The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545685
152 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Defensive Line Commits: 1 Need: 2 Top 100 defensive lineman Xavier Mu- hammad committed to Michigan in May — one of the most surprising additions to the class this spring. The No. 88 re- cruit and No. 8 defensive lineman in the country scheduled a jam-packed slate of official visits, but he didn't need to see much before deciding Michigan was the home for him in May. A critical in-home visit with defensive tackles coach Larry Black and general manager Dave Peloquin helped secure his pledge. The versatile defensive addition from Houston has sky- high potential, and he's someone whom the Wolverines are really excited about. Michigan remains in a heavyweight recruiting battle for Seth Tillman, a Ri- vals300 defensive lineman out of South Carolina. He's the No. 116 recruit and No. 11 D-lineman nationally. Tillman touts the Wolverines, Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina and Kentucky as his finalists and has a commitment date scheduled for July 11. The Wolverines appeared to be fading coming out of his trip to UGA, but they countered with an extremely strong of- ficial visit. That weekend in Ann Arbor left a lasting impression and led to U-M surging to the top of his recruitment. Ad- ditional momentum shifts could happen before he makes a decision, but Michigan is doing everything right and sits in a very strong spot with one of its most coveted defensive tackle prospects. Other than those two targets, Michigan continues to keep tabs on SMU commit Amari Vickerson and Alabama pledge AJ Pauley. Edge Rusher Commits: 2 Need: 3 Michigan's staff worked hard to build a relationship with longtime commit Re- carder Kitchen early on after the coach- ing change. The Muskegon (Mich.) High pass rusher never wavered in his pledge and now has a strong connection to the new faces in the building. He's the No. 155 prospect and No. 14 edge nationally but flies a bit under the radar because he doesn't attend many camps or showcases. The Wolverines are fired up about him. Defensive ends coach Lewis Powell and the rest of the staff helped U-M surge past Indiana to pull off an upset recruiting win for Rivals300 edge rusher Jayce Brewer. The Indianapolis Franklin Central star checks in at No. 214 overall and No. 18 among edges nationally. He's locked in with Michigan. Now, the Wolverines are zeroing in on their third edge rusher in the class with eyes on Rivals300 prospect Ifeanyi Em- edobi. Michigan reached out to him about moving up his OV by a week to June 12, and he changed his visit schedule to make that happen. He's the No. 265 recruit and No. 23 edge rusher nationally out of Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrop High. Michigan sits in a great spot here. Three-star edge rusher Jag Ioane also had a Victors Weekend official visit on his schedule. Linebacker Commits: 1 Need: 3 Three-star linebacker Brayden "Tank" Watson was one of assistant coach Alex Whittingham's top targets, and the Wol- verines held off a late push from Vander- bilt to land the Buford (Ga.) High stand- out. He's a former high school safety who also plays a major role at tight end for the national prep powerhouse. Michigan wants to sign three lineback- ers in this class and has two prospects coming in for official visits alongside Wat- son. Four-star target Frederrick Ford ar- ❱ 2027 MICHIGAN COMMITMENTS Name Rating* Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown / High School Jayce Brewer ★★★★ EDGE 6-5 225 Indianapolis / Franklin Central Quentin Burrell ★★★★ WR 6-2 195 Chicago / Mount Carmel Louis Esposito ★★★ IOL 6-6 290 Saline, Mich. / Saline Lundon Hampton ★★★ ATH 6-2 203 Grand Rapids, Mich. / Kenowa Hills Tavares Harrington ★★★★ S 6-3 180 Chicago / Mount Carmel Blake Jenkins ★★★ CB 6-0 190 Katy, Texas / Tompkins Darius Johnson ★★★★ CB 6-1 155 Riverside, Calif. / Notre Dame Recarder Kitchen ★★★★ EDGE 6-5 240 Muskegon, Mich. / Muskegon Jakari Lipsey ★★★★ OT 6-5 290 Kalamazoo, Mich. / Loy Norrix Kamden Lopati ★★★★ QB 6-2 225 West Valley City, Utah / West Colt Lumpris ★★★★ TE 6-6 240 Tolland, Conn. / Lawrenceville (N.J.) Xavier Muhammad ★★★★ DL 6-3 265 Houston / South Houston Tyson Robinson ★★★★ RB 5-9 195 Jackson, Miss. / Brandon Sidney Rouleau ★★★ IOL 6-5 240 Gatineau, Quebec / The Brook Hill School (Texas) Brayden Watson ★★★ LB 6-2 190 Buford, Ga. / Buford Charles Woodson Jr. ★★★ S 5-11 170 Orlando, Fla. / Lake Nona * Rivals player ratings as of June 18 Indianapolis Franklin Central's Jayce Brewer, the No. 214 prospect and No. 18 EDGE nationally, chose the Wolverines over defending national champion Indiana. PHOTO BY ETHAN MCDOWELL