The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 11 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Carter Meadows Will Be Turned Loose By Chris Balas Michigan landed four top-125 prospects in the 2026 class, and three should play — edge Carter Meadows, running back Savion Hiter and receiver Travis Johnson. The fourth, of- fensive tackle Malakai Lee, will likely take a year to crack the lineup, but the new U-M staff loves everything about him. It's easier for a frosh to crack the lineup at certain positions, though, and one of them is situational — as a pass rusher. We'll go way back to the mid-1990s when David Bow- ens notched 3 sacks and was turned loose on quarterbacks in 1995, following up with 11 sacks in 1996 before he ended up at Western Illinois. The Wolverines struggled to get to the quarterback last year even with veterans like Derrick Moore and TJ Guy on the field. They're going to need some of those freak athletes to step up and contribute, and Meadows is the perfect choice. He's 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, with the frame to hold 280. He has an incredible motor and explosion, and could be a valuable third-down guy in passing situations. In fact, we'd bet on him getting reps in those scenarios. Meadows is still raw, and his best days are ahead of him. But you want your best athletes on the field when the opportunity arises. Michigan Hit It Big With Savion Hiter By Clayton Sayfie Michigan saw running back Justice Haynes leave for Georgia Tech, which was disappoint- ing from an on-field standpoint but made sense from a monetary perspective. Haynes, who likely commanded well over $1 million from his new school, frees up dollars to use on other positions, because the Wolverines are presumably already spending a lot on running backs, with junior Jordan Marshall back and freshman Savion Hiter coming in. It also means Hiter is almost guaranteed to play a significant role in his first season in a winged helmet, after checking in with a five- star-plus rating as the No. 12 overall recruit in the 2026 class, per the Rivals Industry Ranking. Marshall will start, as long as everything goes according to plan, af- ter rushing for 932 yards and 10 scores in 2025, but he'll need another high-level back to make up a strong 1-2 punch. That's where Hiter — the Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia — comes in. Addition- ally, Marshall is as physical as they come with the ball in his hands, leaving him susceptible to getting banged up or needing a breather. That's also where Hiter will prove valuable. The real deal and ready to impact right away, Hiter helped Louisa (Va.) County to an 11-1 record and the regional semifinal in 2025, post- ing 1,445 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns as a prep senior. ❱ POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT ❰ WHICH U-M FOOTBALL FRESHMAN WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN 2026? HITER MEADOWS U-M's Blue-Chip Ratio Is Top 15 In The Nation Michigan football reeled in the No. 11 recruiting class in the nation in 2026, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a 26-member haul comprised of two five-stars, 10 four-stars, 13 three-stars and one unranked prospect. At 44 percent, the Wolverines have the 14th- highest blue-chip ratio — the amount of recruits that are rated as four- or five-stars in the country — and fourth-highest in the Big Ten. Michigan's blue-chip ratio is down from its re- cent classes. It was 66.7 percent in 2025, 50 per- cent in 2024, 55 percent in 2022, 50 percent in 2021 and 66.7 percent in 2020. This is the lowest since 2023 (35 percent), three cycles ago. This class certainly has blue-chip talent, though. Michigan added two five stars per the Rivals In- dustry Ranking in edge Carter Meadows (No. 11 overall player) and running back Savion Hiter (No. 12). Additionally, athlete Salesi Moa checks in as a five-star prospect — the No. 42 player in the nation — and was counted in this chart by Rivals despite the fact that he is technically a transfer- portal addition since he enrolled at Utah briefly in December before coming to U-M as a freshman. CBS Sports' Bud Elliott, who coined the "blue- chip ratio" measurement, purports that teams need to have more blue-chip players than former three- or two-star prospects (over 50 percent) to have a chance to win a national championship. Michigan, for example, had a 56.3 percent blue- chip ratio in its previous five recruiting classes combined before winning it all in 2023. The Wolverines are on track to being in conten- tion based on the metric, since their blue-chip ra- tio over the last five classes (2022-26) is 52 percent (63 out of 122 signees being four- or five-stars). — Clayton Sayfie Total Blue Chip Rk. School 5-Stars 4-Stars Commits Ratio 1. Oregon 4 12 21 76.19% 2. Texas A&M 1 18 27 70.37% 3. Notre Dame 3 18 30 70.00% 4. Florida 0 13 19 68.42% 5. LSU 2 10 18 66.67% 6. Georgia 1 20 32 65.63% 7. Miami 1 19 31 64.52% 8. Ohio State 2 16 28 64.29% 9. USC 2 20 35 62.86% 10. Texas 3 12 24 62.50% 11. Alabama 3 11 26 53.85% 12. South Carolina 0 9 17 52.94% 13. Tennessee 2 12 29 48.28% 14. Michigan 2 10 26 44.00% 15. Clemson 0 9 22 40.91%