Wolverine TV: Can Michigan land five-star OL Andrew Babalola?
The Wolverine’s EJ Holland discussed several Michigan recruiting topics on the Wednesday edition of The Wolverine Live show, including the latest on five-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola.
Watch the full video above.
Bablola Recruitment
Michigan extended an offer to Babalola last fall and has made him a top priority along the offensive line this cycle.
Babalola visited Michigan in the spring and returned to Ann Arbor for his official visit last month. Both head coach Sherrone Moore and new offensive line coach Grant Newsome have built strong relationships with the Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest product.
Stanford currently has the lead for Bablola on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with a 90.3 percent chance of landing him. However, Michigan has continued to make a strong push.
Here is what Holland had to say about his recruitment.
“I think Michigan is closing the gap,” Holland said. “They are all in on Babalola. They are in contact on a daily basis. They are making him feel like a priority. They are doing everything they can to pitch the football aspect. Obviously, Stanford has great academics. But Michigan is far superior when it comes to the football program and the development, specifically offensive line development. The education at Stanford is tremendous, but Michigan is the No. 1 public school in the country.”
At 6-foot-5, 295 pounds, Babalola is ranked as the No. 4 offensive tackle and No. 15 overall recruit nationally, per the On3 Industry Rankings.
Michigan has 15 commits in its 2025 recruiting class — 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, 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.
The class is ranked No. 11 nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten, per the On3 Industry national team recruiting rankings. The Wolverines currently sit behind Ohio State and Oregon.
