The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 49 ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING No. 34 at TE) who will serve a two-year mission after graduating. Henshaw is essentially a 2029 recruit, so the Wol- verines are looking to bring in some more immediate help at the position. Jackson Doman, a former four-star BYU signee in the 2025 class, is serving his mission right now and reopened his recruitment over the summer. Michigan and Utah are the main schools in the mix. Doman (ranked 877 overall nation- ally, No. 48 at TE) can't visit programs right now, but his parents are planning a trip up to Ann Arbor later this fall. Doman isn't technically a class of 2027 recruit, but he could help bolster that room next year. OFFENSIVE LINE Jakari Lipsey, Louis Esposito, Lincoln Mageo and Sidney Rouleau make up assistant Jim Harding's first offensive line class at Michigan. Lipsey is ranked No. 97 overall nationally at No. 8 at his position, and Esposito (No. 517 over- all nationally, No. 41 at OL) and Mageo (No. 438 overall nationally, No. 32 at OL) are both blue-chip recruits as well. All four were priority targets for Hard- ing with impressive offer lists. Once Mageo committed in July, it looked like the class was complete. Michigan was scheduled to host Fresno State commit Moa Brown on Oct. 17 for the Penn State game, per Rivals' Greg Biggins. Brown (No. 1,209 overall nationally, No. 111 at OL) is a 6-foot-7 tackle who is also con- sidering USC and Utah. We'll see if the Wolverines push for a flip. DEFENSIVE LINE Similar to wide receiver recruiting, Michigan landed a Plan-A prospect early in the cycle — Xavier Muham- mad (No. 106 overall nationally, No. 9 at DL) — that allowed the Wolverines to be a bit selective in their pursuit of a second defensive tackle. While there's not much new to report, Michigan is continuing to evaluate a group of senior risers without any concrete flip targets so far. EDGE RUSHER Michigan secured commitments from three four-star edge rushers: Recarder Kitchen (No. 156 overall nationally, No. 18 at edge), Jayce Brewer (No. 378 overall nationally, No. 37 at edge) and Ifeanyi Emedobi (No. 248 overall nationally, No. 25 at edge). That trio remains su- per solid with the Wolverines, and they might add an elite prospect to fill out the class. Top 100 '28 edge Major Stokes is considering a reclassification to the 2027 cycle and would sign with a pro- gram in December to enroll in January if he chooses that path. Stokes' mother posted on Instagram that he postponed that decision after initially planning to make the final call before his Oct. 14 senior night. Stokes is the No. 47 over- all recruit and No. 10 edge in the 2028 class, and Michigan is still considered the team to beat for him. LINEBACKER Michigan surged past various SEC contenders to land four-star linebacker Frederrick Ford (No. 211 overall nation- ally, No. 18 at LB) less than a month after extending an offer. Brayden Watson (No. 608 overall nationally, No. 46 at LB) committed after Alex Whittingham pri- oritized him for months. The Wolver- ines want to land one more linebacker to fill out the class. Penn State commit Blake Betton (No. 587 overall nationally, No. 40 at LB) and Vanderbilt pledge Ethan Hauser (No. 712 overall nationally, No. 64 at LB) are the main flip targets to know right now. Senior risers could enter the mix later in the cycle. Betton committed to the Nittany Lions in the spring. He was extremely close to the Iowa State staff that left for Happy Valley, and those connections helped Penn State surge past Michigan and others. The Wolverines are not giv- ing up on Betton and will continue pur- suing the four-star linebacker per Rivals — though he is not publicly wavering in his commitment. M i c h i ga n l e d H a u se r 's re c r u i t - ment for months before a late surge by Vanderbilt. He's very close friends with Watson, his teammate at Buford (Ga.) High. The Wolverines remain incredibly high on his skill set, watched him play during U-M's off week and will recruit him until he signs in December. SAFETY Tavares Harrington (No. 144 over- all nationally, No. 9 at S) and Charles Woodson Jr. (No. 840 overall nation- ally. No. 94 at S) both committed before official visit season but, after Maxwell Miles and Darrell Mattison decommit- ted early in the cycle, Michigan still needs to find one more safety for the 2027 class. Safeties coach Tyler Stockton has already reached out to quite a few prospects committed elsewhere, and now the Wolverines need to get them on campus. Kentucky pledge Tristin Hughes was scheduled to visit Oct. 17 for the Penn State game, though the No. 297 recruit in the country (No. 25 at S) canceled a previous trip to Louisville. Michigan led his recruitment briefly in the spring. Colorado commitment Gabe Jen- kins (No. 391 overall nationally, No. 38 at S) is another longtime target who pledged to the Buffaloes before his Vic- tors Weekend trip to Ann Arbor. He has never been to campus but has a great connection to Stockton. Jenkins has not shared much recently about his recruit- ment. UCLA commit Myles Baker (No. 287 overall nationally, No. 25 at S) and Maryland pledge Kenaz Sullivan (No. 327 overall nationally, No. 18 at S) re- cently popped up on the recruiting board. Stockton reaches out to Baker on a fairly consistent basis, but it sounds like there haven't been any discussions about a visit yet. Baker grew up a huge Michigan fan and Michigan is trying to get Sullivan on campus at some point this fall. CORNERBACK Monsanna Torbert (No. 102 overall nationally, No. 15 at CB), Blake Jenkins (No. 267 overall nationally, No. 32 at CB) and Darius Johnson (No. 303 overall nationally, No. 37 at CB) form an im- pressive trio of blue-chip commitments for cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford. Michigan will still pursue five-star South Carolina commit Joshua Dobson until signing day. The Wolverines fin- ished second to the Gamecocks for the nation's No. 13 overall recruit (No. 3 at CB) and remain in contact with the Cor- nelius (N.C.) Hough High star. There is not much buzz around a flip here and likely won't be unless there's a coaching change at South Carolina. ❑