defensive lineman committed: four-star Bobby Kanka. Kanka is more of an interior player, though, so the Wolverines need to get back on the trail to recruit. The first step will be finding a new coach for the defensive line. Right now, the rest of the staff are splitting duties at the position, but it’s tough to gain any traction without an actual coach at the position.

In general, Moore and his staff have done a great job on the recruiting trail so far. Though it is a small sample size, they have been pushing for top targets nationally and are doing a great job of getting players on campus. Expect Michigan to have a good finish to the 2025 cycle and a dominant 2026 class.