Recruiting Roundup: Top-100 edge rushers rave about Michigan visit

The Michigan Wolverines knocked it out of the park last weekend with two top-100 overall prospects. We have that and more in today’s Recruiting Roundup:

The Michigan Wolverines are about to host another group of top targets on the recruiting trail this weekend, but reactions continue to roll in from prospects who visited last weekend. We will detail a few of those in today’s Recruiting Roundup.

Top-100 edge rusher discusses visit

One of Michigan’s top edge rusher recruits was also on campus last weekend — 2026 four-star Carter Meadows .

The top-100 player (No. 98 overall) on the composite is one of the top priorities for the Wolverines at his position in the class. He recapped his visit with On3’s EJ Holland ($).

“The visit went really well,” Meadows said. “My favorite part was definitely practice. Getting to see the guys get after it was really special. … Practice was a great atmosphere and was super competitive. I can definitely see myself fitting in with that culture of pushing each other to be the best.”

Meadows has established great relationships with head coach Sherrone Moore and defensive line coach Lou Esposito. He called his meeting with Esposito “great” and Moore a “great leader of men,” and “he knows how to get the best out of everyone in the program.”

Other than Michigan, Meadows has also seen North Carolina and Northwestern this spring. He also has visits on the docket for Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina and Stanford. He hasn’t set any official visits yet, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him back on campus this summer given how he views the program and how highly he cares about academics.

“Michigan is definitely a big interest of mine,” Meadows said. “I love that they know their identity. They set a standard for themselves, and everybody works hard to uphold and push past it.”

Top-50 edge rusher details ‘great visit’ to Michigan

Another top target along the edge for Michigan that visited last weekend was 2026 four-star Jake Kreul . Ranked even higher than Meadows as the No. 37 overall player in the class, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound IMG Academy prospect enjoyed his trip to Ann Arbor, recapping it with On3’s Holland ($).

“It was a great visit,” Kreul said. “I got to go up with my mom and my dad. It was my mom’s first time seeing it. I got to watch practice and witness the culture first hand. I got to see the campus and the Ross business school. It was a great time.”

Among the highlights for Kreul was watching Michigan practice, noting TJ Guy as a standout. He also got to speak with Esposito and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, calling the conversation “good” and that “they know how to develop.”

Much like Meadows, Kreul has yet to map out his official visit schedule. But by the sounds of it, don’t be shocked if Michigan ends up receiving an official visit this summer from Kreul.

“They definitely have a good footing with me,” Kreul said. “This was a great visit. They definitely impressed my family. It will be interesting to see how things play out in May when I finalize my official visits. But the main thing that sticks out to me about Michigan is the culture. They have a lot of like-minded people who are pushing to be great.”

Top-100 LB discusses ‘eye-opening’ trip to Michigan

2026 four-star linebacker Brayden Rouse was also on campus this past weekend, but unlike the others we’ve already discusses, this was his first ever trip to Michigan.

Rouse detailed his trip to The Michigan Insider’s Brice Marich ($).

“It was an eye-opening trip,” Rouse said. “Football wise, it was good to see how they run day to day from their meetings to practice, but the way they treated my family and me was very impressive. I enjoyed their hospitality and Avery Bean was a great host for us.”

Rouse was also eager to see a practice, and it did not disappoint him. saying he was “very impressed on how much energy, but also how focused the whole team was at practice. They are very disciplined and have a great group of coaches. They are detail oriented.

He will be back soon enough, as Rouse has an official visit to Ann Arbor scheduled for the weekend of June 6.

At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, the Marietta, Georgia native is ranked No. 82 overall and No. 5 at the linebacker position, per the composite. He is also heavily considering Tennessee and Georgia, two schools he also has official visits set up to.

Quick Hitters

• 2026 four-star defensive lineman Jamarion Carlton will be visiting Michigan from April 4-5, according to On3’s Chad Simmons ($). Interestingly enough, Michigan did not make Carlton’s top-six list that he released last month.
• 2026 four-star linebacker Nick Abrams has named a top-five of Michigan, Oregon, Alabama, Penn State and Georgia. He will announce his commit on July 16.
• This week, TMI’s Steve Lorenz cast a Crystal Ball prediction for Michigan to land 2026 four-star offensive lineman Marky Walbridge .