Tag: Chase Herbstreit

2026 Season Countdown: #76-80

#76. C.J. Charleston – WR – Cleveland (OH) Gilmour Academy: Nobody really talks about this, but Charleston is a super weird eligibility story and I have no idea what’s going on when it comes to why he’s still on Michigan’s roster. The 6’0″, 190 lb. wideout started two games for Michigan back in 2024, so he has played at the Big Ten level . . . but he started his college career all the way back in 2019. Just for some context, Michigan’s headliner in the 2019 class was Daxton Hill . . . who is now entering his fifth season in the NFL. Charleston played at Youngstown State prior to Michigan and is now in his third season on the Wolverines roster. He was injured last year and the plan for him this fall is unclear. I have a hard time believing he’ll work his way back to a starting role, partly because the new coaching staff has upgraded the receiver room with transfers like Jaime Ffrench and Salesi Moa. But Charleston does have college playing experience and is the oldest player on Michigan’s roster, so maybe that will be enough to get him on the field situationally.

#77. Nico Andrighetto – S – Mountain View (CA) St. Francis: Andrighetto is a 5’9″, 190 lb. fifth year senior who has been named Scout Team Player of the Year three times during his career – on defense in 2023-2024 and on special teams in 2025. He made just 1 tackle last season but played in eight total games. We’ll see if the new coaching staff will also recognize his strengths and abilities, but I figure Andrighetto will continue to be a contributor on special teams.

#78. I’Marion Stewart – WR – Chicago (IL) Kenwood: Stewart is one of those players who came in with some excitement . . . and now it seems to be getting late early. He didn’t see the field in 2024 and suffered an ACL injury in 2025, so now he enters year three in college with zero playing experience. Once thought of as a potential kick/punt returner and a possible solution at slot receiver, he seems to be getting zero buzz. I’m giving the edge to Charleston (see above) when it comes to importance, but Stewart had higher upside coming out of high school. Is he healthy and can he translate the mental reps from the past couple years into doing some good things on the field this fall? My guess is that we won’t see much of him in 2026, but maybe he could show up as a returner on special teams.

#79. Kaden Catchings – LB – Jackson (MS) Hartfield: Michigan’s first signee out of Mississippi since Jeremy LeSueur, Catchings is listed as a 6’1″, 220 lb. freshman. He made 29 tackles and 2 sacks on defense and rushed for 336 yards and 6 touchdowns on offense during his senior season. Michigan brought in several transfer linebackers (Max Alford, Aisea Moa, Nate Staehling, etc.) and has some unproven talent in the linebacker room, so the depth chart is a little bit muddy. However, Catchings is probably not going to play much this fall.

#80. Chase Herbstreit – QB – Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier: Redshirt freshman Herbstreit is listed at 6’1″, 198 lbs. and appears to be well down the depth chart for the Wolverines. The son of ESPN analyst – and former Ohio State quarterback – Kirk Herbstreit, Chase fell behind true freshman Tommy Carr as soon as Carr arrived on campus this winter. With former Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi also entering the fray this summer, it appears that Herbstreit will be no higher than fourth on the quarterback depth chart. His size, athleticism, and arm strength are only so-so, which means his path to playing time will have to come from his intellect. I don’t think that will be enough for him this season, so Herbstreit will likely be a scout team guy in 2026.

2025 Season Countdown: #101-104

Okay, so as I mentioned before, this summer has been an odd one because of some personal stuff going on. Because of that, I basically ignored the 2025 Season Countdown for several weeks and I’ve mainly just been trying to keep up with commitment posts and visitor lists during a busy June/July. As an attempt to catch back up, I’m going to do the countdown in batches instead of individually until I can catch up.

104. QB Chase Herbstreit (Fr.): The son of former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, Chase (3-star, #149 QB, #2222 overall) was a late addition to the class of 2025. With Bryce Underwood and Mikey Keene vying for the starting job, the real race is for the #3 spot, which could go to incoming transfer Jake Garcia or redshirt freshman Jadyn Davis (or fifth year senior Davis Warren if he gets healthy). But Herbstreit will almost certainly be on the outside looking in.

103. C Kaden Strayhorn (Fr.): Strayhorn (3-star, #35 IOL, #518 overall), the son of former Michigan State defensive tackle Jason Strayhorn, came from IMG Academy and enrolled early. He struggled a little bit in the spring game, which is to be expected, especially since he spent a lot of time playing tackle in high school. With Greg Crippen returning as a starter and a couple other guys, including redshirt freshman Jake Guarnera, also getting snaps in practice, Strayhorn will probably be no higher than #3 or #4 on the depth chart at center.

102. TE Eli Owens (Fr.): Owens, the son of former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens (just kidding), wants to be the next Max Bredeson. The problem is that former walk-on Jalen Hoffman also wants to be the next Max Bredeson, and Hoffman was the star of the spring game. Owens (3-star, #29 TE, #562 overall) is probably going to be a thumping fullback/H-back at some point in his career, but we’ll likely have to wait for 2026 after Max Bredeson graduates.

101. DT Travis Moten (Fr.): Moten (4-star, #35 DL, #328 overall) is listed at 6’5″ and 250 pounds, and he’s headed for the defensive tackle position in college. Even if he has added significant weight since his senior season, it’s tough to play on the interior defensive line in college because the musculature and technique just haven’t caught up yet to where they need to be. Michigan rotates a ton on the defensive line and also needs to keep an eye on developing for 2026, because a bunch of seniors will leave the squad after this season. So maybe Moten can sneak in some garbage time snaps, but he probably won’t play a significant role.

2025 Recruiting Update: February 4, 2025

Tomorrow is the anticlimactic “late” National Signing Day that we have to suffer through after the “early” signing period that popped up in December a few years ago. It’s tough to get too excited about the early signing period since we’re still in the midst of thoughts about Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Eve, bowl games, the College Football Playoff, etc. at that time of year, but there’s still some potential for excitement for the 2025 class:

Denton (TX) Ryan offensive tackle Ty Haywood (4-star, #6 OT, #39 overall) will be announcing his commitment at 8:00 a.m. CST (9:00 a.m. EST), so keep an eye on him. It appears to be a Florida State vs. Michigan battle, but Michigan is the betting favorite as of right now. The 6’5″, 285-pounder could be a star in the near future and would make two top-40 offensive tackles for Michigan in the class if he joins Andrew Babalola, who signed in December. Haywood has outstanding potential, but my primary concern is that he’s usually the last guy off the ball, so he needs to get quicker off the snap.

Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier quarterback Chase Herbstreit (3-star, #147 QB, #2191 overall) committed to Michigan already, but he committed after the early signing period was over, so he should officially be in the fold on Wednesday. He just took his official visit to Ann Arbor this past weekend, which caused an uproar on the internet since his dad, famous Ohio State alum-turned-broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit, showed up in some social media pictures wearing navy blue and a Michigan lanyard.

Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep defensive end Zahir Mathis (4-star, #12 EDGE, #114 overall) is still uncommitted after decommitting from Ohio State. Michigan was in the mix, but the two parties parted ways before Mathis took an official visit in January, so it looks to be down to Florida State and Maryland for Mathis.

OFF THE BOARD

Columbia (SC) Heathwood Hall Episcopal cornerback Onis Konanbanny (4-star, #34 CB, #361 overall) flipped from Tennessee to Florida. He had been committed to the Volunteers since August 2024.

Visitors: January 31-February 2, 2025

TRANSFER PORTAL

Pat Coogan – C – Notre Dame: Coogan is a 6’5″, 310-pounder who has spent most of the past two seasons starting for the Fighting Irish. A fifth year senior, he was a starting guard in 2023 and a starting center in 2024, earning grades of 66.1 and 72.1, respectively, from Pro Football Focus. Initially slated to be a backup at center in 2024, he ended up starting most of the year due to an injury to the starter. Coogan was expected to be a backup again in 2025 despite playing over 1,500 snaps in the past two seasons, so he hit the transfer portal for his one remaining season of eligibility. He was a 3-star, the #42 interior offensive lineman, and #613 overall coming out of Chicago (IL) Marist in 2021. UPDATE: Coogan committed to Indiana and will no longer be visiting Michigan.

2025

Chase Herbstreit – QB – Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier: Herbstreit has already committed to Michigan (LINK) but will take his official visit this weekend.

Hit the jump for more.

Chase Herbstreit, Wolverine

Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier quarterback Chase Herbstreit committed to Michigan on Sunday. Michigan appears to have been his only FBS offer.

Herbstreit is listed at 6’2″ and 185 pounds on 247 Sports. As a senior in 2024, he threw for 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also ran for 649 yards and 8 touchdowns.

RANKINGS
ESPN: Unranked
On3: 3-star, 83 grade, #128 QB
Rivals: 3-star QB, 5.5 grade
247 Sports: 3-star, 83 grade, #148 QB

Hit the jump for more.