It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. And in recruiting, though stars do matter to some extent, we’ve seen a lot of players outperform their ranking throughout the years.
In Ann Arbor, Kwity Paye, Ronnie Bell, Rod Moore, Zak Zinter, Mike Barrett and plenty others were three-star recruits, yet they ended up playing like five-stars for the Wolverines. Thus, when people look at the recruiting rankings, it may sometimes seem underwhelming for Michigan football, but identification and development and key.
The maize and blue apparently did a good job of identifying talent in the not-so-heralded 2024 class as two players have made meteoric rises in the final On3 rankings indicating that the Wolverines did an excellent job of scouting.
The now-highest-rated player in 2024 for Michigan is an edge rusher who committed on early signing day in December. Lugard Edokpayi from Bowie (Md.) Bishop McNamara was rated a four-star, but moved up 142 spots from 182 to No. 40 overall — just eight spots below five-star range, in the final On3 rankings. He’s considered the biggest riser in the latest release.
Lugard Edokpayi has an argument for having one of the highest upsides among the pass-rushers and EDGE prospects. He’s a guy who was one of the biggest late-bloomers in the cycle, didn’t receive his first Power Five offer until early in his senior season. He looks to be a big-time talent at the position. He’s over 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, has elite length and a big frame, I think he’s going to have no problem adding a bunch of weight once he gets in Michigan’s strength program and has time to fill out. He has a basketball background and it’s easy to see, he’s a twitchy athlete, a guy who can fly off the edge. Has surprising play-strength as well, I think he’s going to be a player who looks quite different after a year or two at Michigan. He fits the mold of the type of EDGE prospect Michigan has signed in the past — high upside, developmental types who might take a couple of years to add size, strength and experience, but his upside is a high draft pick if he develops like he has the potential to. — On3 Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power
He’s not alone there.
When cornerback Jo’Ziah Edmond flipped from Purdue to Michigan in July, there was little fanfare given that the Wolverines were accepting a three-star over the ballyhooed duo Aaron Scott and Bryce West — both of whom spurned the Wolverines for rival Ohio State. However, Edmond is now at No. 101 overall after being No. 252 with the last rankings update (which made him a four-star). While he’s still below the OSU duo, he’s not too far behind West, ranked just 13 spots beneath him.
Jo’Ziah Edmond is such a physical player at the line of scrimmage. His length and hand usage in press man coverage is extremely advanced for a senior coming out of high school. Combine that with his instincts and ability to play the football in the air and you have a player who has a chance to develop long term and still make an instant impact early on in his college career.” — On3 Rankings and Scouting Assistant Cody Bellaire
If new head coach Sherrone Moore can continue the trajectory of the program, it will be in large part due to the heavy lifting that came with the classes he inherited. But Moore is also a part of that as one of the Wolverines’ most avid recruiters in recent years. And some hits earlier in the cycle that turn out to be blue-chip players could pay later dividends, to be sure.