The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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52 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2026 ❱ MICHIGAN RECRUITING ❱ 2027 MICHIGAN COMMITMENTS Name Rating* Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown / High School Jayce Brewer ★★★★ EDGE 6-5 240 Indianapolis / Franklin Central Quentin Burrell ★★★★ WR 6-2 205 Chicago / Mount Carmel Ifeanyi Emedobi ★★★★ EDGE 6-2 214 Fort Wayne, Ind. / Northrop Louis Esposito ★★★★ IOL 6-5 295 Saline, Mich. / Saline Frederrick Ford ★★★ LB 6-3 195 Greenwood, Miss. / Greenwood Lundon Hampton ★★★ ATH 6-2 203 Grand Rapids, Mich. / Kenowa Hills Christian Hanshaw ★★★ TE 6-4 220 American Fork, Utah / American Fork 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 Yuto Kawamura-Johnson ★★★ WR 5-11 185 Winter Garden, Fla. / West Orange 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. / The Lawrenceville (N.J.) School Lincoln Mageo ★★★★ IOL 6-3 285 Oceanside, Calif. / Oceanside Xavier Muhammad ★★★★ DL 6-3 265 Houston / Shadow Creek Tyson Robinson ★★★★ RB 5-9 195 Jackson, Miss. / Brandon Sidney Rouleau ★★★ IOL 6-5 240 Gatineau, Quebec / The Brook Hill School (Texas) Monsanna Torbert ★★★★ CB 5-10 173 Cincinnati / Princeton Brayden Watson ★★★ LB 6-2 215 Buford, Ga. / Buford Charles Woodson Jr. ★★★ S 5-11 170 Orlando, Fla. / Lake Nona ❱ 2028 MICHIGAN COMMITMENTS Ryan Jung ★★★ K 6-2 195 Milton, Ga. / Milton * Rivals player ratings as of Oct. 20 to talk things over with his family and compare U-M to other programs while judging where the Maize and Blue stand. "I came here for a reason," Hall said. Compared to his previous visits, Hall said the goals within Schembechler Hall remain the same: Everyone wants to win a national championship. Hall also ex- plained that the winning mentality Kyle Whittingham brought over from Utah is the most significant difference he heard about on the visit. Hall believes Michi- gan can get to that national stage again soon. "I was here three times my freshman year and just liked the culture and the fans and the camaraderie that they had. I just wanted to see what it looks like when you have a coach that has been successful at his previous school and brings it over to here," Hall said. He learned a lot during the extended weekend visit, and enjoyed Michigan's " beautiful" campus and seeing the team get back on track with its victory against Penn State. Hall also said that while he built a strong connection with Black this year, the two-day visit was his first chance to bond with many of the coaches on staff. He also said spent time with sev- eral current Wolverines players, and that due to consistent communication with them in recent months he feels he knows them "on a deeper level past football." "It's a good relationship that's been blossoming," Hall said. Michigan went all-out during this weekend visit, showing Hall everything the program has to offer on and off the field. Hall said he didn't expect to "get that type of love, that type of commu- nity-type feelings." "It was just everything you can think of put into two days," Hall said. From the beginning, Black told Hall that he operates a bit differently than most assistants — a fact that apparently caught the five-star target's attention. This visit gave Hall a chance to observe how Black coaches but also an opportu- nity to get to know Black as a person and a father after he spent time around the Michigan assistant's family. The Wolverines see the big-bodied lineman playing a variety of roles along their defensive front. Black specifically, casts Hall as a "matchup nightmare" and a "Swiss Army knife." "Whatever I can do and wherever I can be successful, that's where they're going to put me," Hall said. He said that Michigan's performance against Penn State also left a solid im- pression, and that he took particular note of the energy shift after halftime against the Nittany Lions. "I feel like the team, with the quarter- back switch, had a big energy boost. It just totally changed the team, and they just came out different," Hall said. "It looked like two separate teams in two separate halves." Hall confirmed that the Oct. 17-18 visit was his final to Ann Arbor before he announces his commitment in Janu- ary 2027. Tennessee, Notre Dame and Ohio State are the next few schools on his travel schedule, but during those visits and until his decision day Hall wants to stay in contact with the U-M staff and keep an eye on how this season unfolds for the Wolverines. LB SKYLAR ALSTON SETS COMMITMENT TIMELINE Michigan was not one of the first schools to offer coveted 2028 linebacker Skylar Alston, but, as he enters a critical stage of his decision-making process, few programs are recruiting him as hard as the Wolverines. The nation's No. 177 overall recruit and No. 14 linebacker in his class remains very interested in the program after visiting in September. Alston raved about his Sept. 19 trip to Ann Arbor for the UTEP game. Michi- gan made him and his family feel like priorities and strengthened his con- nection to the program. Now, Alston is hoping to stop by campus again before the year's end. "I'm trying to make it back to another visit," Alston said. "I definitely want to see it again because it was my first time. It exceeded my expectations like crazy." Alston's next series of FaceTime calls and a potential second game-day visit with the Wolverines will be critical. The Raleigh (N.C.) Cardinal Gibbons High standout plans on making his deci- sion after his junior season is complete, likely offering his pledge in December or January. "It gets stressful when it just carries on for so long. I know what I'm looking for," Alston said. "I've been recruited for a while. I started early, so that was defi- nitely a blessing." Auburn, Penn State, South Carolina and Michigan are just a few of the pro- grams pushing hard for Alston's com- mitment, and he recently listed Auburn