Raylen Wilson (#5 on right, image via Dawg Nation)
Here’s a roundup of the former Michigan commits and how they did this past season.
FORMER COMMITS
DE Collins Acheampong (UCLA): Acheampong has yet to play any college snaps after two years, one with Miami and this past season with the Bruins.
LB Aaron Alexander (Michigan State Arkansas State): Alexander made 3 tackles this past season playing for the Spartans and has since transferred to Arkansas State.
WR Markus Allen (Eastern Michigan): The former Wisconsin Badger was EMU’s second leading receiver with 43 catches for 651 yards and 3 touchdowns. He is now in the transfer portal.
Jaishawn Barham – LB – Maryland: Barham is a 6’4″, 233 lb. prospect who spent the past two seasons with the Terrapins. In the class of 2022, he was a 4-star, the #10 linebacker, and #119 overall. For the 2023 season, he made 37 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 interception; that 1 interception came in the red zone against Michigan in the second to last week of the regular season. He could be a potential replacement for the graduating Michael Barrett, and perhaps junior Junior Colson could enter the NFL draft, too. Michigan offered him out of high school when he was coming from Baltimore (MD) St. Frances, which is the school that produced Blake Corum, Derrick Moore, Eyabi Okie, and others.
Joey Slackman – DT – Penn: Originally from Commack (NY) Commack, Slackman is a 6’4″, 300 lb. grad transfer from Penn. He made 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2023. The 2024 season would be his sixth year. UPDATE: Slackman is no longer visiting Michigan.
Upton Stout – S – Western Kentucky: Stout visited last weekend. He’s a 5’9″, 185 lb. player who made 29 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 8 pass breakups this past year. Originally from Houston (TX) North Shore, he started off at North Texas before transferring to WKU. Stout made 4 interceptions during his first year at WKU in 2022. Stout will be a redshirt junior in 2024 and could step in at nickel for Mike Sainristil.
2024
Jo’Ziah Edmond – CB – Nappanee (IN) Northwood: Edmond is committed to Michigan (LINK). He’s a 4-star, the #23 cornerback, and #335 overall. This is his official visit.
Lugard Edokpayi – DE – District Heights (MD) Bishop McNamara: Edokpayi is a 6’6″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #22 edge, and #268 overall. This is his official visit, a midweek stay from December 12-14.
Zach Ludwig – LB – South Park (PA) South Park: Ludwig is committed to Michigan. This is his official visit.
Jaden Smith – LB – Charlotte (NC) West Charlotte: Smith is committed to Michigan (LINK). This is his official visit.
Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna safety Zaquan Patterson (image via 247 Sports)
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Michigan’s annual BBQ at the Big House will be taking place on July 29-30. With a lot of connections already made for the current 2024 recruiting class, the BBQ is always largely about making inroads with underclassmen. Below is a list of players expected to make it to Ann Arbor for the BBQ:
TRANSFER
Nigel Glover – LB – Northwestern: Glover is a 6’3″, 210 lb. transfer from Northwestern who decided to leave the Wildcats after head coach Pat Fitzgerald was fired. He was a 4-star, the #30 linebacker, and #335 overall in the class of 2023 and was the program’s highest rated signee. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Pitt, Purdue, Washington, and West Virginia were some of the other Power Five programs after him out of high school, so that’s a decent offer list but not a great one.
2024
Jeremiah Beasley – LB – Belleville (MI) Belleville: Beasley is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Jacob Oden – S – Harper Woods (MI) Harper Woods: Oden is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Zaquan Patterson – S – Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna: Patterson is a 6’0″, 185 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, and Ohio State, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #3 safety, and #76 overall. A teammate of 2025 Michigan commit Chris Ewald (see below), this is Patterson’s second unofficial visit to Ann Arbor.
Brady Prieskorn – TE – Rochester (MI) Adams: Prieskorn is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Ben Roebuck – OT – Lakewood (OH) St. Edward: Roebuck is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Jaden Smith – LB – Charlotte (NC) West: Smith is committed to Michigan (LINK).
I’Marion Stewart – WR – Chicago (IL) Kenwood: Stewart is committed to Michigan (LINK).
LaGrange (GA) Troup County linebacker Qua Birdsong (4-star, #27 LB, #310 overall) decommitted from Cincinnati after about two months. He took an official visit to North Carolina State over the weekend.
Philadelphia (PA) Roman Catholic wide receiver Tyseer Denmark (4-star, #33 WR, #227 overall) decommitted from Oregon, and crystal balls started flying in for him to commit to the Penn State Nittany Lions.
OFF THE BOARD
Chattanooga (TN) Bradley Central athlete Boo Carter (4-star, #17 ATH, #207 overall) committed to Tennessee. He had officially visited Michigan and is a 7-on-7 teammate of Michigan safety commit Jacob Oden, so there was an opportunity for the Wolverines to land his commitment, but ultimately, he decided to stay home.
Olney (MD) Good Counsel linebacker Aaron Chiles (4-star, #6 LB, #80 overall) committed to Florida. Chiles was considered to be a strong Michigan lean and almost committed on his unofficial visit this spring. He was scheduled to take an official visit to Ann Arbor next week, but he pulled the trigger in Gainesville this past weekend, which was a big weekend for the Gators as they landed four 4-star commitments on Saturday.
