Tag: michigan recruiting

Michigan football makes top group for recently decommitted, elite QB

QB of the future (after Bryce)? #GoBlue

Michigan football had its quarterback of the future in 2026 in Brady Hart, but then the Wolverines went on a full-court press for five-star Bryce Underwood and managed to secure the No. 1 talent in the country. As a result, Hart reclassified to 2025 and flipped to Texas A&M, leaving the maize and blue without a signal caller — albeit still relatively early in the process.

One quarterback had been on Michigan’s radar before Hart committed in 2026 Newbury Park (Calif.) four-star QB Brady Smigiel. However, at the same time that Hart committed to Michigan, Smigiel committed to Florida State. But on Sunday, Smigiel decommitted from the Seminoles and is back on the open market.

And Michigan football is one of his top schools, per On3’s Hayes Fawcett, along with MSU, Ohio State, Washington, South Carolina, and UCLA.

Here is how Smigiel ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 63 5 10
On3 Industry Ranking 4 48 6 7
247Sports 4 113 6 20
On3 4 196 16 18
ESPN 4 36 4 5
Rivals 5 13 3 4

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Greg Biggins:

Smigiel is a big, strong armed pocket passer who has put up huge numbers since his freshman season. At the recent Under Armour Next Camp in SoCal, he had a very strong showing, with a tightened release and his usual trademark accuracy to all three levels of the field. He’s very accurate down the field, knows how to change speeds and throws with really nice touch but can put plenty of heat on his throws when he needs to. He’s a tough kid, will stand in and take a shot and not flinch. Great natural leader, locker room guy and teammate. Very high football lQ, dad is his coach so he has been around the game and has a good natural feel for playing the position. Has decent pocket mobility, not a great runner but can buy time and is good making throws outside the pocket. Projects as a high major Power 4 prospect with Sunday potential.

Michigan football has shown definite interest in recent weeks. We’ll see if the Wolverines continue to ramp up the pressure.

Elite safety from SEC country puts Michigan football in top group

A truly elite prospect in Florida. #GoBlue

Michigan football had great success in 2025 bringing in three four-star safeties in Kainoa Winston, Elijah Dotson, and Jordan Young. But the Wolverines want to continue to secure top talent at the position in the next class, and they’re making moves with some top prospects around the country.

On Thursday, 2026 Winter Park (Fla.) four-star safety Ayden Pouncey revealed his top 10 schools, and Michigan football made the cut, along with Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Florida, Miami, UCF, Florida State, North Carolina, and Syracuse. Listed at 6-foot-3, 160 pounds, Pouncey is a long, rangy defensive back that already has a strong appeal across college football.

Here is how he ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 137 11 20
On3 Industry Ranking 4 131 12 21
247Sports 4 130 13 16
On3 4 134 11 23
ESPN 4 144 8 27
Rivals 4 231 23 41

Pouncey also has offers from schools such as Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Wisconsin — among others.

He has two brothers who have both played at Florida — Ethan and Jordan — though Jordan also played receiver at Texas.

2026 4-star IOL sets Michigan football visit

One of the elite IOL prospects out there. #GoBlue

The Michigan football coaches have been scurrying around the country looking for the next crop of Wolverines, but in time, they’ll get back to hosting prospective talent on campus once again.

While that may start again this weekend (unclear) the maize and blue are certainly looking to the future. Among those that Michigan would like to get into a winged helmet is 2026 Prosper (Tx.) four-star interior offensive lineman Zaden Krempin. According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong (subscription required), Krempin has set a slate of visits, and that includes making his way to Ann Arbor — presumably at the start of spring ball — on March 16-17.

Here is how Krempin ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 181 12 24
On3 Industry Ranking 4 166 12 18
247Sports 4 225 14 33
On3 4 184 14 21
ESPN 4 236 33 28
Rivals 4 140 15 16

Krempin is also set to visit SMU, Clemson, and Texas A&M through his slate spanning from February to late March.

Michigan football making full-court press on one 2026 prospect

Easily the top target in 2026. #GoBlue

You can always get a pretty good indication early regarding who Michigan football likes the most when it comes to high school prospects. That appears to be the case for one prospect.

The Wolverines have made no secret they strongly covet 2026 Mineral (Virginia) Louisa County five-star running back Savion Hiter. Since running backs coach Tony Alford defected from Ohio State to oversee the position in Ann Arbor, he’s worked hard to get the maize and blue into the race. According to some analysts, Michigan appears to be in the lead.

That isn’t stopping the coaching staff from continuing the full-court press.

Though staffers made their way through the state of Virginia on Tuesday, they weren’t all together until it came to visiting Hiter. The full complement of staffers made sure to check on him, including coach Sherrone Moore, general manager Sean Magee, Alford, offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, and offensive line coach Grant Newsome.

Hiter posted a picture of all of them together on Wednesday.

The Wolverines would like to get Hiter into the fold and pair him with Forney (Texas) four-star Javian Osborne, but Tyrone (Georgia) Sandy Creek four-star Amari Latimer is looking to make a decision soon and it appears Michigan might also be in the pole position there.

Michigan brought in two running backs in the 2025 cycle: Jasper Parker and Donovan Johnson.

Rivals is out of its mind with final recruiting rankings in 2025

This is absurd. #GoBlue

You can look at the good, but that doesn’t mean you should dismiss the bad.

Rivals is a little higher on a few incoming Michigan football players compared to the other recruiting services. For example, it has defensive lineman Nate Marshall as a five-star at No. 27 overall. Though it dropped linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng from five-star status to high four star, the recruiting site is still higher on the IMG Academy standout than its competitors.

That’s great, but it had a few big misses with its recent recruiting update.

Given analysts have described Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood as a generational prospect akin to Trevor Lawrence, Rivals previously having him had at No. 2 overall was absurd. However in the final 2025, the site dropped Underwood to No. 3 behind Keelon Russell and Tavien St. Clair. The rationale was Russell balling out in the Under Armour All-American week while Underwood was practicing with the maize and blue instead of participating in an all-star game.

That’s egregious, but we can’t fault a service that doesn’t have the panache it once had trying to find a way to differentiate itself. However, this is where Rivals has really erred: its criminal underrating of cornerback Shamari Earls.

While Rivals has Earls as a four-star recruit, it doesn’t assign him a national ranking, meaning it doesn’t believe he’s one of its top 250-300 players. Meanwhile, 247Sports, On3 and ESPN all have Earls ranked within the top 100. On3 leads the charge, ranking Earls at No. 32 overall. It’s one thing to be an outlier, but Rivals is proving it’s far beyond that by significantly overlooking Earls.

So while we may praise Rivals for having a player being rated ahead of the other services, it’s worth noting those outliers aren’t unlike these others. Though Rivals having Nate Marshall rated ahead of the pack isn’t too far off from the other services, the underrating of Earls certainly is outside of the mainstream.

Earls has been on campus since December, like Underwood and many others, and thus couldn’t be reevaluated by Rivals. Ultimately rankings aren’t what matters, production is. And given Michigan’s needs, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Earls produce in Year 1.

Michigan football offers elite 2026 cornerback in DMV

Another big-time offer extended. #GoBlue

LaMar Morgan has been a busy man when it comes to extending offers.

On Monday, he offered a safety duo in the state of Georgia, but he’s continuing to be aggressive when it comes to filling out his room, looking for the next great Michigan football defensive backs.

On Tuesday, that trend continued, but instead of offering safeties, he’s extended an offer to an elite cornerback out of the DMV.

2026 Towson (Md.) Loyola Blakefield four-star cornerback Khary Adams already has offers from the likes of Kentucky, LSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, and others, and now the 6-foot-2, 175-pound DB can add the Wolverines to his list.

Here is how Adams ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 196 16 5
On3 Industry Ranking 4 145 12 5
247Sports 4 37 2 4
On3 4 250 19 5
ESPN 4 96 14 4
Rivals 3 – 34 6

Michigan football has one cornerback already committed in 2026 in Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin four-star Brody Jennings, who has been chased by other schools but has consistently reaffirmed his pledge to the maize and blue.

Michigan football offers pair of rising 2026 safeties in SEC country

Making some moves! #GoBlue

Michigan football isn’t just making the rounds when it comes to building upon already established relationships with 2026 prospects, but it’s also establishing new ones.

On Monday, the Wolverines issued a new offer to yet another prospect in the heart of SEC country, this time to 2026 Atlanta (Ga.) Woodward Academy four-star safety Blake Stewart. Listed at 6-feet, 170 pounds, Stewart has offers from the likes of Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky, and others.

Here’s how he ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 313 23 36
On3 Industry Ranking 4 299 26 35
247Sports 3 – 29 33
On3 3 – 37 33
ESPN 3 – – –
Rivals 4 90 8 14

But that’s not all. The Wolverines also offered another safety in the Atlanta area in 2026 Marietta (Ga.) Sprayberry safety Kealan Jones.

Jones is listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Jones is currently unranked according to all of the recruiting services, but has offers from Auburn, Arizona State, NC State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia Tech.

Michigan had a solid safety class last cycle with four-stars Kainoa Winston, Elijah Dotson, and Jordan Young all signing with the Wolverines.

Michigan football staff makes a swing to see top targets in DMV

They’re making some rounds with some top targets! #GoBlue

Michigan football recruiting for the 2026 class is in full swing, which means the coaches are out on the road actively wooing the next group to come to Ann Arbor.

On Tuesday, a pair of high-priority prospects posted to social media to show that a full complement of Wolverine coaches have made their way to their schools in attempt to lure them to wear maize and blue.

The higher rated of the two is 2026 Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith four-star wide receiver Travis Johnson. The 6-foot-3, 165-pound wideout was visited by head coach Sherrone Moore, general manager Sean Magee, offensive coordinator Chip Lindsay, and running backs coach Tony Alford.

Johnson is rated the No. 127 player in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite, the 17th-best wide receiver, and third-best player in the state of Virginia.

Also posting on Tuesday morning was 2026 Roanoke (Va.) North Cross four-star cornerback Jaziel Hart.

Hart is unranked by 247Sports but is the No. 288 player nationally according to On3. At 6-feet, 169 pounds, Hart is being sought after by schools such as Penn State and Virginia Tech. He was visited by the same complement of coaches.

With those two getting visits, it seems like a likelihood that the Wolverines will also check in on nearby top target in 2026, running back Savion Hiter.

Michigan football signee gets rankings bump, now a 5-star

BOOM! #GoBlue

With the Michigan football pursuit of 2025 Denton (Texas) Ryan five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood, there’s a chance the Wolverines could get three five-star prospects in one class for the first time in school history.

Except, depending on your accounting via the recruiting services, the maize and blue may already have that.

The Wolverines had something of a coup the day before the early signing period, getting Fenwick (Illinois) defensive lineman Nate Marshall back in the fold after he had flipped to Auburn earlier in the cycle. Ranked as a high four-star throughout most of the cycle, Marshall impressed greatly during the week of the Navy All-American game. In response, Rivals raised him from a four-star to No. 27 overall: five-star status.

Here is how he ranks according to the recruiting sites:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 56 8 3
On3 Industry Ranking 4 59 7 3
247Sports 4 109 15 3
On3 4 94 9 4
ESPN 4 83 5 3
Rivals 5 27 2 1

Now, when we say creative accounting, that’s certainly true here, even if Michigan lands Haywood. While quarterback Bryce Underwood and offensive lineman Andrew Babalola are both composite five-stars, only Rivals has Underwood as a five-star. Likewise, Haywood is listed as a four-star according to Rivals.

Still, this may be the most talented class ever assembled in Ann Arbor, at least on paper, coming out of high school.

Michigan football gets new predictions to land 5-star

Getting closer! #GoBlue

In the modern recruiting era, Michigan football has never gotten more than two five-star prospects in a single class. Yet, in just his second class (first real full class) as the head coach, Sherrone Moore is about to exceed those numbers, it appears.

The Wolverines already have No. 1 overall prospect Bryce Underwood and his fellow five-star compatriot Andrew Babalola signed and on campus. But there’s been one big fish that Moore has been working on in 2025 Denton (Tx.) Ryan five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood. Haywood had been committed to Alabama until recent weeks and just took his first visit to Ann Arbor over the weekend.

It’s gone well enough that On3’s Steve Wiltfong and Chad Simmons have both put in predictions that Haywood will be the third five-star to commit to the 2025 class for the maize and blue.

Here is how he ranks according to the recruiting services:

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 5 18 4 6
On3 Industry Ranking 5 22 5 7
247Sports 5 20 4 7
On3 4 48 9 13
ESPN 5 18 5 6
Rivals 4 37 5 8

The scouting report from 247Sports:

Imposing offensive tackle with impressive length relative to height. Long-armed with a huge reach. Gradually improved quickness off the ball throughout junior year and performed well on the elite camp circuit prior to senior season to ascend a loaded 2025 OT board. Owner of an outstanding multi-sport profile that includes elite throws data in the form of double-digit 50-foot-plus shot put reps in Spring 2024, including a 58-6 personal record. Promising athletic testing ledger, particularly in lateral suddenness. Still developing consistent hand placement and technique, but if he gets his hands inside you, you are done. Early senior season revealed some inconsistencies in leverage and footwork activity when engaged, but has put plenty of encouraging reps on tape during high school career. Balance and body control come and go. Sudden power can get him on his heels, but strong enough to recover and anchor in most cases. Possesses the physical traits and athleticism — functional and verified — to play on the outside on either end of the O-line, but might project best to a right tackle role. Certainly could provide roster depth/value at guard as well. Overall, worked his way into the top group of a strong 2025 OL class with the potential to become a high-level college protector with eventual early-round developmental upside.

If Haywood is to join the class, he would join five-star OT Andrew Babalola, four-star OG Avery Gach, and three-star center Kaden Strayhorn as part of the 2025 offensive line haul.