The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 51 ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING mit Xavier Hasan in February. He's Ri- vals' No. 33 overall recruit and one of the most coveted defensive backs in the country. The Raleigh (N.C.) Cardinal Gibbons standout also has a strong, longstanding connection to the Wol- verines. His father is from Detroit. Hasan said U-M was his dream school at one point growing up. The previous staff didn't offer him, but new cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford made sure Michigan en- tered the picture this winter. "I was really excited," Hasan said. "My dad was super excited because we grew up Michigan fans. It was special." Hasan remains locked in with Notre Dame after committing in December and believes the university is a "special" place, but that doesn't take away from his childhood bond to the Maize and Blue. He always watched the Michigan- Ohio State game each November with his father. "He would go to all the Michigan games from a young age, so he really put that in my head — it would just be every- thing Michigan," Hasan said. "Detroit — the Pistons, the Lions and the Wol- verines — those were my favorite teams growing up." The nation's No. 6 cornerback doesn't know if he's going to take any spring or official visits anywhere but Notre Dame. Moving forward with Michigan, he wants to learn more about what the staff looks for in its athletes off the field and how the program uses its defensive backs. Notre Dame went through some coaching changes in the secondary this offseason, but Hasan feels good about his growing connection with defensive backs coach Aaron Henry. He will con- tinue to maintain relationships with other schools just because of the unpre- dictable nature of modern college foot- ball. Michigan intrigues him after the recent scholarship offer. "It used to be my dream school, and my dad's real excited about it, so there's definitely some interest there," Hasan said. Gilford is taking a "mellow" and re- laxed approach to his flip efforts with Hasan. He reaches out a couple times per week, and the No. 3 recruit in North Carolina appreciates his approach so far. "He's not too much over the top, which I really like," Hasan said. "I like a coach I can just go and talk to about anything pretty much." Florida and South Carolina are the two schools pushing hardest to flip him right now. He's not wavering on his pledge, but Gilford is working to get him to Ann Arbor, telling the elite cornerback that Michigan is "a special place." "It definitely is, and I'm trying to go see it," Hasan said. BIG TEN PROGRAMS TRYING TO FLIP U-M COMMIT Michigan offensive line commit Louis Esposito reaffirmed his commitment to the Wolverines during the coaching change and after his father departed for the NFL. That's not going to stop a couple of Big Ten programs from trying to sway him off his pledge. Penn State and USC both offered the three-star interior offensive line- man from Saline (Mich.) High recently. Esposito committed to the Wolverines shortly after picking up the scholarship during camp season last summer. At that point, he expected to play for his father and a staff he felt extremely close to. Much has changed around Michigan's football program over the past couple of months, but Esposito made it clear in an interview earlier this month that he re- mains locked in with the program. Now that the Trojans and Nittany Lions have entered the mix, he's not sure if he's go- ing to take other visits yet. "I do not know anything right now," Esposito told The Wolverine. Esposito plays with a mauling edge to his game and continues to add height and muscle onto his 6-5, 286-pound frame. He's a physically impressive guard prospect who might have tackle flexibility by the time he graduates from Saline at the end of this year. T h e f u t u re Wo lve r i n e l i n e m a n tweeted out a "committed" graphic hours before the news broke of his father's departure. Michigan's new coaches prioritized him in January, and he wanted to make sure everyone knew where he stood. "I built a great connection with the new coaching staff, and, basically, I'm just letting everybody know I'm stay- ing," Esposito said before his recent wave of offers. Offensive line coach Jim Harding met with him at his high school in January. He also reached out as soon as the news of Esposito's father's departure broke. Esposito also heard from Kyle Whit- tingham. "Coach Whittingham meant to call my dad when he actually called me the night that everything happened, so I got the chance to talk to both of them," said Esposito. Their message was clear — Michigan's new staff was excited to keep building a relationship with the in-state commit and wanted to keep in touch moving forward. Esposito will stay at Saline for his senior season, and he's looking for- ward to finishing what he started at the prep program just a short drive from the U-M campus. His recruitment will likely continue to expand, but his reasons for choos- ing the Wolverines last year went be- yond his father's presence on staff. Even when he first picked up the offer last year, Esposito said the Wolverines were his dream school long before he had a parent on staff. "Michigan is Michigan," Esposito said. "Everything about the university is great. … It's still the home college, the place I've wanted to go since I was a little kid. My dad being there or not, that doesn't change." NATIONS'S NO. 6 RECEIVER HAS INTEREST IN MICHIGAN Michigan wide receivers coach Micah Simon traveled to Chicago to meet with Quentin Burrell shortly after joining the staff. The receiver liked what he heard from the new Wolverine assistant. Michigan's 2027 Commitments Player Rating* Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School Recarder Kitchen HHHH EDGE 6-5 240 Muskegon (Mich.) High Tristan Dare HHH IOL 6-4 260 Southlake (Texas) Carroll Louis Esposito HHH IOL 6-4 255 Saline (Mich.) High * Rivals player ratings as of March 13