Recruiting Roundup: Michigan well-positioned for two five-stars following visits

The Michigan Wolverines are rolling in the 2024 recruiting cycle, securing the commitments of highly-touted Ohio recruits Jordan Marshall and Ben Roebuck in short order earlier this week.

With the recruiting season just underway, there are several other elite prospects Michigan’s chances of landing are increasing by the day. Here’s a look at three of them.

Revamped recruiting approach helps Michigan’s chances with five-star QB

At the end of Matt Weiss’ watch, quarterback recruiting was dead in the water. Michigan failed to land a blue-chip quarterback recruit in the 2023 class and was a non-factor in the recruitment of 2025’s best quarterback and local phenom, five-star Bryce Underwood.

Fast forward to today, and Michigan is on the cusp of putting the abysmal 2023 quarterback recruiting results well behind it. What changed?

In an illuminating interview with The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb, Underwoods’ father laid out just how stark the transformation of Michigan’s quarterback recruiting was after Kirk Campbell took over.

Several points stand out. The first is Underwood was treated to a much more hands-on experience during his most recent visit to Ann Arbor. On past visits, he only made conversation with strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert. However, on his most recent visit, Herb actually got a chance to assist him with a lingering issue. And more importantly, Mr. Underwood extolled the improvement he has seen in J.J. McCarthy since Campbell took over.

“We’ve been down there like three or four times, and just watching the difference in how J.J. is moving, the chances that he’s taking, how he’s stepping into the pocket, his footwork, all the physical attributes (are better),” Mr. Underwood said. “You can see that he’s getting some type of different work and some different guidance. Kirk Campbell is doing a good job with that. And like I said, (Bryce) being able to sit with Kirk Campbell in a quarterback meeting and just talk and be himself, that (experience) was a game changer.”

It appears Campbell’s engaging approach to recruiting puts Michigan well within the range of landing any quarterback they want moving forward.

2024’s #2 edge rusher left impressed after recent visit

Michigan has been highly successful with churning out NFL-caliber edge rushers year after year, and America’s second-best edge in the 2024 class, five-star Dylan Stewart, may just be the next installation in that illustrious cadre.

The top-10 overall recruit praised Michigan’s defensive line schema in a recent interview with On3’s EJ Holland:

“What stood out to me was they told me I could play as a freshman. They can use my versatility really well. I like the way they use the edges. They do what they are supposed to do with a versatile EDGE,” Stewart said.

He certainly fits the mold of what Michigan has come to expect from its edge rushers. When asked where the Wolverines rank, Stewart admitted they are “high” on the list.

“I like the way they would use me, I like the coaches, I like the opportunities, their education is great. When you’re done there, you can have a great job and make a lot of money. It’s perfect,” Stewart said.

Let’s hope that sense of perfection can keep this ascendant 2024 class growing with the addition of one of the nation’s most coveted recruits.

Michigan legacy OL wowed by visit

The 15th-best offensive tackle in the 2024 class, four-star Blake Frazier, had a whale of a time in Ann Arbor last weekend. Michigan has been atop Frazier’s list for some time, but the most recent visit showcased the bonds he will forge as a Michigan Wolverine.

Discussing his weekend visit with TMI’s Brice Marich, he highlighted coaching and the conversations he had with fellow recruits.

“When you get there, (you want to see) how am I going to be treated, coached and how am I going to be considered as a family member, player and how is that going to look? I was able to see that from coach Moore and not only coach Moore, but coach Harbaugh and everyone involved on the staff was a really big thing for me that I had a lot of fun with.”

Frazier visited with five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis, four-star tight end Brady Preiskorn, four-star offensive lineman commit Luke Hamilton, and new commits Jordan Marshall and Ben Roebuck. One can see the early signs of outstanding team chemistry forming between these highly-coveted Michigan targets.

“You don’t have those kind of experiences often where you automatically click with a group of people. Being able to have a fluent conversation with them without necessarily bragging or talking about yourself, but instead getting to hear what the other person is saying. It was more so getting to not only relate to them, but have an actual conversation with them was a really big thing for me and I think the whole staff included.”

Wolverines fans have to like Michigan’s odds with all these outstanding players. Michigan already gained commitments from three of the visitors mentioned, and if the Crystal Ball predictions are any indication, we should expect Frazier to be one of the next men up.