The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 53 ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING "Michigan's probably the top of the schools that we've been to hospitality- wise. Perry does a good job," Craig said. "That's why we've been up there so many times. That's why we always have our kids entertain Michigan, because it's good energy, good vibes." Director of recruiting strategy Skylar Phan recently joined the staff from USC and already drew positive reviews from one visitor's family. The Wolverines also promoted analyst Tyler Markray to as- sistant director of recruiting. He played a big role in on-campus visits last year. Darren Gammell runs Darren Junior Recruiting Source LLC in Ohio, and he last visited the Wolverines a few ye a rs a go w h e n Jim Harbaugh was running the program. Only a few of the people he knew from the previous staff remain, but Michigan's efforts toward recruiting the Buckeye State immedi- ately popped. "I will say that they're prioritizing Ohio," Gammell said. Michigan hosted an Ohio coaches clinic March 21, the same day Gammell visited the Wolverines with Rivals300 2028 athlete Cartae Ligon and his fam- ily. He said almost 100 prep coaches were on campus to watch practice, eat lunch and go through a clinic with U-M. At every level of the recruiting pro- cess, the Wolverines want people to feel welcome. Yes, this staff has strong roots in Utah and on the West Coast, but they're putting in the work needed to recruit the Midwest at a high level. 'NIGHT AND DAY' James, Craig and Gammell all watched the Wolverines practice and left im- pressed. Craig said the program changed a lot under Whittingham's leadership. "It's night and day," Craig noted. He said this was one of the better spring practices they have attended so far. Craig felt a different energy around the program and believes Michigan can make some noise in the Big Ten this year. "It looked smooth," Craig said. "It was so much more intense, more detail-ori- ented for sure. They look good." Everyone coached hard. Practice looked efficient with players flying around, and the staff looked engaged with their instruction. It looked like the first practice of the spring, James said, but the energy was there. Gammell said there wasn't any favor- itism on the field. Performance led to reps at every position. The competition looked legit to him, and while the team has things to clean up from his perspec- tive, two units in particular stood out. "The O-line looks pretty damn good, but that's nothing new for Michigan football," Gammell said. "Jordan Mar- shall, I think he's going to be a captain. He's going to be the guy. He's looking elite. His offseason has obviously been pretty damn good." 'HE ABSOLUTELY KILLED IT' All of the coaches were locked in at practice but remained in the loop from a recruiting perspective. They all knew Mattison was on campus the first day, James explained, and that excited the priority safety. Michigan's current players were very welcoming as well. Mattison spent time with his future teammates from Illinois, connecting with Nate Marshall, I'Marion Stewart and Jyaire Hill. Ligon, a blue-chip running back prospect from Ohio, spoke at length with Jordan Marshall during the trip. The Wolverines' star running back gave the priority Michigan target his contact number and said to hit him up on so- cial media. Their recruitments followed similar trajectories to this point, and Marshall — a former Ohio prep stand- out — shared as much information as he could. "Jordan literally talked to Cartae, talked to his mom, his dad, his little brother, his little sister," Gammell said. "He took a picture with him, was very honest with them, explaining the stuff that he went through during his recruit- ment." After touring the facility and watch- ing practice, Gammell, Ligon and his family grabbed lunch with running backs coach Tony Alford and met with him for about 90 minutes. Alford broke down the top running back target's film and answered a bunch of questions. Gammell first met the Wolverine as- sistant years ago. Alford has extremely strong ties in Ohio and plans on pri- oritizing the state. "He's always genu- ine, honest and doesn't beat around the bush. He said that he's going to recruit the living crap out of Cartae," Gammell said. "He said he wants him, he's welcome back to campus at any time, he wants him to come as many times this spring as possible and he said he wants them to come to any and every game possi- ble. That was spe- cial for their family. That meant a lot to them." Ligon is a class of 2028 prospect, and his recruitment remains in its early stages, but he declared Michigan his leader after this trip. "Overall, I would say that Coach Al- ford absolutely killed it," Gammell said. 'IT FEELS LIKE MICHIGAN' Whittingham addressed the team after the first practice. Quite a few coaches drew praise from visitors over the past couple of weeks. For James, the way Whittingham addressed the Wolverines really stood out to the fellow head coach. "It's very calm and confident," James said of the new U-M head coach. "He's very aware of what he's capable of and what he can't do, and he has a plan. "Anybody that's been at Utah for a couple of decades, they're sure of their process and what they need to do and how they need to do it." Michigan's energy on the practice field starts at the top. Whittingham's approach to the first Saturday practice felt much different to Craig and helped him leave campus feeling good about the future of Michigan football. "He's active," Craig said. "You can see that he's a voice on the field more so than there was last year. The kids see that, and it showed throughout the practices. The coaches are involved. It's just night and day on the whole organi- zational part. "The energy and the vibe, it feels like Michigan." ❏ ❱ Jawon Craig, the co-founder of Millz2BeMade training "The coaches are involved. It's just night and day on the whole organizational part. The energy and the vibe, it feels like Michigan."