Matt Ludwig, Wolverine

 

Billings (MT) West TE

Billings (MT) West tight end Matt Ludwig committed to Michigan on Tuesday. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, and lots of others.

Ludwig is listed at 6'4" and anywhere from 230-240 pounds. As a junior in 2024, he caught 53 passes for 822 yards and 4 touchdowns. He also ran for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns as a short yardage wildcat QB.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #11 TE, #297 overall
On3: 4-star, 92 grade, #5 TE, #92 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #10 TE
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #12 TE, #237 overall

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan has been recruiting Ludwig for a long time, offering him back in April of 2024. Coming out of the state of Montana, there's not a ton of recruiting attention. The state has about 1.2 million people, approximately twice the size of . . . the City of Detroit. Ludwig made a couple unofficial visits to Ann Arbor, and tight ends coach Steve Casula has been working hard on him. He lined up official visits to Tennessee, Georgia, and Texas Tech, but ultimately, he picked the Wolverines before taking those officials. He's slated to be in Ann Arbor for an official on the weekend of June 20th.

Ludwig is a good all-around athlete, and in addition to playing tight end, he plays wildcat quarterback, punts, and does track (100 meters) and field (discus, shotput). The coaching staff uses him in a variety of ways, whether he's lined up in the backfield, attached to the formation, or split out wide. He does a good job of locating the ball and making adjustments; he can high-point the ball, make some one-handed catches, and even make some nifty moves in the open field when he has the ball in his hands. He runs behind his pads and can gain extra yardage after contact.

Ludwig does have some explosive capabilities, but he doesn't consistently sink his hips to change direction; in some cases, his routes look a little bit clunky as he doesn't always keep his feet under his frame. His route running also lacks crispness and refinement. When opening up his film, I expected him to get a little more separation against the competition in Billings, MT, but that wasn't the case. He tends to get his best separation when he's able to lower his shoulder and be a bowling ball knocking a pin out of the way.

Overall, I think Ludwig is an NFL-level prospect who has a lot of things to work on over the next few years. Being talented in multiple areas is a blessing and a curse: it's a blessing because there are a lot of tools there, but it's a curse because none of those tools is very refined. When Ludwig gets to college and isn't also punting and playing QB and playing defense and throwing disc and throwing shot and running sprints, he's going to get better at playing tight end. He reminds me a little bit of what A.J. Barner turned out to be in 2023, a solid, reliable performer who became a 4th round draft pick.

The depth chart by class when Ludwig arrives would look something like this, albeit probably with some movement somewhere:

• Marlin Klein (RS Sr.)
• Zack Marshall (RS Jr.)
• Deakon Tonielli (RS Jr.)
• Hogan Hansen (Jr.)
• Brady Prieskorn (RS So.)
• Eli Owens (So.)
• Matt Ludwig (Fr.)

Michigan now has six commitments in the 2026 class, where Ludwig joins QB Brady Smigiel, WR Jaylen Pile, and OL Bear McWhorter on the offensive side. Michigan has not had a product from Big Sky Country since the 1950s, when both Edward Hickey and Laurence Leclaire played in the backfield for the Wolverines after coming out of Anaconda, Montana.

TTB Rating: 84