Recruiting Roundup: Michigan impresses five-star LB on first visit

After a long streak of big visit weekends, the Michigan football staff finally took it easier now that spring practice is over. They still had a few important recruits up on campus, however, and will surely host more in the coming months.

Five-star LB enjoys first time at Michigan

One of 2025’s best linebackers visited Ann Arbor for the first time last week in Bonita (CA) five-star Noah Mikhail. He spoke with The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich to give his thoughts on his first impression of Michigan ($).

“The visit was great,” Mikhail said. “The highlight was sitting down with coach (Jim) Harbaugh, coach (Jesse) Minter and coach (Chris) Partridge and staff and getting to know them more.”

The time with the coaches really stood out to Mikhail, who spoke more on what their message was to him.

“I spent the most time with coach Partridge and coach Minter,” explained Mikhail. “They really tried to get to know me more and talked a lot about the great education at Michigan and how they develop the player as a whole.”

Moving forward, Mikhail said he would “love to get back there for a game.” He holds a national offer list that includes Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC and others.

Michigan impresses three-star DL on first visit to campus

Over the weekend, Michigan hosted 2024 Hempfield (PA) three-star defensive lineman Deyvid Palepale on campus for the first time. TMI’s Marich shared some information he learned from the visit that was all extremely positive ($).

Marich described Palepale and his mom as “over the moon” following the visit. In fact, Michigan is in a great spot to get one of his five official visits whenever he decides to take them.

With the Wolverines on the outside looking in for five-star Justin Scott and missing three-star Jayden Jackson’s top list, they need more targets at the nose tackle spot.

Auburn, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pitt, South Carolina, Tennessee, USC, Washington, Wisconsin and others have all also offered Palepale. Penn State is the lone school with a “warm” designation on his 247Sports profile, so the Nittany Lions could be the biggest competition.

DL target being recruited as a dual-sport athlete

Less than two weeks ago, 2024 Joliet Catholic Academy three-star defensive lineman Dillan Johnson visited Michigan to check out the football program. He came back this past weekend, but this time as a wrestling recruit.

Johnson is a three-time Illinois state champion as a heavyweight and boasts a 104-0 record on the mats. He has yet to receive an offer but at 6-foot-2, 287 pounds and with his wrestling background, he would be a great candidate to expand the nose tackle board.

Following that visit back at the end of March, Johnson told TMI’s Marich this ($):

“It went well,” Johnson said. “I got to meet some of the coaches and we got to talk about the defensive scheme. I got to see their facilities and the practice. Michigan is a great place.”

Some schools that have offered Johnson for football so far include Cal, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri, Northwestern, Washington State and Wisconsin. The Badgers have the lone Crystal Ball prediction.