{"id":70017,"date":"2024-12-10T18:00:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T23:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=70017"},"modified":"2024-12-10T20:57:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T01:57:00","slug":"michigans-early-enrollee-roll-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/12\/10\/michigans-early-enrollee-roll-call\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan’s Early Enrollee Roll Call"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one would blame Michigan fans for continuing to bask in the glory of their season finale<\/a>. It gave credibility and hope to an otherwise frustrating season.<\/p>\n

In the same vein, no one would blame Michigan fans for tuning out until next fall. For finishing 7-5 instead of 6-6, the Wolverines are rewarded with a trip to the ReliaQuest Bowl (n\u00e9 the Outback Bowl) in Tampa. There, they’ll face an angry, 11th-ranked Alabama team fresh off a College Football Playoff snuff. A daunting “reward.”<\/p>\n

Both teams will have plenty of transfer portal and NFL Draft opt-outs that obscure any meaningful preview just yet. One of the more exciting components for the Wolverines will be getting the 2025 recruiting class on campus. They’ll have 15 early enrollees (of 23 total commits) joining the team for bowl practices. Which ones have the best chance to pop early? Let’s investigate.<\/p>\n

Michigan Wolverines 2025 Recruiting Class<\/h2>\n

New On Offense: Not Much, Just A Potentially Generational Quarterback<\/h3>\n

That would be number-one overall Bryce Underwood, whose harrowing commitment saga<\/a> ultimately broke for the hometown team. Underwood’s potential evokes comparisons to Cam Newton at Auburn or Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Though the Wolverines will look for a portal quarterback to challenge Underwood early on, he will still challenge for the job the instant he puts on pads. Barring injury, he looks like a Sunday player in just a few short years. If he starts generating buzz in bowl practices as a 17-year-old<\/em>,\u00a0 look out.<\/p>\n

Underwood’s supporting cast isn’t necessarily\u00a0as<\/em> exciting as the top-rated quarterback in the history of the program,’ but there are important and intriguing pieces. Five-star tackle Andrew Babalola was a huge recruiting win – a massive, athletic frame with plenty of potential to explore. Sherrone Moore and offensive line coach Grant Newsome will look to tap into it and protect Underwood’s blindside for the next few years. Joining him on the line are Zak Zinter-like guard Avery Gach and Michigan State legacy Kaden Strayhorn, a possible long-term center.<\/p>\n

Wide receiver Andrew Marsh<\/a> highlights the skill position players. Minus elite top-end speed and size, he should nonetheless be a reliable chain-mover at the next level. Fellow receiver signee Jamar Browder joins him on the outside. Michigan pried him away from NC State while looking for a tall, contested-catch specialist to complement Marsh.<\/p>\n

Last but not least are backfield signees Donovan Johnson and tight end\/fullback Eli Owens. Johnson’s had an uphill climb on IMG’s loaded depth chart, and his tremendous upside has been hampered by injuries. He’ll have time to marinate behind Jordan Marshall and Ben Hall. Owens has been vocal about following in Max Bredeson’s footsteps. At 6-2, 245 pounds, he’ll be a formidable blocker and a crucial component to keeping Underwood clean in the pocket.<\/p>\n

New On Defense: Big Bodies Up Front, Athletes In The Back<\/h3>\n

Defensive linemen Benny Patterson, Bobby Kanka, and Travis Moten arrive to take the torch from Michigan’s current gilded tackle duo. None of Michigan’s 2025 signees arrive with Kenneth Grant<\/a> or Mason Graham<\/a>‘s potential. Still, they all look like solid bets to outperform their recruiting rankings. Patterson is the highest-ranked of the three. The EDGE\/tackle prospect flipped from Cincinnati and should bulk up to be reminiscent of Kris Jenkins or Mo Hurst (minus Hurst’s lethal first step).<\/p>\n

Kanka and Moten are more developmental prospects from opposite ends of the recruiting timeline. Kanka is the class’s longest-tenured commit. Despite a modest ceiling, he should provide a sturdy floor at the defensive tackle while growing into a possible starter. Moten is a huge but under-scouted EDGE\/tackle who committed to the Wolverines on<\/em> Signing Day. He’s a wrestler with wild high school stats (95 tackles, 30 for loss, 19.5 sacks(!) as a senior) whose film is more thrilling<\/a> than your average 1387th-ranked high schooler.<\/p>\n

Behind them are a pair of linebackers with disparate rankings. Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng’s athleticism and pedigree make for an instant-impact player behind starters Ernest Hausmann<\/a> and Jaishawn Barham<\/a>. Alongside him is Chase Taylor out of Georgia, declared by program insiders as Michigan’s top target at the position. Despite middling rankings, the Wolverines view Taylor as a crucial piece to their long-term defensive stability.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the defense are highly ranked secondary prospects Shamari Earls and Jordan Young. Earls flipped from Georgia and has the size and athleticism to rotate in early behind Jyaire Hill<\/a>, Jo’Ziah Edmond<\/a>, and Zeke Berry<\/a>. Young was a Clemson commit who doesn’t have Earls’ size but looks otherwise like a plug-and-play replacement for decommit Ivan Taylor. Snatching a pair of high-profile athletes from down-south powers is a good look for defensive backs coach Lamar Morgan.<\/p>\n

Recruiting Class to Report Later This Month<\/h2>\n

Michigan will get four of its top five commits to campus this month. Going into next year, there are a few remaining pieces to stoke excitement. Chief among them is defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall, whose recruitment took a few wild swings before he finally resettled on Ann Arbor. His frame and film suggest a Chris Wormley comparison – a heavy, run-stuffing edge with the strength and athleticism to push the pocket. Opposite him on the line is lower-ranked Julius Holly, whose smaller frame suggests something closer to an outside linebacker somewhere between Jaylen Harrell and Josaiah Stewart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joining Earls and Young in the secondary are cornerback Jayden Sanders, safety Elijah Dotson, and nickel corner Kainoa Winston. All three rank inside the top-150, and all three could play early given the departures of Will Johnson and most of the safety room. Sanders and Dotson come in as longer, lankier prospects, whereas Winston’s stature is comparable to Mike Sainristil (no pressure).<\/p>\n

On offense, wide receiver Jacob Washington and running back Jasper Parker will both arrive from Archbishop Shaw High School in Louisiana. Washington’s technique is raw but he has the size, speed, and hands to become a key contributor. He just needs some time on campus and in the weight room. Parker isn’t necessarily elite in any one facet, but doesn’t need to be. He’s a jack of all trades in the backfield as a runner, receiver, and blocker with good vision, balance, and speed.<\/p>\n

One last little dagger – Michigan will also sign quarterback Chase Herbstreit, son of former Ohio State quarterback and longtime analyst Kirk Herbstreit. Welcome to the team up north, young man.<\/p>\n

\"Michigan's
Photo courtesy: Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No one would blame Michigan fans for continuing to bask in the glory of their season finale. It gave credibility and hope to an otherwise frustrating season. In the same vein, no one would blame Michigan fans for tuning out until next fall. For finishing 7-5 instead of 6-6, the Wolverines are rewarded with a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5249,"featured_media":70031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,10906,7316],"tags":[10011,34349,279,34512,9742,3011],"class_list":["post-70017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-bigten","category-cfb","category-recruiting","tag-bryce-underwood","tag-lamar-morgan","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-nathaniel-marshall","tag-reliaquest-bowl","tag-sherrone-moore"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70017"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70037,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70017\/revisions\/70037"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}