The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 47 ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING NOTEBOOK the Spartans, but an opportunity to play for their in-state rival caught his atten- tion with his recruitment continuing to heat up. The Michigan offer left Hodge speech- less. His recruitment is starting to pick up again after his summer commitment to the Spartans. Hodge moved to inside linebacker this fall and recorded 23 total tackles across his first two games— nearly half of his junior total. After visiting Colorado and picking up the Michigan offer in the same week, the linebacker is feeling a bit overwhelmed. In addition to those schools, he's starting to hear from Texas and remains interested in Utah — a longtime contender for the senior. He's going to sit down with his coach to discuss his situation. The Wolverine caught up with one of his assistant coaches — Cedric Mauga — shortly after the offer to get some feed- back on Hodge as a player. He started out his career as an outside linebacker before shifting inside full time this fall. Mauga said he has not missed a step. "He's a good rusher when we send him, and he does a great job rerouting the No. 2 or 3 receiver," Mauga said. "Seeing him play inside 'backer the last few games, he actually has a knack for the ball. He might be slim, but the little moves that he does when he sees those linemen coming for him — the way he dodges them, slips them — and he's pretty violent." Mauga is married to Hodge's cousin and has known the new Michigan flip target since the eighth grade. He complimented the linebacker's work ethic and overall attitude. "His tape speaks for itself," Mauga said. "I think that's why all these schools are popping up." The newly offered senior has rocketed up the industry rankings. Per Rivals' Sep- tember update, Hodge is now the No. 170 overall prospect nationally, the No. 9 line- backer and the No. 1 recruit in Colorado. Four-star 2027 interior offensive line- man Jackson Roper, Hodge's teammate at Cherry Creek, recently received a Michi- gan offer as well. He's planning on visit- ing for the Ohio State game. Roper raved about Hodge and the impact he has on and off the field at the prep level. "Ever since I got to [Cherry] Creek, he has been a role model for a lot of kids," Roper said. "Not from just how good of a 2026 MICHIGAN COMMITMENTS Name Rating* Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Dorian Barney HHH CB 6-0 170 Carrollton, Ga. (Carrollton) McHale Blade HHHH EDGE 6-5 255 Chicago (Simeon) Tariq Boney HHH EDGE 6-1 230 Washington, D.C. (St. John's College) Mason Bonner HHH TE 6-6 200 Denver (Mullen) Jonathan Brown HHH RB 6-1 200 Columbus, Ohio (St. Francis DeSales) Andre Clarke HHHH S 6-0 165 Richmond, Va. (Hermitage) Markel Dabney HHH LB 6-1 210 Richmond, Va. (Huguenot) Titan Davis HHHH DL 6-4 262 St. Louis (De Smet) Jordan Deck HHHH S 6-3 180 Frisco, Texas (Lone Star) Colton Dermer HHH LS 6-1 235 Phoenix (Sandra Day O'Connor) Micah Drescher HHH K 6-2 190 Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central) Savion Hiter HHHHH RB 5-11 200 Mineral, Va. (Louisa County) Travis Johnson HHHH WR 6-3 180 Chesapeake, Va. (Oscar Smith) Malakai Lee HHHH OT 6-7 310 Honolulu (Kamehameha Secondary) Matt Ludwig HHHH TE 6-4 240 Billings, Mont. (Billings West) Bear McWhorter HHH IOL 6-3 308 Cartersville, Ga. (Cass) Carter Meadows HHHHH EDGE 6-6 235 Washington, D.C. (Gonzaga) Jaylen Pile HHH WR 6-0 178 Dallas (Parish Episcopal School) Zion Robinson HHH WR 6-2 175 Mansfield, Texas (Mansfield) Brady Smigiel HHH QB 6-4 215 Newbury Park, Calif. (Newbury Park) Alister Vallejo HHHH DL 6-3 310 Liberty Hill, Texas (Liberty Hill) Marky Walbridge HHHH IOL 6-5 285 Needham, Mass. (St. Sebastian's School) Julian Walker HHHH EDGE 6-6 255 Columbia, S.C. (Dutch Fork) 2027 MICHIGAN COMMITMENTS Name Rating* Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Peter Bourque HHHH QB 6-4 195 Hingham, Mass. (Tabor Academy) Tristan Dare HHH IOL 6-4 260 Southlake, Texas (Southlake Carroll) Louis Esposito HHH IOL 6-4 255 Saline, Mich. (Saline) * Rivals player ratings as of Sept. 23 Michigan has offered Spartans commit Braylon Hodge, a 6-3, 212-pound three-star linebacker from Englewood (Colo.) Cherry Creek High. PHOTO COURTESY BRAYLON HODGE