Recruiting Roundup: Four-star DL to visit twice in the next month

A highly regarded player from the Midwest will be in Ann Arbor twice in the near future.

With the Michigan Wolverines ’ spring game this weekend, recruiting is sure to continue heating up as we inch closer to official visit season.

In today’s roundup, we’ll discuss a player who is set to be at Michigan quite a bit over the next month or so, Michigan’s quarterback commit impressing at a recent camp, and a top defensive target announcing his commitment date.

Four-star DL to be in Ann Arbor twice in the next month

One of Michigan’s highest ranked defensive line targets in the 2025 class is set to unofficially visit this weekend. Following that, he will take his official visit about a month after that.

According to 247Sports’ Gaby Urrutia ($), four-star Nate Marshall will be in town for Michigan’s spring game and then officially visit from May 31-June 2. Marshall also has official visits planned for Illinois the weekend of June 7, Alabama the weekend of June 14 and Miami the weekend of June 21, according to his 247Sports profile.

Marshall would be a huge addition to Michigan’s class, which has not seen a commitment in more than three months. It is early in the cycle, but getting a player like Marshall onboard would certainly help speed things up for the Wolverines.

And that endeavor starts this weekend for new defensive line coach Lou Esposito, who will have to quickly develop an in-person bond with Marshall to try and sway him away from the other programs clearly ahead of Michigan in this race. This will be a big step, and hopefully Marshall leaves with a great feeling heading into his official visit.

At 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds, Marshall is ranked No. 33 overall, No. 3 along the defensive line and No. 1 in the state of Illinois in his class, according to 247Sports’ composite.

QB commit impresses at E11 camp

When 2025 four-star quarterback Carter Smith committed to Michigan, the general consensus was that he was super athletic, but had work to do when it comes to throwing the ball.

Over the weekend, Smith and other quarterbacks competed at the Elite 11 Orlando regional down in Smith’s home state of Florida. While he did not earn an invitation on the spot to the Elite 11 Finals, On3’s EJ Holland ($) wrote that Smith has made improvements throwing the ball and should eventually earn an invite.

“Smith really impressed in the first half, scoring a couple of perfect circuits and hitting every throw in the gauntlet,” Holland wrote. “Smith did show some signs of fatigue in the final two circuits, but I thought he did enough to earn an invitation to the finals. I would be shocked if Smith doesn’t get the call when Elite 11 wraps up its regional tour.”

Being a former high school baseball pitcher, Smith has taken the time this offseason to focus on football, hiring a personal quarterbacks coach — Will Hewlett, who also has worked with Brock Purdy. This move seems to be paying dividends, as Smith’s throwing motion, as well as his footwork, have made strides, per Holland.

“Smith set his feet and was able to unlock some extra power from his lower half as opposed to just relying on his arm talent,” Holland wrote. “He didn’t have the happy feet, which caused errant throws, that I saw from him on my last trip. On top of that, Smith’s throwing motion and overall mechanics appeared to be better as well. Because all of this, Smith was more accurate.

“Overall, Smith is using all the resources at his disposal to continue to hone his craft.”

With all the critiques written and work that Smith needs to get done before he hits campus, you’d think he is a developing three-star talent. The fact he is the No. 13 quarterback, No. 22 player from Florida and No. 149 overall player on 247Sports’ composite goes to show how high his ceiling is.

Four-star CB drops commitment date

Alex Graham , one of the top defensive prospects on Michigan’s board in the 2025 class, will announce his commitment next Friday, April 26, he said on social media on Monday.

Michigan has been on his tail for quite some time, and he has reciprocated the love, having visited Ann Arbor on a number of occasions over the last year. He was most recently in town in February, and the coaching staff also visited with him when they went down to IMG Academy back in January.

Graham — who is ranked No. 30 in the state of Florida, No. 24 at the cornerback position and No. 210 overall, according to 247Sports’ composite — will be deciding among his top-seven schools: Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Penn State, Colorado or Utah.

Should Graham commit to Michigan, he would be the first under head coach Sherrone Moore, and the first overall commitment in more than three months, when four-star tight end Eli Owens announced his commitment on Jan. 4.