Michigan lands first 2024 in-state commitment in On300 DB Jacob Oden

Just 24 hours after the completion of National Signing Day for the 2023 cycle, Michigan made significant strides with recruiting in-state in 2024.

The No. 5 overall rising junior in the state of Michigan, per the On3 Consensus, in Harper Woods High On300 defensive back Jacob Oden dropped his verbal commitment Thursday and joined the Wolverines.

Oden, a legacy of the university, is the first addition to the class who hails from Michigan and sixth total pledge for the reigning Big Ten Champions.

“Michigan is a great school and a great program,” Oden told The Wolverine. “They’ve done everything right with me. Just a great coaching staff and all of that. It’s cool with them for me. They kept doing their thing this (past) year. They have the attitude to win a national championship.”

Oden made his decision less than two months after releasing a list of five narrowed favorites at the Supermax 100 Midwest Invitational inside Ford Field, two days following Christmas Day. Michigan, along with Michigan State, Tennessee, Iowa, and Penn State were in the running for the versatile secondary talent.

Colorado would enter the mix in January, which pivoted Oden to adding one more school to the top list. However, Oden made two returns to Ann Arbor in a week’s span last month as well, further cementing the momentum that Michigan enjoyed back in the fall with the 6-foot-1, 187-pounder taking in two game day experiences at The Big House.

Oden was on the top of the cornerback board for Michigan in 2024 next to Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville Top 100 Bryce West.

One of the two January visits for Oden and his loved ones occurred on January 14th as the family was also with the West family exclusively. The delegation was on campus with co-defensive coordinator and area recruiter Steve Clinkscale for the entirety of the visit.

“I’m 100 percent comfortable (with Clinkscale),” said Oden’s father, Rod. “I want someone who’s going to develop Jacob as a student and an athlete. I want someone who’s going to be a surrogate parent, who can redirect and discipline, if need be, with me not being there presently. So I’m very comfortable with Coach Clink filling those voids and coaching Jacob.”

The second trip was the day after the Battle Miami 7v7 Tournament in which Oden competed in the national showcase with Detroit-based SoundMind SoundBody. When Oden made his top list public, the original idea was to be committed once official visits in the late-spring were concluded. But the back-to-back January appearances made it clear that Michigan was home.

Up next for Oden will be recruiting other in-state targets and his friend in West, whose Ohio roots have brought closer him to Clinkscale, who was born and raised in Youngstown. Oden and West have discussed the possibility of them teaming up in college so it’ll be a matter of the latter picking Michigan over Ohio State and others.

“It was great getting back there (last month) and I had a great time,” Oden said. “Bryce is my guy. We were just chilling, hanging out, and having a blast up there. It was great to see how they do their thing, looking at different schemes, and how I’d fit in.”

Oden is also ranked as the No. 173 overall prospect in the country and No. 14 safety nationally, according to the On3 Consensus.

Rounding out the six-man class are consensus four-star defensive lineman Ted Hammond, On300 tight end Hogan Hansen, On300 interior offensive lineman Luke Hamilton, On300 linebacker Mason Curtis, and three-star defensive lineman Manuel Beigel.

Oden has an On3 NIL Valuation of $16.3K with 6,500 combined followers across Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.