Skip to main content
Michigan

Michigan makes a significant leap in On3's team recruiting rankings

On3 imageby: Ethan McDowell05/21/25ethanmmcdowell
Sherrone Moore Mason Graham
Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore pulled defensive tackle Mason Graham, who posted 7 tackles, into his interview after beating Ohio State. (Photo by Lon Horwedel / TheWolverine.com)

Michigan secured a commitment from Top 100 tight end Matt Ludwig Tuesday afternoon. The talented, versatile pass catcher from Billings (Mont.) West High had been trending towards the Wolverines for a while but made his decision official before taking official visits.

That pledge from On3’s No. 92 prospect and No. 5 tight end helped U-M leap into the Top 20 of the industry team recruiting rankings. Michigan now sits at No. 18 nationally and No. 5 in the Big Ten. With fewer than 10 days until official visit season begins, the program holds 6 commitments in its 2026 class. 

Compared to the rest of the nation, the Wolverines still have a pretty small class. Amongst the four teams ahead of U-M in the Big Ten rankings, USC sits on the extreme with 27 commits and holds the No. 1 class in the conference. Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State are the other programs in front of Michigan, and they all have more commits. 

In fact, only one school in the Top 10 of the Big Ten rankings (Maryland) has fewer pledges than the Wolverines at this point. 

Despite that, U-M has now vaulted back into familiar territory. On3 bases its current industry team ranking off of an average of eight commits. Ludwig gave this class a tremendous boost.

“He has a very well-rounded skill set and can do a little bit of everything,” On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power said. “When you’re projecting him as a tight end long term, you’re looking at a guy who is dangerous after the catch. I think he’s going to be one who is going to pick up a lot of yardage, fight through contact, break tackles and just be a physical player. I could see him turning into a strong blocker as well with just continued development there.”

Top 100 quarterback commit Brady Smigiel leads the class in the industry ranking as the No. 91 prospect nationally and the No. 9 quarterback. Ludwig is an On3 outlier but still checks into the industry ranking as the No. 175 prospect in the class. On300 cornerback Brody Jennings slots in at No. 287, followed by interior offensive lineman Bear McWhorter at No. 547, wide receiver Jaylen Pile at No. 803 and edge rusher Tariq Boney at No. 819. 

Most of Michigan’s highly ranked targets plan on taking official visits in June, so the bulk of the class won’t come together until then. The Wolverines’ class score sits at 88.75. That’s a 3.44 decrease from last cycle, but there’s a long way to go until signing day. Michigan’s current class has a Blue Chip ratio of 50 percent. 

You may also like