The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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50 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2026 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY ETHAN MCDOWELL Jacob Baggett established himself as the No. 8 kicker in the country last fall and held offers from Kentucky, Mar- shall and Western Kentucky. Michigan entered the mix late. His recruitment moved extremely fast, leading to a Jan. 23 commitment. The Wolverines reached out to him a few days before extending an offer Jan. 16. He visited U-M for the first time January 21, and, less than a week aer picking up the scholarship, he com- mitted. The decision lied a weight off his shoulders. Baggett is very excited to join the program this summer. "Just going on my visit, I know I'm going to such a prestigious program and such an amazing school," Baggett said. "It's just super exciting. I'm super pumped up. It just makes me want to go harder every day." He described his commitment as a "no-brainer." Special teams coordina- tor Kerry Coombs and special teams analyst Garrett Clawson hopped on a call with him and offered a full scholar- ship. Baggett talked things over with his family, and he committed to the pro- gram publicly the same day he returned home aer his visit. "The facilities are just top tier, even the school, the classrooms. You can just tell there's no other place like it," Baggett said. "They get everything down to the very last detail. I just no- ticed that instantly. The campus is beautiful. … Everything you need is just there. I felt like it was the best place for me to maximize my abilities." Baggett, a senior at Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School, fit exactly what Coombs and the Wolverines wanted. The Wolverines desired a specialist with a strong leg who can contribute as a place kicker and a kickoff specialist. He connected on 6 of 7 field goal at- tempts last fall, and 95 of his 102 kick- offs ended in a touchback. Baggett's longest field goal in a game was 48 yards as a senior. His practice record is 65 yards. The Michigan commit outlined his strengths as a specialist. "Just killing the ball, hitting it hard, hitting it far with good height and hang time, letting the guys get down the field to cover on kickoffs but just hitting it out in the back of the end zone," Baggett said. "Ball flight is my biggest thing." Michigan took a transfer portal kick- er this offseason, but Baggett plans on competing for a role right away. "I'm going to be coming in, obvi- ously, competing for a field goal spot and then also a kickoff spot, everything that's there to grab," Baggett said. ❑ Michigan Lands Top Kicker Jacob Baggett Late In The Process Baggett earned all-state honors en route to helping Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day to the inde- pendent schools state title in 2025. PHOTO COURTESY JACOB BAGGETT JACOB BAGGETT KICKER 6-0 • 170 PROVIDENCE DAY SCHOOL CHARLOTTE, N.C. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE Chris Sailer Kicking ✪✪✪✪✪ — 8 2 STATISTICS Year FG Lg. PAT Points 2025 6-7 48 64-71 82 2024 0-1 — 25-27 25 2023 0-0 — 32-33 32 HONORS • Rated a five-star kicker by ChrisSailerKicking.com. • Named a second-team All-American in 2025 by Kicker Tracker Recruiting. • North Carolina Independent Schools Division 1 all-state honoree as a senior. • An All-Charlotte Observer first-team selection in 2025. • Named first-team all-conference in 2025. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan on Jan. 23, 2026. • Picked U-M over offers from Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Marshall, Elon and others. • Recruited by U-M special teams coach Kerry Coombs. DID YOU KNOW? • Helped his team to a 13-0 record in 2025 and an NCISAA state championship. • 93 percent of his kickoffs (95 of 102) went for touchbacks as a senior. The 95 touchbacks set a state record. • Attended the same high school as U-M wide receiver Channing Goodwin. THEY SAID IT ChrisSailerKicking.com: "Jacob is a fantastic high school kicking prospect. He is a great looking ath- lete with a live leg. Jacob does an outstanding job on field goals. He hits a pure ball, gets great height and easily has 55+ yard range. His kickoffs are strong, D1 ready. Jacob drives the ball 65+ yards, with 4.15+ hang time. He is a competitor who thrives under pressure. There is big upside here. Jacob has all the tools to dominate at the next level. He is a pleasure to work with. Excellent prospect." 2026 PROJECTION Baggett will arrive in Ann Arbor ready to com- pete with Pitt transfer Trey Butkowski, the Pan- thers' starting place kicker during the 2025 season. His best shot at contributing as a freshman could be as a kickoff specialist. He claims to hold the record for most touchbacks in North Carolina high school history.