Why Michigan football is 'heating up' on the recruiting trail

Michigan Wolverines football is amidst a hot streak with its recruiting efforts. Not only did the Maize and Blue land an elite 2026 quarterback in top-100 recruit Brady Hart, but they’ve also scored commitments from top targets in 2025 during a big month of official visitors.

This month, in addition to Hart, Michigan has landed commitments from Washington (D.C) Gonzaga top-100 defensive back Kainoa Winston, Palatine (Ill.) High four-star defensive lineman Jaylen Williams, Marrero (La.) Archbishop Shaw four-star wide receiver Jacob Washington, Marrero (La.) Archbishop Shaw three-star running back Jasper Parker and Stockbridge (Ga.) High three-star linebacker Chase Taylor.

Per expert predictions, the Maize and Blue are also trending for West Roxbury (Mass.) Dexter School four-star offensive lineman Hardy Watts, Dejstrehan (La.) High three-star wide receiver Phillip Wright III, Fulshear (Texas) Katy Jordan four-star wide receiver Andrew Marsh and Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh four-star tight end Andrew Olesh — all of whom were recently on campus for official visits.

The Wolverines had only seven pledges before the month of June but now have the No. 14 in the On3 Industry national recruiting rankings for 2025.

On3 national recruiting insider Steve Wiltfong appeared on ‘Andy Staples On3’ and explained just how the Wolverines have picked up so much momentum on the trail.

“I think anyone that gets caught up in, is Michigan doing a good job recruiting or not hasn’t been paying attention the last couple of years, where they are truly one of the few schools where it is irrelevant, with the way that they’ve developed their players,” Wiltfong began. “I wouldn’t get caught up on star rankings with Michigan. But with that being said, they’re now pushing for a top-10 recruiting class, and I think it was just a matter of the timeline of the guys they were recruiting, when they were ready to commit.

“For some schools, some of their top targets they were able to get in the boat early. Maybe they were squeezed to get in the boat early, or maybe their timeline was just, ‘Hey, I fell in love with this school and I’m ready to commit.’ But for Michigan, their top targets, the guys that they wanted to commit, the guys that they wanted to say yes and they were going to say yes to, their time was this summer.

“And so guys have taken their official visits to campus, and they’re heating up. They’re heating up, and they’re trending for several more. This has got a good chance to be a top-10 class on the heels of a national championship.”

Michigan has a new head man in Sherrone Moore, who was tasked with replacing seven assistant coaches from last year’s staff under Jim Harbaugh (including himself). Moore has re-tooled the recruiting staff, as well, measuring twice and cutting once when it comes to making additions, so it’s taken some time to get all the pieces in order. However, Wiltfong stated, the long-term outlook is bright, and similar to what it was under Harbaugh.

“You got a new head coach, you got a new offensive coordinator, you got a new defensive coordinator, you got a new strength coach — but a lot of those guys have previous ties to the program in some shape or form,” Wiltfong explained. “So I think that the recipe is still there. I’m still super high on Michigan and the trajectory of this new coaching staff.”

On3 host and columnist Andy Staples said with Moore at the helm and familiar faces around him, Michigan has a “cheat sheet” of sorts with how to run its operation — unlike the situation many first-year or first-time head coaches step into.

Wiltfong noted that new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale was one of the “bosses” of the scheme that the Wolverines have run over the last three seasons, and that the Wolverines have made other internal hires, both of which have provided continuity.

“They promoted from within on the strength staff after losing maybe the best strength and conditioning coach in college football,” Wiltfong said. “And look, Jim Harbaugh was a leader of men, he was a great coach, took the 49ers to the Super Bowl, a couple NFC title games, took Stanford from one win to a major double-digit winning contender. He was a hell of a coach, but I like Michigan promoting from within. These guys know the culture, they know the scheme, they know what it’s about.”

The recruits Michigan has brought in are similar to what Harbaugh looked for, too.

“If you look at this recruiting class that they have in the fold, there are a lot of tough, hard-nosed, physical football players,” Wiltfong said. “If you look at the skill positions, there are guys with high upside athletically. I just think they’re all tough, and that’s kind of Michigan’s MO — hard-nosed, lunch pail, all the clichés. But that’s how they won, man, and then they out-schemed you.”