2026 Recruiting Update: May 9, 2025

 

Newbury Park (CA) Newbury Park QB Brady Smigiel

COMMITMENTS

Washington (DC) St. John's defensive end Tariq Boney committed to Michigan (LINK).

Newbury Park (CA) Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel committed to Michigan (LINK).

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2026

Hoover (AL) Hoover defensive end Tyson Bacon (4-star, #34 DL, #297 overall) decommitted from Tennessee. Michigan has been in constant contact with Bacon and may have been one of the reasons for his decommitment.

OFF THE BOARD

Greenwood (AR) Greenwood quarterback Kane Archer (3-star, #34 QB, #619 overall) committed to UCF.

Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier linebacker Ja'Kobe Clapper (3-star, #29 LB, #399 overall) committed to Notre Dame.

Nashville (TN) Christian quarterback Jared Curtis (5-star, #1 QB, #2 overall) committed to Georgia.

Hit the jump for more.

Brady Smigiel, Wolverine

 

Newbury Park (CA) Newbury Park QB Brady Smigiel

Newbury Park (CA) Newbury Park quarterback Brady Smigiel committed to Michigan on April 26. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, and Penn State, among others, and he was previously committed to Florida State.

247 Sports lists Smigiel at 6'6" and 205 pounds. As a junior in 2024, he completed 219/336 passes for 3,521 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions while also rushing 89 times for 435 yards and 11 scores. Altogether, he has been responsible for 165 touchdowns, thrown 28 interceptions, and thrown for 11,222 yards as a three-year varsity starter.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 84 grade, #4 QB, #45 overall
On3: 4-star, 90 grade, #17 QB, #246 overall
Rivals: 5-star, 6.1 grade, #5 QB, #23 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 91 grade, #8 QB, #126 overall

Hit the jump for more.

Tariq Boney, Wolverine

 

Washington (DC) St. John's defensive end Tariq Boney (image via Rivals)

Washington (DC) St. John's defensive end Tariq Boney committed to Michigan a little over a week ago, picking the Wolverines over offers from Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and West Virginia, among others.

Boney is listed at 6'2", 230 lbs.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #46 DE
On3: 3-star, 86 grade, #76 edge
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade, #65 edge defender
247 Sports: 3-star, 86 grade, #88 edge

Hit the jump for more.

2025 Mock NFL Draft

 

Colston Loveland

Most years I like to take a stab at a mock NFL draft. Everybody else is doing it, so why not me? This draft should be particularly interesting for Michigan fans, because the program could set a school record with four (4!!!) first round picks in the form of Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Will Johnson, and Colston Loveland (in no particular order other than alphabetical).

1. Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward - QB - Miami
Why? He seems to be the consensus choice here, and Tennessee has all but announced the pick already.

2. Cleveland Browns: Travis Hunter - CB/WR - Colorado
Why? Cleveland needs a lot of help, but there are no quarterbacks worth taking here. Hunter fills a couple holes. Personally, I think he should be a cornerback and moonlight at wide receiver, because it's easier to find good receivers than it is to find elite corners. It's also tough to mostly be a wide receiver and then be ready for whatever a defense throws at you if you're only a part-time cornerback. If you have special packages on offense, the offense gets to dictate how and when that package is used, instead of the other way around.

3. New York Giants: Abdul Carter - DE - Penn State
Why? I actually don't love this pick here because I don't see it as a huge need for the Giants, but they get a chance to pick a player who some people think is the best player in the draft (or second best behind Hunter). In some ways, it could be a good "value" pick even though it's still a top-three choice.

Hit the jump for more.

2026 Recruiting Update: April 22, 2025

 

Princeton transfer running back John Volker (image via Rivals)

COMMITMENTS

Michigan picked up commitments from a few transfer portal targets this past week:

• Missouri punter Luke Bauer (LINK)
• UMass running back C.J. Hester (LINK)
• Princeton running back John Volker (LINK)

ADDED TO THE BOARD: 2026

Fort Lauderdale (FL) Saint Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Jeffar Jean-Noel (3-star, #149 WR, #948 overall) decommitted from West Virginia.

Hit the jump for more.

John Volker, Wolverine

 

John Volker (image via Rivals)

Princeton transfer running back John Volker committed to Michigan on Monday morning. Volker visited Michigan toward the end of last week.

Volker is listed at 6'0", 215 lbs. and was a captain for the Tigers. As a redshirt junior in 2024, he ran for 514 yards and 6 touchdowns. Altogether, he played in 29 games at Princeton with 245 carries for 1,183 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also caught 31 passes for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns. (Oddly, both career touchdowns came as a freshman, when he had his lowest receiving output with 4 catches for 96 yards.)

Hit the jump for more.

C.J. Hester, Wolverine

 

C.J. Hester (image via On3)

UMass transfer running back C.J. Hester committed to Michigan on Saturday. He had visited for the spring game.

Hester is listed at 5'11" and 195 lbs. As a freshman at Western Michigan in 2023, he ran 29 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns in seven games. He then transferred to UMass in 2024, ranking as the team's second leading rusher with 119 carries for 529 yards and 4 scores across eleven games. Coming out of Cincinnati (OH) Wyoming in 2023, he was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #113 running back, and #1702 overall.

I think Hester's size is exaggerated; he's probably closer to 5'9" than 5'11". And I don't think he's 195 pounds, or at least he wasn't during the 2024 season. But he does run tough. His numbers aren't great, but he was playing for UMass, one of the worst FBS teams. There are several highlights of him running through tackles and fighting for extra yardage, and that's a step up in a way from the type of tackle-breaking ability Donovan Edwards showed over the past few seasons. That's not to say that Hester is a better overall running back, but at least Hester has the ability to fight through tackles. Hester also has a little bit of wiggle and a little bit of quickness, but he's not going to be a breakaway threat like Edwards.

Overall, Hester is a notch below Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes, and that's probably the best Michigan can hope for from someone committing from the portal at this point in the cycle. Michigan has Marshall and Haynes and then a bunch of unproven players, including redshirt freshman Micah Ka'apana and a couple freshmen.

Hester would be the only player other than Jibreel Black, who finished his college career in 2013, to play for Michigan out of Cincinnati (OH) Wyoming.