After taking trips to Oregon, Florida and LSU this month, elite 2026 wide receiver recruit Calvin Russell — who has drawn comparisons to Tee Higgins of the Cincinnati Bengals — is set to take an official visit to Michigan next weekend:
One of the nation’s best wide receiver recruits will be in Ann Arbor this time next week, as 247Sports’ Gaby Urrutia ($) reported on Sunday that Calvin Russell will take an official visit to Michigan next weekend.
The composite four-star recruit — and a five-star on 247’s individual rankings — is a top-five wide receiver in the class and a Top-50 overall talent. He was just in Miami this weekend, and took previous official visits to LSU and Oregon. He is set to take a mid-week official to Florida State before heading to Michigan.
The Miami, Florida native is a multi-sport athlete. He also plays basketball at his high school and has offers on the hardwood from Michigan, Illinois, LSU, Arizona State, Penn State, Florida Atlantic and Tulane. He averaged 15.2 and eight rebounds per game last season. He also performs on the track and field team.
On the gridiron, Russell had an interesting junior season in 2024. He only had 39 catches, but he made those catches count, taking them for 704 yards. He also had 13 touchdowns.
247Sports’ Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins wrote an updated evaluation of Russell last month and compared him to Tee Higgins from the Cincinnati Bengals:
Hulking wide receiver with above-the-rim athleticism that makes him a uniquely dangerous target, especially down in the red zone. Owns more of a slender build, but has measured over 6-foot-5 multiple times and is blessed with a near 6-foot-10 wingspan. Isn’t exactly the most polished route runner at this stage, but creates separation with unexpected suddenness for such a longer strider. Superb body control tends to create even more of a disadvantage for defensive backs as he wins 50-50 battles with timing and positioning. Not going to outrun every tackle, but is quick to hit the gas and can make some dynamic cuts in traffic. Spent much of freshman and sophomore seasons repping as a run first-quarterback out of necessity before settling in as a must-look option in Year 3 for a storied Miami Northwestern program that captured a 3A championship. Will need to add some body armour to a rather wiry frame in hopes of improving play strength and buy into the process at the school of his choice, but should be viewed as a potential impact pass catcher for a College Football Playoff contender that can be positioned all around the field in hopes of creating mismatches. One of those good-at-everything athletes that could legitimately play two spots in college as he’s also being recruited by basketball high majors.
This evaluation makes it sounds like Russell is the 2026 version of Derek Meadows — a high-ceiling, super athletic, yet raw player at this stage. Meadows was listed at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, which isn’t far off from Russell’s listing of 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds.
The Wolverines have not been shy about their desire to add more big-bodied guys at the position. With Donaven McCulley only having one year of eligibility left, it’s not a surprise to see them going after a possible future replacement. Their only wide receiver commit in this class, three-star Jaylen Pile, is only 6-foot, so adding at least one taller receiver should be a priority for Ron Bellamy and company.
Getting Russell for the final official visit is absolutely massive news for the Michigan Wolverines . With a tentative commitment date of July 5, Michigan will get the final shot at him before he makes his decision. We will keep you posted on this recruitment as updates are made available.