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Michigan lands commitment from sleeper Ohio RB Jonathan Brown

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Michigan has scored an intriguing win on the recruiting trail.

Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales running back Jonathan Brown committed to U-M over offers from Air Force, Army, Navy, Kent State, Rutgers and others.

Brown quietly earned an offer from the Wolverines following a stellar camp performance that saw him earn RB MVP. Brown put up impressive testing times, running a 4.55 40-yard-dash and posting a 40-inch vertical. He also measured in at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds.

Brown also worked out in front of the Michigan staff at its Detroit satellite camp with Wayne State this month.

Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford led the way in this recruitment. Alford has strong ties in the state of Ohio and obviously liked what he saw from Brown after getting in two live evaluations.

Brown rushed for 1,295 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior last season. He also doubles as a high level baseball player, earning college looks as a third baseman and outfielder.

Michigan plans on taking two running backs this cycle and is still all in on five-star Mineral (Va.) Louisa County running back Savion Hiter. Michigan continues to be in a strong spot in that recruitment and made a big impression on his official visit.

Hiter, the No. 1 running back and No. 11 overall prospect nationally, is also considering Georgia, Ohio State and Tennessee. He is looking to make a final decision later this summer.

Michigan has 12 commits in its 2026 recruiting class — Brown, Top 100 Billings (Mont.) West tight end Matt Ludwig, Top 100 Newberry Park (Calif.) High quarterback Brady Smigiel, On300 Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin cornerback Brody Jennings, On300 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon EDGE McHale Blade, three-star Cartersville (Ga.) Cass offensive lineman Bear McWhorter, three-star Washington (D.C.) St. John’s EDGE Tariq Boney, three-star Denver (Colo.) Mullen tight end Mason Bonner, three-star Liberty Hill (Texas) High defensive lineman Alister Vallejo, three-star Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal wide receiver Jaylen Pile, three-star Hinsdale (Ill.) Central kicker Micah Drescher and Phoenix (Ariz.) O’Connor long snapper Colton Dermer.

Michigan entered the day with the No. 26 ranked 2026 recruiting class nationally, per the On3 Industry team recruiting rankings. Michigan is also ranked No. 9 in the Big Ten. USC currently has the top class in the conference.

Michigan also has the No. 12 ranked transfer portal class this cycle, per the On3 transfer portal index. The Wolverines recently added East Carolina quarterback Jake Garcia.

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