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While college football recruiting is currently in a late-winter hiatus, there’s still plenty of Michigan football recruiting news to catch up on.
In today’s recruiting roundup, we’ll take a deep dive into the pursuit of a top-100 safety, including players currently on the roster, a Miami player interested in the Wolverines, and one of Arkansas’ best players in a Michigan high school. One, despite being recruited by most coaches heading to the NFL, remains on his roster.
Top 100 safeties talk Michigan among top schools in 2025
Jadyn Hudson, one of the top safeties in the 2025 class, said in a recent interview with Wolverines’ EJ Holland ($) that the Wolverines have been pursuing him.
“They recruited me very hard before they won the national championship,” Hudson said. “Overall, they’re a great program. They have a good defense. I feel like I can play free ball or strong safety. I could see myself adapting well to that defense.”
Hudson included Michigan State in his top 10 released this fall. What could give Michigan an edge in this recruitment is the fact that he’s familiar with current Michigan defensive back Zeke Berry, who praised Michigan as a great place to improve as a player.
“Zeke went to De La Salle, but he grew up in Pittsburgh like me,” Hudson said. “He told me some really good things about Michigan. He said the work you do is rewarding. He said you’ll learn a lot and really develop there.”
Hudson hopes to return to school this offseason. He hadn’t been to Ann Arbor since last year, so this was a return trip for him.
“They have a great environment,” Hudson said. “I was there early last spring. I loved the strength and conditioning program. They did a great job with the athletes and changing their bodies. I would definitely visit again. I just wanted to get a perspective from a players perspective. See more, like school life.”
He has offers from Georgia, Ohio State, LSU and Miami, among others, and 247Sports has two crystal balls predicting he’ll be headed to Oregon State. He was rated the 96th best prospect in his class, the eighth best safety and the 10th best prospect out of California in the 247Sports composite rankings.
2025 four-star Miami linebacker commit discusses interest in Michigan
Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Marie is reportedly one of the newest members of Michigan’s coaching staff and has established recruiting relationships with several top linebackers. That includes Elijah Melendez, a top-150 linebacker who committed to Miami in December.
Melendez expands on his relationship with new Michigan coach with Bryce Maric ($) from Michigan Insider. Jean-Marie recruited Melendez back when he was coaching at Tennessee.
“Michigan has stayed in touch with me and the staff has been very genuine. I love Michigan,” Melendez said. “Coach BJ is real, he and I are from the same area, so we work really well together. I’ve always looked at Michigan as my top competitor. I’ve always loved the University of Michigan and now with the addition of Coach BJ, I just hope they recruit me hard because they haven’t had a linebackers coach in a few months and Michigan is still in my top three. Now we’ll see what they can do with it.”
Melendez spoke highly of Michigan’s culture and winning approach. He seems excited to be back on campus a few more times, which may influence his decision.
“Yeah, I should go to (Michigan) for an informal meeting this spring and then go to a formal meeting and then maybe go to another informal meeting as signing day gets closer,” Melendez said.
The fact that Melendez wanted to return to Michigan three times does speak volumes, especially considering his current commitment to Miami. The Badgers were recruiting him heavily before he committed, and it doesn’t look like they’re going to take their foot off the gas pedal anytime soon, especially with Jean-Marie in town.
Three Star S Discussion with Sherrone Moore
Michigan has been pursuing 2025 three-star defensive back Marcus Wimberly, one of the top prospects out of Arkansas and ranked just outside the top 500 overall. However, with his top recruiter Jay Harbaugh departing for the NFL, Michigan fans have reason to question whether his interest in the program is still justified.
Well, we now have some answers, as Wimberly discussed his recent conversations with new head coach Sheron Moore to Maric of Michigan Insider ($).
“I’ve been in contact (with Michigan State),” Wimberly said. “Coach Moore actually just called me the other day just to check in on me and let me know he was excited to have me back there! I’ve also been consistent with Coach Popper (assistant director of recruiting) contact.”
Wimberly, one of several new players to play at Ohio State in Ann Arbor, announced on Dec. 1 that he was opting out of Arkansas State. Oklahoma State appears to be his favorite based on the last four Crystal Ball predictions, but Michigan State still appears to be high on his list right now.
“They’re still my top three recruiting schools right now, without a doubt,” Wimberly said. “You can’t find a better place than Michigan. So, yeah, man, they’re still high for me and I think I’ll come back this spring if I can.”
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