Wolverine TV: Game clips of On300 Michigan EDGE commit Jaylen Williams

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland was on the road last week and saw On300 Palatine (Ill.) High EDGE and Michigan commit Jaylen Williams in game action.

Watch full clips in the video at the end of this story.

Williams Recruitment

Williams notched an offer from Michigan last spring and made multiple unofficial visits soon after, including for the game against Ohio State.

Michigan was considered the leader for Williams for the majority of the cycle. However, the Wolverines were hindered by offseason staff changes — former defensive line coach Mike Elston bolted for the NFL, while his replacement, Greg Scruggs, was dismissed from the program.

New Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito had Michigan right back in the picture going into Williams’ official visit this summer and sealed the deal during his time in Ann Arbor.

Here is what Holland had to say about Williams.

“Jaylen’s recruitment was fun,” Holland said. “I had my prediction in since November. Jaylen has always wanted to go to Michigan. I will tell you that he was very close to committing to Michigan in January. But then you had all the staff movement. Jim Harbaugh took Mike Elston with him to the NFL. Greg Scruggs was his replacement, and Michigan parted ways with him after that whole situation. Lou Esposito had to play from behind, but he’s done a fantastic job of building a relationship with Williams. He locked in the official visit with him and was able to get him to commit before leaving Ann Arbor.”

At 6-foot-5, 255 pounds, Williams is ranked as the No. 23 defensive lineman and No. 253 overall prospect nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He is also ranked as the No. 7 overall recruit in the state of Illinois this cycle.

Michigan has 16 commits in its 2025 recruiting class — 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, 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.

The class entered the day ranked No. 14 nationally and No. 4 in the Big Ten, per the On3 Industry national team recruiting rankings. The Wolverines currently sit behind Ohio State, USC and Oregon.