The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2025 2025 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ ❱ BY ETHAN MCDOWELL M ichigan's 2025 recruiting class is complete, and the staff's atten- tion has now shifted to the 2026 cycle with a goal of building on this year's top-10 ranking. After hosting a small, priority group of prospects during the January recruit- ing window, the Wolverines have al- ready built up positive momentum with some of the nation's top juniors. TOP 100 RB SAVION HITER MINERAL (VA.) LOUISA COUNTY The Wolverines sit firmly in the top tier of Savion Hiter's recruitment. Michigan has been prioritizing the nation's No. 1 running back for a long time. He will officially visit campus this summer. Head coach Sherrone Moore, offensive coordina- tor Chip Lindsey, running backs coach Tony Alford, offensive line coach Grant Newsome and general manager Sean Magee all stopped by Mineral (Va.) Louisa County High last month to sit down with the nation's No. 20 recruit. Hiter is the top-ranked prospect in Virginia and previously dropped a top-five list of Michigan, Georgia, Penn State, Tennessee and Ohio State. He's feeling the love from the Wolverines right now. "They have a history of great running backs com- ing out of there like Blake Corum, who is from Virginia," Hiter said. "I could see myself running in a Michigan jersey." The Wolverines and Georgia appear to have the edge going into the spring. TOP 100 RB JAVIAN OSBORNE FORNEY (TEXAS) HIGH Javian Osborne declared Michigan his leader late last year, and the Wolverines remain squarely in the picture with the elite running back from Forney (Texas) High. Moore, Magee, Lindsey and Alford all visited the four-star junior as well. Osborne is the No. 61 recruit in the country and No. 5 running back nationally, per On3. "When you have the GM and the head coach, that shows that I'm a top priority. It shows I'm wanted at Michigan," Osborne said. "They let that be known — they want me to be a Michigan Wol- verine." Osborne dropped his top-10 schools list in Janu- ary that included Michigan. For now, home-state school Texas looks like the main challenger to the Wolverines. The running back has visited Ann Ar- bor several times. Texas is the heavy favorite in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), but Michigan has a very strong chance in his recruit- ment. TOP 100 WR CJ SADLER DETROIT CASS TECH CJ Sadler is the top-ranked recruit in Michigan, checking in at No. 80 nationally in the On3 In- dustry Ranking, a weighted average of the four major recruiting services. The slot receiver from Detroit Cass Technical has been trending toward the Wolverines for a while. U-M is the overwhelm- ing favorite in the On3 RPM, but his recruitment is not wrapped up yet. The nation's No. 13 receiver prospect visited USC in January and LSU last fall. He has stopped by Michigan more than any other school, and it will be tough to beat the in-state program in his recruitment. Both wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy and Moore are involved in his recruitment. The Wol- verines are pushing hard to keep the state's No. 1 recruit home. "Coach Bellamy calls, checks in, makes sure I'm good, makes sure the family is good and everybody is good," Sadler said in an interview last summer. "Just regular conversations. When I talk to those guys, we don't really talk about football. It's more about life." ON300 WR CHRISTIAN WARD MARIETTA (GA.) WALTON Michigan offered Christian Ward on Jan. 24 and has rocketed to the top of the receiver's decision- making process in recent weeks. Ward told The Wolverine that U-M is "definitely his No. 1 school" as of mid-February. He has never visited Ann Arbor and also holds offers from Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Kansas State, Georgia and others. The receiver will make the trip to Michigan this spring and also plans on spending an official visit with the program. Bellamy has done a great job building a con- nection with the Marietta (Ga.) Walton High play- maker, currently ranked by On3 as the No. 188 prospect and No. 24 receiver nationally. Five-star plus+ quarterback Bryce Underwood's commit- ment caught the receiver's attention as well. "I love the coach for sure and the quarterback. I feel like that would be a good move," Ward said. ON300 OL LEO DELANEY CHARLOTTE (N.C.) PROVIDENCE DAY Leo Delaney, a priority tackle prospect out of Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day, included Michi- gan among his top eight schools late last year, and offensive line coach Grant Newsome visited him in January on what turned out to be a productive home visit. The Wolverines are battling Tennessee, Clemson and others for Delaney's commitment, but the Big Ten program will receive an official visit, and the lineman plans on stopping by campus April 5 as well. "Michigan remains one of my top schools, and I'm going to take it to the very end of the line with them, no matter what the decision is," he said. Delaney is the No. 120 recruit and No. 9 interior offensive lineman in the country according to On3 and visited Ann Arbor twice last year. His fam- ily has built a strong connection with Newsome. Michigan has established itself as a top contender in a very competitive recruiting battle. ❑ Five Trending U-M Targets For 2026 ❱ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets, visit TheWolverine.com. Detroit Cass Tech wide receiver CJ Sadler is the No. 1 in-state prospect and has visited U-M more than any other school to date. PHOTO COURTESY ON3