The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 45 ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING "Michigan has great alumni," Rennard said. "He wants to major in business. I'd say they've probably got the best busi- ness program in the world." After taking an in-depth look at the program, Joshua moved Michigan into his top group. Gilford returned to North Carolina after Joshua's visit to keep that momentum rolling. "We had a wonderful conversation," Rennard said. "My wife and I went and met him along with Josh. We sat down and he was just reintroduced himself, showing us that, if he had Josh, he would be in good hands. He would be in a family atmosphere, everything that we're looking for." Gilford emphasized that Joshua would have to earn his playing time, but there would be a path to the field im- mediately as a freshman. The No. 2 cornerback in the coun- try has already filled up his June official visit schedule with stops at his other four finalists. He's eyeing a July 3 deci- sion date. The Dobson family is working through the details for their next trip to Ann Arbor. "I definitely look forward to getting up there sometime soon," Rennard said. From a father's perspective, there's nothing specific he needs to see during this next visit. Rennard just wants to get a feel for the environment around the program and see who would be leading the development of his son at the col- legiate level. LSU has been the trending team in Joshua's recruitment for over a month now, but Rennard believes all five final- ists remain in the picture for the elite cornerback. "I definitely feel that every school will have a shot," Rennard said. "The main thing I'd just tell Michigan is keep recruiting hard, make sure you honor his values on and off the field and just keep being persistent. Just let him know that, 'Hey, we're going to be here till the end.'" INSIDE MICHIGAN'S PUSH FOR ALABAMA TE COMMIT COLT LUMPRIS Colt Lumpris shook up his official visit schedule recently, moving Michi- gan to Victors Weekend, slotting Penn State into the vacant June 5 weekend and swapping out Texas A&M for Ken- tucky on June 12. The Wolverines are building positive vibes with the Ri- vals300 Alabama tight end commit. Michigan makes him feel like a top priority. Tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham isn't recruiting many prospects in the 2027 class, and they're pouring a ton of time and resources into pursuing the Lawrenceville Township (N.J.) The Lawrenceville School pros- pect. He felt that love and decided to spend his final OV with the Wolverines. Mich- igan emphasized they put together Vic- tors Weekend for their top targets, and that's a different approach from the other schools pursuing him. "They're the only school that has done something like that, where they told me that the last weekend is most i m p o r ta n t ," L u m p r i s sa i d . " So m e schools think that the earlier ones are more important, so they want to be ear- lier. "Michigan wanted to be last because they feel like that's best because you get the last shot at everything. And I feel like I personally picked it because I feel like it just fits right and feels right to put it there." Lumpris visited Michigan in March and really enjoyed that trip. Whitting- ham spent two days in New Jersey last week to continue growing their con- nection. He battled travel issues and a canceled flight to make it to see Lum- pris, and that caught the tight end's at- tention. They went to dinner one night, and then Whittingham watched the nation's No. 11 tight end and No. 277 overall The nation's No. 11 tight end and No. 277 player, Colt Lumpris is planning to officially visit Michigan. He's currently committed to Alabama. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/RIVALS Michigan's 2027 Commitments Player Rating* Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School Jakari Lipsey HHHH OT 6-5 290 Kalamazoo (Mich.) Loy Norrix Kamden Lopati HHHH QB 6-2 225 West Valley City (Utah) West Recarder Kitchen HHHH EDGE 6-5 240 Muskegon (Mich.) High Jayce Brewer HHHH EDGE 6-5 225 Indianapolis Franklin Central Sidney Rouleau HHH IOL 6-5 240 Gatineau, Quebec / The Brook Hill School (Texas) Louis Esposito HHH IOL 6-6 290 Saline (Mich.) High Maxwell Miles HHH S 6-2 195 Las Vegas Centennial * Rivals player ratings as of May 10