Kalamazoo (MI) Loy Norrix offensive tackle Jakari Lipsey committed to Michigan on. Lipsey picked the Wolverines over offers from LSU, Tennessee, UCLA, Wisconsin, and others.
Lipsey stands 6'5", 290 lbs.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #28 OT, #265 overall
Rivals: 4-star, 91 grade, #11 OT, #129 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 93 grade, #9 OT, #66 overall
Hit the jump for more.
Riverside (CA) Notre Dame four-star cornerback Darius Johnson committed to Michigan on Monday. He picked the Wolverines over Oklahoma, Oregon, USC, and others.
The 6'1", 170 lb. recorded 29 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 10 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries as a junior in 2025.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #30 CB
Rivals: 4-star, 90 grade, #25 CB, #303 overall
247Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #55 CB
Hit the jump for more.
#116. Brady Smigiel - QB - Thousand Oaks (CA) Newbury Park: The 6'5", 215 lb. freshman quarterback injured his knee during his senior season of high school and is very likely to redshirt during his first year on campus. Ranked as a 4-star, the #26 quarterback, and #406 overall in the 247 Composite, he completed 64.4% of his passes as a senior for 1,634 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions in six games before getting hurt. I think Smigiel is a fine athlete with a solid arm, but I am concerned about how slow his footwork can be when getting into position to throw, and the ball gets to his receivers too late. Regardless of how developed he is overall, he's unlikely to play in
#117. Micah Ka'apana - RB - Las Vegas (NV) Bishop Gorman: Ka'apana had been heading into the 2026 season with the possibility of being the #3 or #4 back, but a spring leg injury ended his season before it began. Head coach Kyle Whittingham announced during spring ball that Ka'apana had suffered an injury and would miss the entire year. Totaling 10 carries for 38 yards and 1 catch for 8 yards in 2025, Ka'apana would have been battling freshman Savion Hiter and former walk-on Bryson Kuzdzal for playing time. With Hiter, Kuzdzal, and starter Jordan Marshall, Michigan has a solid top three, but the things veer into unknown territory with unproven players like redshirt freshman Donovan Johnson and true freshman Jonathan Brown.
Brandon (MS) Brandon four-star running back Tyson Robinson has committed to Michigan. He chose the Wolverines over Alabama, Arizona State, Miami, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and others.
Robinson stands 5'9" and weighs 199 lbs. As a junior in 2025, he ran 165 times for 1,050 yards (6.3 yards/carry) and had 24 catches for 295 yards, scoring 9 touchdowns. He missed four games due to injury. When he was a junior in 2024, he ran 176 times for 1,295 yards (7.3 yards/carry) and 24 touchdowns, adding 42 catches for 668 yards and 10 scores.
RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 82 grade, #6 RB
Rivals: 4-star, 90 grade, #22 RB
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #19 RB
Hit the jump for more.
Every year since 2009, I have counted down from the least important player on that year’s roster to the most important player, including starters, scholarship players, preferred walk-ons, special teams players, student body walk-ons, and everyone in between.
YEARLY DISCLAIMER: The countdown is by the player’s importance to the team, not his overall talent. A talented player at a deep position won’t necessarily be missed a lot if he gets injured, but an injury to a moderately talented player at a thin position could be devastating. For example, I had cornerback Ambry Thomas ranked at #2 in 2020 because he was the team's only proven cornerback. Naturally, he opted out of the season and the team as a whole was an unmitigated disaster. Meanwhile, first round pick Kwity Paye was #6 because more talent was returning on the defensive line.
TEMPORARY DISCLAIMER: As many might have noticed, posting has slowed here for personal reasons. Not because of any loss of passion, but due to limited time/energy. I will probably never return to the point of posting multiple times per day like I did in some years past, but my goal is to return to daily posting - not yet, but in time. As such, I will be starting the countdown in a condensed fashion with some of the lower ranked players being combined into chunks of players.
If you appreciate the content here at TTB, please consider making a donation via Paypal. Thanks to Stephen, David, Robert, and Ben for their recent donations!
Here's the scoop on 77 former Michigan Wolverines players, how their 2025 went, and where they are for 2026.
FORMER PLAYERS
Raheem Anderson, C (Western Michigan): Anderson concluded his college football career by becoming an All-MAC center for the Broncos in 2025.
Andrel Anthony, WR (Duke): Anthony concluded his college football career by catching 26 passes for 246 yards and 5 touchdowns for the Blue Devils in 2025. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons.
Devon Baxter, DE (Virginia): Baxter is a 6'6", 247 lb. redshirt sophomore for his first season at Virginia.
Jeremiah Beasley, LB (Missouri): Beasley made 19 tackles and 1 forced fumble in 2025 and is penciled in as a backup linebacker for the 2026 season.
Josh Beetham, TE (Georgia Tech): Beetham started five games and played in all thirteen in 2025, making 6 catches for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns altogether.
Kechaun Bennett, DE (UCLA): Bennett transferred to UCLA for his final college season and made 25 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry while playing in eleven games.
Christian Boivin, LB (Saginaw Valley State): Boivin transferred to Division II SVSU and made 105 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble in 2025.
Tristan Bounds, OT (Arizona): Bounds started eight games for Arizona in 2025 and is expected to be the starting right tackle in 2026. He's listed at 6'8", 306 lbs. going into his sixth year.
Hit the jump for more.
