The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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46 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2026 Jackson Parker moved from Kansas to California this offseason, and now the 6-foot-4 defender is one of the more coveted recruits in the country. The Ri- vals300 safety picked up a Michigan of- fer in June, and the Wolverines are show- ing him a lot of love these days. He ranks as the No. 103 rising junior nationally and now plays for Bakersfield (Calif.) Garces Memorial High. Parker is a towering defensive back who said his biggest strengths are his combination of size and speed paired with his physical- ity. Michigan offered him June 15, the first day college staffs could reach out to the class of 2028 directly. And the Wolver- ines' recruiting staff has been building an increasingly strong bond ever since. "It's going really good with Michigan right now," Parker said. "It's just a lot of talks every day with them, building small connections and stuff like that." He already feels like a priority to the Wolverines. The No. 12 safety in the country said six staff members have al- ready asked him if he's going to make the trip to Ann Arbor for a game day. Parker locked in his visit for the Sept. 26 game against Iowa. "When you hear 'a powerhouse in football,' a lot of people tend to think toward Michigan," Parker said. "His- torically, they've been a great team, and they've shown it recently by winning the national championship a couple years ago. When I think of Michigan, I think of history and winning." Assistant safeties coach and former Wolverine defensive back Brad Hawkins offered Parker his spot and is playing a big role in Parker's recruitment alongside safeties coach Tyler Stockton. "Coach Hawkins is very easy to talk to," Parker said. "Conversation flows re- ally easy with him, and we're both family oriented. We both have a lot of love for our family. I see eye-to-eye with him like that. "With Coach Stockton, it's a little bit more professional, but the conversation still flows really smooth. He's doing a good job of telling me a lot about Michi- gan culture, and he's also building a re- ally good connection." When he travels to Michigan next month, Parker wants to evaluate how the university "feels" and evaluate if he can see himself calling Ann Arbor home. Alongside U-M, Parker said Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, UCLA and Ne- braska are recruiting him the hardest right now. "It seems like I'm a big priority," Parker said. "We're just going to see how it goes down the road, because I really like Michigan. I like their staff. We're go- ing to see how it goes in a couple months, whenever the season's over and then I start setting up my official visits." — Ethan McDowell Marshaun Thornton already hears the noise from his teammates. Both top-100 wide receiver Quentin Burrell and Rivals300 safety Tavares Harrington committed to Michigan this year, and now they want their Chicago Mount Carmel teammate to join them in Ann Arbor. "He's going to end up at Michigan," Har- rington said. "He's going to come to Michigan because he knows he's going to hang out with us," Burrell added. Thornton shrugged off his teammates' jokes during an inter- view after a recent scrimmage The No. 187 recruit in the 2028 class with an elite offer list says he has "no clue" where he will play his college football. The prospect traveled to Ann Arbor with Burrell and Harrington for the spring game. Thornton said it's nice to see them and the other former Chicagoland stand- outs around the program, but that won't necessarily influence his own decision. "It's probably the best fit for them, but it might not be the best fit for me," Thorn- ton said. "Just seeing them do what they always wanted to do, and me being like a younger brother for them, it's great. I'm in the same boat. I'm just trying to take as much advice from them as I can. All the guys from Chi- cago, seeing them down there, it's good to catch up with them. They recruit me as well." B e s i d e s h i s teammates, wide receivers coach Micah Simon is Thorn- ton's primary recruiter. Thornton said he and Simon talk "a decent amount," and he remains interested in the Wolverines going into his junior season. "I like Coach Simon a lot," Thornton said. "He's a young coach, a cool coach. I was able to connect with him because he's so young. He feeds into the younger players, and I like that." Development will play a key role in his recruitment. Thornton wants to pick a school where, even if he doesn't see the field right away, he can trust that the work behind the scenes is preparing him for the spotlight. Team culture and his trust in the coaching staff are also important early factors in Thornton's decision-making process. Michigan already fits what he's looking for in a couple areas. "The coaches want to win, they want to be there, they want to give to the pro- gram and they just want to do every- thing they can to make Michigan how it was," Thornton said. "And I feel like, relationship-wise, it's getting there. I really haven't gotten too much of a re- lationship, but I feel like it's definitely good enough that it's almost checked off." Thornton plans on visiting Michigan in the fall but has not scheduled a date. The No. 11 receiver nationally, Thornton also plans on checking out Oregon, Ten- nessee and Auburn at some point. — Ethan McDowell Jackson Parker Sees Winning Tradition At Michigan U-M Checks Early Boxes For Top-100 WR Marshaun Thornton ❱ PREP PROFILES ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Garces Memorial Bakersfield, Calif. Class: 2028 Position: Safety Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 185 Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 103 overall, No. 12 safety, No. 6 in California ❱ Jackson Parker ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Mount Carmel Chicago Class: 2028 Position: Wide receiver Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 180 Rivals Industry Ranking: No. 187 overall, No. 28 wide receiver, No. 9 in Illinois ❱ Marshaun Thornton