The 2025 recruiting cycle — for the most part, with a few exceptions — is done for the Michigan Wolverines. Of course, there are a few players that have elected to take their recruitments into the February signing day, but that isn’t our main concern for today.

As we wait for them to make up their minds and potentially sign with Michigan, let’s get a jumpstart on the 2026 class. Sherrone Moore and company are shooting for the (five) stars in this class, as the program will go toe-to-toe with some of the best college football programs in the country for top ranked recruits.

Here are some of the early top targets for the Wolverines in 2026. Just as a note — this is in order of position, and is not reflective of every single player they’re recruiting.

Five-star RB Savion Hiter

A top-15 overall player in the class, Hiter is one of Michigan’s top overall targets in the class regardless of position. Tony Alford has already laid the groundwork here and has Michigan in Hiter’s top-five list, along with Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee.

Four-star RB Javion Osborne

If Hiter is 1A at the running back position for Michigan, Osborne is 1B. A top-100 player in his own right, Osborne is from Forney, Texas, and is a dynamic player at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds. He has been VERY pro-Michigan as of late, so it wouldn’t stun me in the slightest if the Wolverines led for him and eventually pulled him out of the Longhorn State.

Four-star WR Mason James

A Norman, Oklahoma native, James is no lock to commit to the hometown Sooners by any stretch. He has a ton of other good programs (Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, etc.) on his coattails. He visited Ann Arbor for the MSU game in October, where he called Michigan “one of my top schools.”

Four-star TE Brock Harris

A borderline five-star, the Saint George, Utah native is among the best at his position in the class. He recently visited Ann Arbor for the Oregon game, and made other trips this fall to Utah, BYU and Georgia. He also put Michigan in his top-six list earlier this week, along with Oregon, Miami, Georgia, Utah and BYU.

Four-star TE Matt Ludwig

Despite Harris being ranked much higher, Ludwig may actually be higher on Michigan’s board at the tight end position. The Billings, Montana native visited Michigan for the MSU game in October. He holds other offers from Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, Wisconsin and more.

Five-star OL Immanuel Iheanacho

Everyone is going to shoot their shot for the No. 2 overall player in the country in Iheanacho. The towering 6-foot-6.5, 345-pounder from Rockville, Maryland is relatively new to football, but has sky high potential.

Four-star OL Leo Delaney

A former high school teammate of current Wolverines Jadyn Davis and Channing Goodwin, Delaney could be the next Providence Day kid to take his talents to Michigan. At 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds, Delaney has position flexibility and could play pretty much anywhere along the line. The top-100 overall prospect visited for the MSU game and holds other offers from Clemson, USC, Tennessee, Ole Miss and more.

Four-star OL Gregory Patrick

Finally, an in-state prospect! Patrick hails from Portage, Michigan and is a top-150 overall recruit. Michigan is recruiting him hard, but so are the Michigan State Spartans. At 6-foot-4.5 and 275 pounds, Patrick projects to the interior at the college level. He’s got other offers from Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin and more.

Four-star OL Malakai Lee

Michigan already holds a Crystal Ball to eventually land Lee, who may be one of the Wolverines’ top targets at the position. At 6-foot-6 and 318 pounds, the top-150 overall player is an absolute monster and can play pretty much anywhere along the line. Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, USC, Texas and more college football powerhouses are also after Lee.

Four-star edge Anthony Jones

Not much has been said about Jones, but he did include Michigan in his top-five list along with Tennessee, UCLA, Washington and Arizona State. He told 247Sports earlier this year that the Volunteers are his top team, but the Wolverines will still shoot their shot with Irvine, California native.

Four-star edge Luke Wafle

The younger brother of current Michigan defensive lineman Owen Wafle, Luke is a highly regarded prospect in his own right at 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds. Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and others have also offered him.

Four-star LB Cam Thomas

Despite wearing an Ohio State jacket in his recruiting profile, Thomas actually left the Buckeyes off his top-six list and, instead, included Michigan, Oregon, Indiana, West Virginia, Illinois and Kentucky. The West Chester, Ohio native is a top-300 overall player and appears to be one of Brian Jean-Mary’s top guys early on in this cycle.

Five-star CB Elbert Hill

Hill is the No. 1 ranked cornerback in the class and visited Michigan earlier this year for the Northwestern game. The only unfortunate thing about this recruitment is Hill is from Akron, Ohio and is a huge OSU lean at the moment. Michigan will give it all its got, but I don’t see this one ending well.

Four-star CB Victor Singleton

Another Ohio cornerback at the top of Michigan’s board, Singleton hails from the friendly Buckeye State city of Toledo. He visited Ann Arbor multiple times this season and has a strong relationship with LaMar Morgan. If any school is going to pull him away from OSU, it’s probably Michigan.

Four-star ATH CJ Sadler

Another highly regarded in-state prospect, Sadler is a versatile two-way player who excels at defensive back and wide receiver. The Cass Tech high schooler also holds offers from Alabama, Florida, Penn State, Oregon, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Miami, LSU and more.

Other names to know

Michigan’s 89-87 loss to Arkansas at Madison Square Garden had it all. Michigan led by 15 in the first half and trailed by 18 in the second. The Wolverines made 11 shots in a row in the first half, only for Arkansas to hit 12 out of 15 in the second.

Ultimately, the contest came down to a couple of video reviews, free throws, and a backdoor play a few inches away from a basket—vintage college basketball in December.

There were stretches painful enough to leave each coach pulling out their hair during the film on the flight home, but then there were others that looked like what was drawn on the whiteboard in a preseason planning meeting.

So much happened in this game that you could probably hone in on any emotion, takeaway, or vibe from the 40 minutes. I have a recap to write, so I’ll boil it down to one thing: conviction.

Michigan isn’t there yet, and we have no idea what the final product will be. Despite the work-in-progress nature, you’d have to be blind not to see Dusty May’s plan. This was only the tenth game of the May era, but I feel entirely convinced in what he’s trying to build and how he’s trying to get there.

The best endorsement of May as Michigan’s head coach is that we can all see the plan, and he has the conviction to stick to it. There’s a steadiness in the fact that every move he makes aligns with that plan.

If you keep that plan in mind, you can predict how May will react. You’ll rarely be wrong, and that’s the foundation of what he’s trying to build. A foundation of trust that goes from players to coaches, coaches to players, and everyone to the process.

Tonight’s result was disappointing, but the process was there. May’s conviction to stick to that plan, even on a night like this, points to a bright future when it arrives.

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A Michigan man’s Christmas came a little early after he won a local lottery game that was a lot more than he initially expected.

The 56-year-old winner, who has elected to remain anonymous, turned a routine coffee run into earning $300,000 when he purchased a ticket for the Michigan Lottery’s Make It Rein game.

“I stopped at the gas station to get coffee and an instant ticket like I have done every day for the past eight years,” the winner told lottery officials.

His ticket was purchased in Livonia, and he originally thought that the winning amount was far lower.

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“I scratched the ticket when I got back to my car, and thought I’d won $30,000,” he said. “I spent the next half hour looking the ticket over, until I finally went into the store to double check it.”

“After the clerk scanned it, he handed it back and told me I didn’t scratch off all the zeros,” he continued. “That’s when I realized I’d actually won $300,000.”

“I couldn’t believe it!” he said.

As for what he plans to do with his winnings, the man said that he will spread the wealth between himself and his family: He’ll get a new car, put some away for his children’s college funds and invest what’s left.

The newly-launched Make It Rein game, which was unveiled to the public in October, has since had winners claim $4 million in prizes, the Michigan Lottery said.