The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE ❱ FEBRUARY 2026 ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING cruiter during his time at Penn State. The Nittany Lions were top contenders for the elite receiver prior to the pro- gram's coaching change. Gerald reached out to Hagans just to check in to see where he was going to end up. Turns out, he will be moving much closer to the Guerrant family. "That was a good hire," Gerald said. "I like him. He's a real straightforward guy, real honest and good with his tech- niques. I like his coaching style, Dakota likes his coaching style, so it's cool." Following the coaching carousel, Ger- ald kept things honest. Michigan would not be the top choice right now. He at- tributed that to the staff changes, but the Wolverines still have plenty of time to change that. Dakota wants to take official visits before making a commitment around summertime. Most of his visit slots are wide open. The receiver and his family will continue to monitor the Wolver- ines' passing game over the next year. "If Michigan can show us something by Dec. 3, then they would definitely have a shot," Gerald said. "But it would all come down to the offense." Going into junior day visits, Gerald shared his personal group of favorites. Oregon, Texas A&M, Miami, Ohio State and Michigan have separated them- selves a bit in his eyes. The Wolverines remain in strong con- tention, but the family has many of the same questions it did this time last year. Michigan's chances with the state's top- ranked prospect will come down to how well they can address those concerns. Da- kota will return to campus at some point this year, potentially later in January if they can make a weekday visit work. — Ethan McDowell TOP 100 QB COMMIT PETER BOURQUE STILL SOLID WITH MICHIGAN So much has changed since Peter Bourque committed to Michigan in Au- gust. His position coach, offensive co- ordinator and head coach are all differ- ent. The faces won't be so familiar when he makes his next trip to Ann Arbor. That hasn't changed anything for the Top 100 quarterback in the 2027 class. He kept his commitment to the Wolver- ines intact even as other schools tried to reenter the picture. Bourque believes the reasons he pledged to the program in the first place go beyond a coaching change. "Honestly, I hated the recruiting pro- cess," Bourque said. "I hated going on all those visits. But even more than that, Michigan's a special place. My decision was more than the relationships I made with the coaches. It's the place where I wanted to play football, and I could see myself being a student at for four years." Other schools have reached out to the nation's No. 91 recruit, but he empha- sized that those conversations haven't been serious. He remains locked in with Michigan, and it helps that the new staff is already putting in the work to build a relationship with him. Quarterbacks analyst Koy Detmer Jr. called Bourque twice in the past four days. The quarterback commit knows the staff is dealing with a lot with the transfer portal right now and said them reaching out at all makes him feel wanted. "He wants to build a relationship with me," Bourque said. "I'm a priority at Michigan." Bourque found out about Kyle Whit- tingham's hiring on social media and was excited to see the news. He knows how much his future coach won at Utah and thinks he will do the same with more resources in Ann Arbor. That didn't make the past month any easier, but he still feels good about the program and looks forward to connect- ing with the new coaches. "It was definitely hard because the staff I got recruited by is all gone, but Michigan's always going to be Michi- gan," Bourque said. "It's a place where everyone wants to play, in The Big House in front of 110,000 fans." The quarterback has not talked to the staff much about their offense but, from his own research, he knows offensive coordinator Jason Beck likes to utilize his quarterbacks on the ground. "What they ran at Utah is a lot of quarterback runs, and I wonder if they're going to do that with Bryce [Un- derwood], because he's capable of doing it, and I think I'm a good enough athlete to play in that system as well," Bourque said. Bourque, the No. 8 quarterback in the country out of Marion (Mass.) Tabor Academy, doesn't think he will be able to make it to Ann Arbor in January, but he'll be back on campus in the spring. He won Gatorade Player of the Year in Mas- sachusetts as a junior and picked Michi- gan over Georgia, Penn State and others. — Ethan McDowell U-M 2027 commit Peter Bourque, the nation's No. 91 prospect and No. 8 quarterback per Rivals, acknowledged that the coaches who recruited him are gone, but he knows he is a priority for the new staff. PHOTO BY STEVE WILTFONG/RIVALS