Wolverine TV: Breaking down five key Michigan recruits we saw on the road
The Wolverine’s EJ Holland breaks down five key Michigan recruits he saw on the road over the weekend, including Top 100 2026 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive back Zech Fort.
Watch the full video above.
Fort Recruitment
Michigan extended an offer to Fort in May of 2023. Fort rewarded the Wolverines by making three unofficial visits last year, including for the game against Ohio State in November.
Fort has not been back this year due in large part to the defensive staff change. However, new Michigan secondary coach LaMar Morgan got in contact with Fort this summer and re-offered him. Now, Fort is looking to make a return visit this fall.
Here is what Holland had to say about Fort.
“Fort is a fun player on the back end,” Holland said. “He plays safety for IMG but is the perfect fit at nickel for Michigan. He reminds me a lot of 2025 commit Kainoa Winston. Fort is on the shorter side, but he’s physical and flies all over the field. He made a couple of big plays, including an interception, against Bergen Catholic on Thursday night before leaving the game due to injury. He’s already visited Michigan three times and is looking to get back for a game at some point this fall. New Michigan secondary coach LaMar Morgan recently got in contact with him, so we’ll see how that relationship building goes.”
Along with Michigan, Fort holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M, USC and others.
Alabama currently has the lead on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with a 21.7 percent chance of landing him. Michigan is in second place with a 19.0 percent chance of landing him.
At 5-foot-10, 190 pounds, Fort is ranked as the No. 8 safety and No. 92 overall prospect in the country, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He is also ranked as the No. 15 overall recruit in the state of of Florida for next cycle.
Fort is originally from California but has family in the Detroit-metro.
Michigan currently has two commits in its 2026 recruiting class in Top 100 Cocoa (Fla.) High quarterback Brady Hart and On300 Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin defensive back Brody Jennings.
Michigan has 17 commits in its 2025 recruiting class — Top 100 Katy (Texas) Jordan wide receiver Andrew Marsh, Top 100 Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh tight end Andrew Olesh, Top 100 Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange safety Ivan Taylor, Top 100 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga defensive back Kainoa Winston, Top 100 Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick defensive lineman Nate Marshall, On300 Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot quarterback Carter Smith, On300 Alpharetta (Ga.) High EDGE Julius Holly, On300 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy running back Donovan Johnson, On300 Kilgore (Texas) High cornerback Jayden Sanders, four-star New Orleans (La.) Archbishop Shaw wide receiver Jacob Washington, four-star Palatine (Ill.) High EDGE Jaylen Williams, four-star Birmingham (Mich.) Groves offensive lineman Avery Gach, four-star Howell (Mich.) High defensive lineman Bobby Kanka, three-star New Orleans (La.) Archbishop Shaw running back Jasper Parker, three-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive lineman Kaden Strayhorn, three-star Stockbridge (Ga.) High linebacker Chase Taylor and three-star Alcoa (Tenn.) High tight end Eli Owens.
