Recruiting Roundup: Some five-stars made it to the BBQ at the Big House, but one major one didn’t

The Michigan Wolverines may have lost out on top cornerback target Aaron Scott over the weekend, but they did host a plethora of other highly touted prospects at the BBQ at the Big House, including a pair of five-stars who weren’t guaranteed to make it.

Subtractions from BBQ visitor list, but some five-stars made it in

Last Friday, I put out the — at the time — tentative visitor list for the BBQ. As explained in that story, these lists are always subject to change, as some players may cancel last minute or may make it in last minute.

There’s a bit of both good news and bad news with this. Let’s start with the good news: 2025 five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood made it in on Sunday after visiting LSU on Friday and Saturday, and 2025 five-star offensive lineman David Sanders also visited on Sunday after being at Georgia and Alabama the previous two days. The No. 1 and No. 3 overall prospects in the class on 247Sports’ composite, respectively, were both “maybes” heading into the weekend to make it, but it’s absolutely huge they both made it.

Having Underwood visit is obviously a big deal, but Sanders took his first ever visit to Ann Arbor, which makes his arguably even more important. It seems likely he will end up in the south to play college football, but Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines aren’t going to go down quietly. Sanders is also high school teammates with Jadyn Davis and Channing Goodwin, so you can assume they will be recruiting him a bit as well.

Here’s the bad news — 2025 four-star quarterback Akili Smith Jr. did not make it in as originally expected, according to On3’s Zach Libby ($). The Oregon legacy prospect took a trip to Eugene and then committed on Monday.

And even worse news: 2025 five-star safety DJ Pickett did not make it in, opting to spend the entire weekend at Miami. The top-ranked safety in his class did, however, visit Michigan last month, so it’s not like the Wolverines are completely out of it. Miami is likely Michigan’s biggest competition in this recruitment as of now, but Michigan is still expected to get him back on campus in the near future, and very likely for a game this fall.

In-state OL recaps BBQ visit

One of the top players in the state of Michigan in the 2025 class is four-star offensive lineman Avery Gach. Hailing from Birmingham, Gach has been among Sherrone Moore’s top overall targets in this cycle.

247Sports’ Allen Trieu ($) caught up with Gach after his visit to get his reaction.

“I spent time with everyone at U-M actually,” he said. “I got a one-on-one with coach Harbaugh and my family, coach Herb in the weight room both days, and a lot of time with coach Moore on the field and his G.A. Nick Rossiello.”

In addition to his trip to Ann Arbor, Gach also swung through East Lansing to visit Michigan State for its summer recruiting event. He is still lining up visits for the fall, but he told Trieu he wants to get to “U-M, Ohio State, MSU, Penn State, Wisconsin, USC and Georgia.”

Gach is in no hurry to make a decision, as he admitted he wants to take official visits next summer and then make a commitment. As long as the Wolverines continue to recruit him, they’ll be in it until the very end.

At 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Gach ranks as the No. 13 offensive tackle, No. 2 player in the state of Michigan and No. 135 overall prospect in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Visitors react to meeting the Michigan GOAT

It’s not every day you get to meet someone worth posting about on Twitter (X? Should we call it X or Twitter? Please let us know in the comments!)

However, when you’re a recruit visiting the University of Michigan, you never know who you’re going to meet. Over the weekend, it just so happened to be one of the greatest college football players of all time — Charles Woodson.

Below are some photos from social media from the recruits who spent some time with him.