Improvements in NIL and having a dedicated GM surely play a large role in Michigan Football’s recent success on the recruiting trail, but what shouldn’t be lost is the performance from some of the assistant coaches:
For the 2025 recruiting cycle, Michigan landed its top ranked class (No. 6 overall on 247Sports’ composite) since 2017. This impressive performance can and has been attributed to Michigan’s increased focus on NIL, including the exceptional job done by Sean Magee and the financial influence of the university’s official collective, Champions Circle.
While these areas are rightfully receiving credit for Michigan’s uptick in landing highly ranked players, recruiting is still about the coaching staff building relationships with the players and their families, and Michigan’s staff has done a tremendous job in this area.
Let’s take a look at how some of the assistant coaches have recently performed in their attempts to attract talent to Ann Arbor.
Lou Esposito
Esposito quickly made an impression on the recruiting trail and has continued the program’s dominance along the defensive line. He landed five recruits in the 2025 class, with the most notable being four-star edge rusher Nate Marshall , who was ranked as a top-50 overall player in the class. He initially committed to Michigan in April 2024, but flipped to Auburn a few months later. However, Esposito didn’t give up and was able to regain Marshall’s commitment right before signing day.
Esposito recently added his first prospect to Michigan’s 2026 class in three-star edge rusher Tariq Boney. He is also worked on several other recruits like four-stars Carter Meadows, Trenton Henderson, Titan Davis and Jackson Ford, among many others.
LaMar Morgan
Just like Esposito, Morgan joined Michigan last March and hit the ground running on the recruiting trail. His haul from the 2025 class may be the most impressive of all, as he got commitments from five four-star prospects — Shamari Earls, Kainoa Winston, Jordan Young, Elijah Dotson and Jayden Sanders.
With the losses of Will Johnson, Aamir Hall, Makari Paige, Wesley Walker and Quentin Johnson in the secondary, some of those guys may be called on as soon as this fall. The recruitment of Earls, in particular, may pay huge dividends — as an early enrollee, he has already been talked about by the coaching staff as a player that has been impressive so far.
Morgan seems to do a fantastic job in making personal connections with recruits. Dotson had this to say about Morgan: “Me and coach Morgan have a really good relationship. Outside of being a great coach, he’s a great man, so being around somebody like that was something I looked for. He’s going to push me to be great.”
Michigan is off to a solid start in the 2026 class in the secondary, as Morgan has already obtained the commitment of four-star cornerback Brody Jennings. He is also pursuing a litany of other top talent, such as four-stars Salesi Moa, Andre Clarke, Dorian Barney and Chace Calicut, just to name a few.
Grant Newsome
Newsome has coached the offensive line and tight ends during his three years as an assistant coach in Ann Arbor, and he has had a ton of success on the recruiting side. He is credited with Ty Haywood, Andrew Babalola and Avery Gach in the 2025 class, as well as Cole Sullivan and Brady Prieskorn in the 2024 class.
Sherrone Moore has a clear focus on the trenches, so it’s imperative Newsome continues recruiting at a high level and provides Michigan with top tier talent along the offensive line every single year.
Newsome has already landed three-star Bear McWhorter for the 2026 class, and he has his sights set on some other top prospects in the class like five-star Darius Gray, four-stars Malakai Lee, Leo Delaney, John Turntine III, Kelvin Obot, Carter Scruggs and Zaden Krempin, and three-stars Jax Tanner and Marky Walbridge.
Tony Alford
The list of recruits Alford has recruited during his career is impressive — J.K. Dobbins, TreyVeyon Henderson, Lathan Ransom and Steele Chambers. He played a big role in landing Jasper Parker and Donovan Johnson in the 2025 class for the Wolverines, but he is hoping to make an even bigger splash in the 2026 class.
Alford has his sights set on the No. 1 ranked running back in the class — five-star Savion Hiter. Michigan is in his top-four with Georgia, Ohio State and Tennessee, and the Wolverines will have him officially visit the weekend of June 13.
The Wolverines are one of, if not the No. 1 favorite to land Hiter’s commitment. If they do so, Alford will be among the top reasons why he sided with Michigan. And if not, Alford has a quality backup option in four-star Georgia native Amari Latimer.