The Michigan Wolverines will be welcoming in a ton of recruits for visits this spring, including a five-star WR — ranked No. 1 at the position — who will be in Ann Arbor in the near future. That and more in today’s Recruiting Roundup:
Michigan has traditionally struggled to gain a foothold with coveted prospects from the south. Those prospects are usually reserved for SEC or ACC blue bloods such as Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Miami and Clemson. However, Sherrone Moore’s 2025 class started to make inroads in establishing a pipeline down south, with prospects like Ty Haywood, Andrew Marsh and Jayden Sanders — all from Texas — signing with the Wolverines.
Michigan is attempting to sustain this momentum for the 2026 class and have made progress with other prospects below the Mason-Dixon line.
Five-star WR visiting Michigan in April
Hattiesburg (Miss.) five-star receiver Tristen Keys is the No. 1 receiver and the No. 5 overall player in the 2026 class, and he has a busy couple months ahead.
According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, Keys is set to unofficially visit Michigan on April 5. Prior to that, Keys will visit Tennessee, LSU, and Texas A&M in March. These visits are in addition to upcoming trips he has scheduled to Miami, Auburn and Alabama.
Clearly Michigan faces stiff competition for the 6-foot-2, 185 pounder, but it’s a positive that Michigan was able to convince Keys to book the trip up to Ann Arbor.
In addition to Michigan’s checkered past with prospects hailing from the south, Michigan has struggled to consistently land elite wide receivers. Michigan’s preference to focus on the ground game has made it a destination for running backs and offensive linemen, but not as much for wideouts. Surely a commitment from the No. 1 wide receiver in the class would put that narrative to bed.
As a junior, Keys caught 40 passes for 839 yards and 12 touchdowns, per MaxPreps . Getting a commitment from Keys and pairing him with Bryce Underwood would be a game-changer for Michigan’s offense moving forward.
Elite four-star lists the Wolverines on his top list
Carrollton’s (GA.) Dorian Barney , the No. 74 overall prospect and the No. 8 cornerback in the 2026 class per 247Sports’ composite, recently released his top-12 list. In addition to Michigan, Colorado, Florida State, Georgia Tech , Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State and Texas A&M all made the cut.
According to 247Sports , Barney had this to say about his next steps: “I will only take five official visits in the fall, but if something comes up, then I will. I am really trying to make my commitment before the start of my (senior) season.”
Michigan, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon and Penn State are the only schools within Barney’s top list that have not yet received a visit from Barney. He went on to speak on each of these five, including Michigan.
“I have a really good relationship with the whole staff,” he said of Michigan. “Coach LaMar Morgan came to see me in January and that means something because he could be somewhere else. He’s been recruiting me since the last go-around last spring. Also Michigan is an all-around good school, with academics, successful players, and they get their players drafted.”
The Wolverines face an uphill climb, but if they are able to get Barney on campus this spring and lock in one of his five official visits, they could become a dark horse contender.
Strong momentum for four-star RB
Michigan received positive news last week when 2026 four-star running back Javian Osborne cancelled his official visit to Texas. The good news keeps on coming, as Osborne has scheduled a three-day unofficial visit to Michigan from March 28-30, as first reported by On3’s EJ Holland .
This extended visit will give Osborne an opportunity to visit facilities, see some practices and further establish relationships.
Osborne had previously said his recruitment was “very close” between Texas and Michigan. Now with him scheduling this spring visit to Ann Arbor and canceling his official visit to Austin, Michigan appears to be in the pole position.
Getting Osborne on campus next month is a big development. Tony Alford, Sherrone Moore and the rest of the Michigan staff have made Osborne a priority, as he visited campus three times last year and received a visit from the coaching staff during the winter evaluation period last month. He is also scheduled to officially visit the weekend of June 20.
According to the composite, Osborne is the No. 60 overall player and the No. 9 player from Texas in his class.
Quick Hitters
- 2026 linebacker Markel Dabney has included Michigan in his top five schools, along with Penn State, Pitt, SMU and Virginia Tech. Regarding Michigan, Dabney told On3 “It’s Michigan, it gets no better than that! Can’t wait to visit Ann Arbor in the spring.”
- 2026 four-star cornerback Shavar Young is currently committed to Clemson, but Michigan is trying to flip him. According to On3 , Morgan dropped in on Young in January, and while he cannot visit Ann Arbor due to Clemson’s no-visit policy for committed players, he is still communicating with the Wolverines over the phone.
- 2026 linebacker Markel Dabney recently included Michigan, Penn State, SMU, Pitt and Virginia Tech in his top-five list.
- Finally, a couple more 2026 prospects have scheduled official visits to Michigan for this summer. Four-star offensive lineman Felix Ojo is scheduled for the weekend of June 6, while four-star wide receiver Travis Johnson is booked for the weekend of June 13.