Wolverine TV: Breaking down new Michigan WR commit Jaylen Pile

Michigan landed a commitment from three-star 2026 Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal wide receiver Jaylen Pile on Thursday afternoon.

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland shares his thoughts on Pile in the video at the end of this story.

Pile Recruitment

Michigan extended an offer to Pile back in February and immediately caught his attention.

Pile visited Michigan in the spring, returned for another visit in the summer and was back on campus this fall for the game against Texas. His most recent trip played a big role in Pile committing to the Wolverines as he and his entire family got an extended look at Michigan as a program and institution.

Pile felt at home at U-M and sided with the Wolverines a little more than a month later. He picked Michigan over offers from Auburn, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Wisconsin and others.

Here is what Holland had to say about Pile.

“Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy built a really strong relationship with Pile and his family,” Holland said. “Pile’s wide receivers coach and trainer, Margin Hooks, actually played in the NFL with Bellamy, so that helped as well. In Pile, Michigan is getting a typical Michigan receiver. Pile is a high level route runner who consistently gets open. He’s also a natural pass catcher, and he likes to block. You have to be a willing run blocker to play at Michigan, and Pile definitely does that. The biggest question mark with Pile is his speed, but it does appear that he plays faster on the field than his track times.”

Pile is the son of former NFL defensive back Willie Pile, who was a seventh round selection coming out of Virginia Tech. Willie spent time with both the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys.

At 6-foot, 178 pounds, Jaylen ranked as the No. 83 wide receiver and No. 482 overall prospect in the country, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He is also ranked as the No. 64 overall recruit in the state of Texas for next cycle.

Michigan now has three verbal commits in its 2026 recruiting class — Pile, Top 100 Cocoa (Fla.) High quarterback Brady Hart and On300 Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin cornerback Brody Jennings.

Michigan has the No. 12 ranked 2026 recruiting class nationally, per the On3 Industry team recruiting rankings. Michigan is currently ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten behind Oregon, Penn State and USC.