The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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46 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2025 BY EJ HOLLAND R ivals released its updated national recruiting rankings for the 2026 re- cruiting class in mid-September. Sev- eral Michigan commits moved up and down. The highest-ranked prospect in U- M's class is five-star Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga edge Carter Meadows, who moved up two spots to No. 3 overall na- tionally. Meadows is also ranked as the No. 1 edge nationally — he was previ- ously behind Maryland commit Zion Elee. A tall, long pass rusher with plus ath- leticism, Meadows has one of the high- est ceilings in the class. He committed to Michigan over Ohio State and others in the summer. Five-star Mineral (Va.) Louisa County running back Savion Hiter isn't ranked too far behind Meadows. Hiter moved up four spots to the No. 8 overall recruit nationally. He also remained the No. 1-ranked running back in the country. Hiter missed the entire offseason as well as his senior season opener with an ankle injury. However, he returned to the field for his team's second game and racked up 328 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries in an extremely impressive performance. Hiter could very well fin- ish as a top-five prospect before the end of the cycle. Two other Michigan commits were featured in the Rivals Top 100. Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork edge Julian Walker jumped up 47 spots from No. 127 to No. 80, while Honolulu (Hawai'i) Kame- hameha offensive tackle Malakai Lee moved up five spots from No. 92 to No. 87. Michigan's biggest rankings riser was Frisco (Texas) Lone Star defen- sive back Jordan Deck, who went from outside of the Rivals300 to the No. 280 overall prospect nationally. He is a tall, long safety who filled a big need for the Wolverines this cycle. Deck flipped from Baylor to U-M in the summer. Newbury Park (Calif.) High quarter- back Brady Smigiel suffered the big- gest drop, going from the No. 292 overall prospect to being demoted to a three- star. Smigiel, who was once consid- ered a five-star level prospect, has been tumbling down the rankings throughout the cycle. Five other Michigan commits also moved down in this update — St. Louis De Smet defensive lineman Titan Davis dropped 15 spots from No. 110 to No. 125, Billings (Mont.) West tight end Matt Ludwig dropped 37 spots from No. 91 to No. 128, Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith wide receiver Travis Johnson dropped 19 spots from No. 130 to No. 149, Chicago Simeon edge McHale Blade dropped 26 spots from No. 193 to No. 219 and Need- ham (Mass.) St. Sebastian's offensive lineman Marky Walbridge dropped 19 spots from No. 235 to No. 254. Liberty Hill (Texas) High defensive lineman Alister Vallejo, who made a big jump in the rankings update this sum- mer, remained at No. 269. Overall, 11 of Michigan's 23 verbal commits were featured in the new Ri- vals300. U-M WORKING TO FLIP MICHIGAN STATE COMMIT Michigan has zeroed in on a few senior linebackers to help fill out its 2026 class and, after extending an offer to Michigan State commit Braylon Hodge, it looks like the Wolverines have found another real- istic flip target. The three-star linebacker from Engle- wood (Colo.) Cherry Creek High picked up the U-M offer in September. He's al- ready making plans to visit the Wolver- ines. "I definitely want to get out there," Hodge told The Wolverine. "I'm figuring out what game to attend." Hodge committed to Michigan State June 1 after his first official visit. The 6-3, 212-pound linebacker remains pledged to ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING NOTEBOOK Michigan Commits Rise And Fall In New Rivals Rankings Rivals now ranks commit Carter Meadows of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga as the nation's top edge and No. 3 overall prospect. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND