The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FEBRUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 55 ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING ground running on the recruiting trail when he arrived in Ann Arbor. He knows Dakota, the nation's No. 54 recruit, needs to be a top-of-the-board target. "I told him that a lot of schools have been in hot pursuit," Gerald said. "He was like, 'Well, what will it take?'" Gerald made it clear last year that the production of Michigan's passing of- fense would play a significant role in his son's interest. Any progress they saw the program make is now moot with a new system arriving in Ann Arbor. When Si- mon and Gerald spoke for the first time, his father emphasized the weight the Wolverines' offensive outlook carries in Dakota's decision-making process. "I'm not going to send my son, who's a receiver, to a run-based school, so it's got to be close to 50/50, something like that," Gerald said. "He said their offense is pretty wide open. It's about 50/50 coming from Utah, and I'm just going to watch Utah film and see what it looks like and then go from there." Michigan welcomed Jason Beck and his explosive offense to Ann Arbor after the Utes scored 41.2 points per game this fall. Gerald wants his son to pick a school that will best show off his skill set. Off the field, the Wolverines have a lot working for them. The academic prestige of the school matters a lot to Gerald and the Guerrant family as well. Even with the coaching change and continued push from other elite programs, Michigan remains in contention due to its combination of school and football. "It's hard to beat Michigan, so that keeps Michigan always in the top five of schools — if not the top three— because of that mix," Gerald said. "But again, my son's goal is to go pro. His goal is to be at a school that traditionally puts out pro athletes. Michigan meets that criteria as well, definitely, but do they put out pro receivers like that? They don't. So, you've got to be able to show me how we are going to get kids to be more draft ready for the pros." Dakota and his parents have consis- tently expressed how much they like Michigan. They just have to rebuild a relationship with the new staff now. Hiring Hagans as the assistant wide re- ceivers coach helps with that. Hagans was Dakota's primary re- New Assistant Jernaro Gilford Is A Relentless Recruiter Michigan hired Jernaro Gilford away from BYU to lead the program's corner- back room. He spent nearly a decade in Provo and coached the majority of his ca- reer in Utah, but he will now leave the region he called home for so long to join the Wolverines. Gilford's track record of development speaks for itself. A total of 12 Cougars re- corded an interception during the 2024 season. That led the country. Star corner- back Evan Johnson recorded 5 intercep- tions this year after joining the program as the No. 1,775 recruit in the country. He's not the flashiest recruiter when it comes to star power to this point, but his reputation, paired with Michigan re- sources, could lead to a lot of success in Ann Arbor. "Coach Gilford is a guy that will have you always ready to play on game day," one of his former players at BYU told The Wolverine. "He gives his corners creative freedom to play the techniques we want to. He is a players coach for sure. He expects greatness and he coaches hard, but you learn to love it. Off the field, he's like another father figure, and he looks out for us." Gilford did not sign a four-star prospect during his time at BYU, but the pro- gram only started recruiting at a super-high level this year when it bought into NIL and signed the nation's No. 25 class. During two of the past three seasons, he coached a cornerback who recorded 5 interceptions. Eddie Heckard reached that milestone in 2023, and he was a three-star transfer from Weber State. Gilford's BYU units were turnover-forcing machines this decade. He hasn't proven himself as an elite recruiter yet, but the Michigan assistant puts in a ton of effort to relationship building according to Marion Bell, the head coach at Decatur (Ga.) Southwest DeKalb. Gilford is from California, and he fo- cuses a lot of his recruiting efforts out west, but he traveled to the East Coast to recruit three-star cornerback Therrian Alexander III. Alexander ended up picking the Cougars over hometown Georgia Tech and many others. His coach shared his thoughts on Gilford and defensive coordinator Jay Hill, who also played a role in the defensive back's recruitment. "I met both of them several times," Bell said. "Coach Gilford is a great guy and a relentless recruiter. Coach Hill is the closer for their top recruits. Both guys are very genuine, and it's bigger than football with them." Gilford's arrival in Ann Arbor also likely adds his son to Michigan's 2027 re- cruiting board. Jernaro Guilford Jr. is a class of 2027 wide receiver with early offers from Utah, BYU and a handful of Group of Five programs. He's a recruit to keep an eye on moving forward. Looking toward the 2027 class, BYU has offered eight cornerbacks. Most of them are from California, including blue-chip Michigan target Jailen Hill from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, who is rated the No. 161 player and No. 15 cor- nerback in the Rivals Industry Ranking. It will be interesting to see how Gilford attacks his first recruiting cycle in Ann Arbor because he has plenty of on-the- field success to sell to the nation's top corners. — Ethan McDowell Gilford spent the past 10 seasons coaching the cornerbacks at BYU. His 2024 defensive backfield boasted a nation-leading 12 players who recorded an interception. PHOTO COURTESY BYU ATHLETICS