The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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62 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2026 BY ETHAN MCDOWELL M ichigan holds the No. 11 recruiting class in the country after a busy summer full of commitments. In Kyle Whittingham's first season leading the program, the Wol- verines pulled off wins over Ohio State, Notre Dame, Ala- bama and many others. From pulling four-star pros- pects out of Mississippi to re- taining key in-state pledges, this staff has already shown it has the recruiting chops to bring elite talent to Ann Arbor. Let's take a look at the five most impressive recruiting wins of the 2027 cycle so far. 5) TOP 100 DL XAVIER MUHAMMAD Michigan jumped into the mix for Xavier Muhammad after hiring defensive tackles coach Larry Black in February. The former Vanderbilt assistant had already built a great con- nection with the nation's No. 88 recruit out of Houston, Texas, and there was immediate mutual interest when he arrived in Ann Arbor. Michigan still needed to make up ground quickly, though. Muhammad scheduled out a crowded slate of of- ficial visits early on. He ended up locking the Wolverines in for May 29 and didn't have any plans to visit in the spring. Muhammad started to look like a realistic target once he moved Michigan to Victors Weekend and scheduled a spring visit. The Wolverines grabbed the momentum from there and didn't give it up, even after Miami and Notre Dame started to press. Those were his top three schools, but after an in-home visit from Black and general manager Dave Peloquin, Muhammad shut things down and committed to Michigan. The Wolverines closed here in impressive fashion. We considered U-M the leader of his recruitment going into that in-home visit, and Michigan didn't even give Miami and Notre Dame another chance to get him on campus. 4) RIVALS300 QB KAMDEN LOPATI Michigan went head-to-head with Notre Dame — one of the hottest recruiting programs in the country — and beat out the Irish for their No. 1 quarterback target. Kamden Lopati is from Salt Lake City, Utah, and spent a ton of time around quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. and offensive coordinator Jason Beck during their time at Utah. Those connections really paid off. Detmer and Beck maintained their connection with Lopati even though they held a commitment from Peter Bourque at the time. They prioritized Bourque, but when he decommitted, the staff pivoted extremely quickly to Lopati and offered him minutes later. The Illinois commit was the program's top target from that moment on. Notre Dame looked like the favorite at one point, but a multi-day spring trip to Ann Arbor helped swing the momentum toward Michigan for the No. 115 recruit in the country. 3) RIVALS300 S TAVARES HARRINGTON Michigan made up a ton of ground in Tavares Harrington's recruitment this year. Alabama, Geor- gia and Notre Dame appeared to sit well out in front of the Wolverines going into his spring visits. Under the previous staff, the Chicago (Ill.) Mount Carmel standout consistently touted Michigan as a top-five school, but he never made it to campus. Even after his first spring visit was canceled, the Wolverines made sure to continue visiting and prioritizing him. Then, they hit a couple of spring visits out of the park. Michigan's Chicagoland con- nections, specifically with Jyaire Hill, played a huge role here. And when safeties coach Tyler Stockton visited Harrington just days after his spring game visit, that solidified the Wolverines as the team to beat in his recruitment. Michigan went from long shot to heavy favorite in just a mat- ter of weeks with the No. 169 recruit in the country. 2) TOP 100 CB MONSANNA TORBERT Beating out Ohio State for an Ohio kid whom the Buckeyes really wanted is hard to top. Monsanna Torbert, the No. 70 recruit in the country, strongly con- sidered the likes of Louisville and Notre Dame after decommitting from Indiana. Still, OSU and Michigan were the main teams to watch for the Cincinnati Princ- eton prep standout. Momentum swung toward the Buck- eyes after a June 12 official visit, but there was always a vibe around his re- cruitment that, if he made it to campus for Victors Weekend, the Wolverines had a shot. His official visit went extremely well, and cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gil- ford set up that summer surge through months of relationship-building. Defensive coordinator Jay Hill, special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs and Gilford all visited him during the spring evaluation period. Coombs' longstanding connections in Cincinnati definitely helped the Wolverines here. Torbert is the highest- ranked commit in the class, and Michigan sent the house to land his pledge. 1) FOUR-STAR LB FREDERRICK FORD Michigan pulled off the nearly unprecedented to secure Frederrick Ford's commitment. First, the timing made things difficult. The Wolverines didn't offer until June 4. Michigan scheduled two visits within two weeks of each other to surge into contention with the No. 244 recruit in the Rivals Industry Ranking. Linebackers coach Alex Whittingham and the rest of the staff worked hard to build a connection with Ford and his family. After squeezing in a quick midweek visit on June 10, Michigan bumped LSU off of his official visit schedule for June 19. Ford committed during Victors Weekend. Michigan has only signed two recruits out of Mississippi in the program's history. Four-star run- ning back Tyson Robinson and Ford are now slated to join the Wolverines as the third and fourth prospects from the state. During his first season as a collegiate recruiter, Whittingham landed a blue-chip prospect over a long list of SEC schools at a position of need in a state where U-M has had almost no success historically. ❏ ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Ranking Michigan's Five Most Impressive Recruiting Wins This Cycle Frederrick Ford is one of only four recruits Michigan has landed from Mississippi in program history. He is regarded as the nation's No. 244 recruit in the Rivals Industry Ranking. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS