The Wolverine’s EJ Holland and Ethan McDowell discussed several Michigan recruiting topics on the Tuesday edition of The Wolverine Live recruiting show, including the status of Top 100 EDGE commit Julian Walker.

Watch the full show in the video above.

Walker Recruitment

Michigan extended an offer to Walker in February and made him a top priority on the EDGE board throughout the offseason.

Walker made his first visit to Michigan in the spring and returned for his official visit on June 20 for Victors Weekend. It was there where the Wolverines built plenty of momentum.

Walker was considered a heavy South Carolina legacy. His father, Jamil, is a strength coach for the Gamecocks, and all signs pointed to Walker staying home. However, Michigan was able to win out.

With that said, Walker made multiple visits to South Carolina this fall. He is expected to make his decision tomorrow.

Here is what Holland said about Walker:

“Walker is a bigger EDGE at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds,” Holland said. “He has the length and he’s also more filled out than fellow EDGE commit Carter Meadows. While not as athletic as Meadows, Walker is ready to play early in his career. Having a father who is a P4 strength coach definitely a big benefit. It’s easy to see that Walker already looks the part of a college player. Keeping him in this class is extremely important. South Carolina is still a threat. This one is coming down to the wire.”

Walker is ranked as the No. 11 EDGE and No. 72 overall recruit nationally, per the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Michigan has 28 commits in its 2026 recruiting class — five-star Mineral (Va.) Louisa County running back Savion Hiter, five-star Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga EDGE Carter Meadows, Top 100 Honolulu (Hawaii) Kamehameha offensive tackle Malakai Lee, Top 100 Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork EDGE Julian Walker, Rivals300 St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet defensive lineman Titan Davis, Rivals300 Billings (Mont.) West tight end Matt Ludwig, Rivals300 Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian’s offensive lineman Marky Walbridge, Rivals300 Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith wide receiver Travis Johnson, Rivals300 Waco (Texas) Connally cornerback Jamarion Vincent, Rivals300 Liberty Hill (Texas) High defensive lineman Alister Vallejo, four-star Chicago (Ill.) Simeon EDGE McHale Blade, four-star Richmond (Va.) Hermitage defensive back Andre Clarke, four-star Mansfield (Texas) High wide receiver Zion Robinson, three-star Cartersville (Ga.) Cass offensive lineman Bear McWhorter, three-star Washington (D.C.) St. John’s EDGE Tariq Boney, three-star Denver (Colo.) Mullen tight end Mason Bonner, three-star Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal wide receiver Jaylen Pile, three-star Richmond (Va.) Huguenot linebacker Markel Dabney, three-star Hinsdale (Ill.) Central kicker Micah Drescher, three-star Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales running back Jonathan Brown, three-star Wilmette (Ill.) Loyola Academy offensive lineman Tommy Fraumann, three-star Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier linebacker Aden Reeder, three-star Jackson (Miss.) Hartfield Academy linebacker Kaden Catchings, three-star Saline (Mich.) High quarterback Tommy Carr, three-star Newberry Park (Calif.) High quarterback Brady Smigiel, three-star Washington (D.C.) St. John’s offensive lineman Adrian Hamilton and three-star Phoenix (Ariz.) O’Connor long snapper Colton Dermer.

Michigan entered the day with the No. 12 ranked 2026 recruiting class nationally, per the On3 Industry team recruiting rankings. Michigan is also ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten. USC currently has the top class in the conference.

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What our Post expert thinks about Saint Louis vs. Central Michigan

The Billikens are off to a fast start this season with four different players scoring at least 10 points per game. Saint Louis opened the season six straight games to open the season, before suffering a loss on a game-winning shot against Stanford.

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East Lansing — A football play, like a football program, only succeeds when everyone is aligned correctly. No false starts, no illegal procedures.

On the first day of its next era, Michigan State was aligned in all the important ways, with all the important people. It’s the best place to start, and it’s the reason Pat Fitzgerald is here, preaching the Spartan staples of toughness and passion and intensity.

The MSU leadership — president Kevin Guskiewicz and AD J Batt — made the right decision to pick a new direction, which happens to be the preferred, traditional direction. Fitzgerald has been out of college coaching for three seasons, so it remains to be seen how quickly Fitz fits, and how he adjusts to the sport’s crazy new ways. But there’s no doubt he fits the brand and the plan, and with the school fully aligned behind him, he has a real shot to rebuild MSU into a perennial Big Ten contender.

“Toughness was born here, in Michigan State football,” Fitzgerald said at his introduction Tuesday. “And every game is going to be a focus of victory and winning. But there’s one game that just means a little bit more, doesn’t it? I’ll just leave that one alone. … I’m fired up for the challenge, and I’m ready to get to work. It’s just a great day to be a Spartan.”

In those few sentences, Fitzgerald perfectly defined what the Spartans have been, and want to be again. Somewhere in the blur of six ragged years, two divisive coaching regimes and several false starts, MSU lost its way. Batt and Fitzgerald offered proper respect for Jonathan Smith, but this plan was lining up as the Spartans’ 4-8 season unfolded.

Guskiewicz and Batt emphasized the support will be greatly enhanced, financially and otherwise. This was the same day the school launched FOR SPARTA, a capital initiative with the goal of raising $1 billion for all aspects of MSU athletics. It will be sparked if Fitzgerald quickly improves the product, and already is boosted by Tom Izzo’s continued excellence. Thanks to Izzo and Mark Dantonio, Fitzgerald has a blueprint — ahem, greenprint — of how to succeed here.

Build a resilient winner, and the donors and dollars will come. Batt handled this transition well, stealthily pursuing Fitzgerald and landing him with a modest incentive-laden $30-million, five-year contract that starts at $5 million annually. It’s a fair, well-timed match, as Fitzgerald needed a place to start over after his 2023 firing by Northwestern.

Does he have a lot to prove and an insatiable drive to do it? Sure sounds like it. He was 4-20 his final two seasons at Northwestern, but 110-101 overall in 17 seasons, and his teams played with grinding toughness and discipline. He was dismissed in the aftermath of a hazing scandal, and later settled a lawsuit for wrongful termination, with the school saying it found no evidence Fitzgerald knew about the improprieties.

When Fitzgerald talks, his motivational cadence conjures images of Izzo and Dantonio, both of whom he considers friends. He comes to East Lansing not as an outsider, but as a Big Ten man, a kindred spirit.

“As far as my motivation, you don’t have to ask me about that,” said Fitzgerald, whose voice trembled when he talked about his family’s support through the travails. “I’ve been dreaming about this day for a long time, and I don’t want to cry. I’m just so grateful, there’ll be no more motivated coach anywhere else in the country.”

In that regard, he mirrors the ambition of the program. Batt has been here six months, and by most accounts, has stirred donor support and fan interest. He found no reason to engage in unreasonable bidding for expensive, big-name candidates once he started talking with Fitzgerald.

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It doesn’t appear a hard sell was required by either side.

“To reach that level of success, it requires alignment at every level,” Batt said. “On the field, I think the impact will be immediate. You can feel Coach’s energy, his attention to detail will be supreme. I know our team will reflect all those parts and pieces, and a little bit of toughness and grit might go with it.”

The impact should be immediate, but that doesn’t mean the winning will. The Spartans haven’t gone to a bowl game since 2021 and are 18-34 in the Big Ten during that span. After nearly six seasons of Smith and Mel Tucker, their roster is disjointed and depth-deprived.

Fitzgerald will be a whirlwind for a while, putting together a staff and trying to keep MSU’s recruiting class intact, with the signing period starting Wednesday. In his three years away from the game, Fitzgerald talked to coaches and studied the evolution of NIL and the transfer portal, while acknowledging the evolving continues.

That can be daunting, not knowing what your roster might look like, year to year. It also can be invigorating, knowing there’s always a fresh start available in the portal. When Guskiewicz and Batt laid out the fundraising and resource potential, Fitzgerald knew where he wanted to be.

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“What excited me most about the vision for Michigan State was what J Batt said, having a top 10-athletic department that can be driven by success in football,” Fitzgerald said. “As I looked around the landscape, you see some non-traditional powers that are playing for conference championships, or in the playoff conversation. You better believe Michigan State should be in that conversation. That’s my job, and that’s why I’m here.”

He saw Izzo at lunch Tuesday, before the Spartans played Iowa at night. He’s talked frequently with Dantonio. He recalled how difficult it was to play in Spartan Stadium with the raucous student section, back when he was an All-American linebacker at Northwestern.

He’s seen the traits when the Spartans are great, and hears the resonance in the voices. He made a couple of references to MSU’s rival without mentioning Michigan by name. He knows the hits that play, and the hits that define Michigan State.

“I understand what the fan base wants,” said Fitzgerald, who turned 51 Tuesday. “They want a team that plays fast, tough and physical, with controlled aggression. … Obviously we know who our rival is, and our guys will know who our rival is, every single day. Our focus will be on us, we’ve got to get better.”

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Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald greets fans

Michigan State football coach Pat Fitzgerald greets fans at the Breslin Center on Dec. 2, 2025 in East Lansing.

And that’s where Fitzgerald directed the focus when introduced to the Breslin Center crowd during the first half Tuesday night. He was greeted by a throaty roar and a bear hug from Sparty, then took the microphone and unleashed the message.

“Let’s blow the roof off this thing!” he yelled. “We’re gonna get to work, and then let’s get Spartan Stadium rocking this fall!”

Izzo’s Spartans went on to stomp the Hawkeyes 71-52 to move to 8-0. Afterward, Izzo said he felt badly for Smith and the brutal nature of the business, but fully endorsed Fitzgerald for the same reasons others did.

“I think we made a helluva selection,” Izzo said. “He just is on a mission. Cool day for a guy who I think has a lot of Michigan State qualities.”

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Now Fitzgerald gets a chance to align his program similarly, in the distinctive Michigan State way. It’s a tough task but he’s been preparing and waiting a long time for it, and knows exactly what he’s getting into.

bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com

@bobwojnowski