The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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42 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JANUARY 2026 BY EJ HOLLAND M ichigan wrapped up most of its 2026 recruiting class in the summer as it hosted some of its top targets and closed shortly after their respective official visits. The week of National Sign- ing Day was supposed to be fairly quiet for the Wolverines. Michigan only had a couple of spots left in the class, and all of its commits, aside from top-100 Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork edge Ju- lian Walker, appeared to be fully locked. Instead, chaos ensued. From late flips to delays to NIL negotiations, Michigan had one of the more fascinating finishes to the cycle in the first week of December. When the dust set- tled, Michigan signed 10 Rivals Industry top-300 prospects, in- cluding a pair of top-10 recruits nationally, en route to finishing with the No. 12 class in the nation as of Dec. 15. This is Michigan's third top-15 class during the last five cycles. FLIPS FILL FINAL SPOTS Michigan suffered a tough loss to rival Ohio State in The Game. But the week- end was still a success from a recruiting perspective. The Wolverines hosted a surprise vis- itor in Rivals300 Waco (Texas) Connally cornerback Jamarion Vincent, who, at the time, was committed to Baylor. Michigan had a big remaining need at the position, and Vincent ascended as a top target this fall. Vincent made his first visit to Michi- gan in October, but as the fall continued to run its course, most expected him to stick with Baylor. However, Michi- gan never stopped working behind the scenes. Once he made his return visit to Ann Arbor, it was a wrap. Michigan closed with his commit- ment before he left campus that week- end. "He's going to need some develop- ment in terms of putting on mass and getting stronger and honing in and learning the intricacies of playing cor- nerback once he focuses on that posi- tion full-time," said Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power. "But he certainly has a good bit of tools to work with. "I think he has fairly high upside given what we've seen. He's not there right now, but his best football is defi- nitely ahead of him. If you're Michigan, you get him in, you maybe redshirt or bring him along slowly. He could yield dividends in a year or so once he gets his feet wet in the program." Just 48 hours later, Michigan com- pleted another key flip. The Wolverines made it a point to find a center this fall and focused their efforts on three-star Washington (D.C.) St. John's prospect Adrian Hamilton, who was committed to Virginia Tech. Like Vincent, Hamilton made his way to Ann Arbor for The Game and enjoyed his time on campus. Hamilton simply felt at home. "It is like a dream coming true," Ham- ilton said. "Michigan was my dream school. On my official visit, when I was on the field before the game, I just felt it. Then I watched the game, saw what the atmo- sphere was like, spent time with [offensive line] Coach [Grant] Newsome after the game, and I knew I wanted to be at Michigan." FIVE-STAR SIGNEES Michigan's highest rated signee in the class is five-star Washing- ton (D.C.) Gonzaga edge Carter Meadows, who committed to U-M over Ohio State, Penn State and others in the summer. Ranked as the No. 2 edge and No. 6 overall prospect nationally, Meadows took a no-nonsense approach to the recruiting pro- cess. He knew he wanted to find a program with an elite blend of academics and football and sided with Michigan shortly after his official visits. Meadows remained solid throughout the process and was one of the first players to get his letter of intent in on signing day. "What Gonzaga values as important, Michigan values as important. That re- ally gave me that home feeling," Mead- ows said. "Michigan reminded me of where I've been these last four years. I just wanted to be up there…. I'm a stu- dent athlete, not an athlete-student. I want to set myself up for life and suc- cess after football. I think Michigan can help me get there." Five-star Louisa (Va.) County running back Savion Hiter favored Michigan for most of the calendar year. However, Georgia, Ohio State and especially Ten- nessee made things interesting down the stretch. It was a stressful process for Hiter, a quiet private kid, but he ul- timately felt the most comfortable with Michigan thanks to his longstanding relationship with U-M running backs coach Tony Alford. Like Meadows, Hiter, the No. 1 run- ning back and No. 10 overall prospect nationally, was solid throughout the ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Early Signing Day Recap: Michigan Lands No. 12 Class In Nation, But Not Without Drama U-M inked 27 players Dec. 3-5. Rivals ranked its 2026 class 12th even with two decommitments after Sherrone Moore's firing. GRAPHIC COURTESY MICHIGAN FOOTBALL