As the college football landscape continues to evolve, so too has high school recruiting. The obvious changes have been discussed ad nauseam, but there are also other more subtle changes at play. The introduction of NIL has made it easier to pluck players from anywhere in the country, so does that diminish the need to protect your home state?
The Wolverines have had at least one player from the state of Michigan sign with them as far back as 247Sports’ data goes back — 1999. However, Michigan’s 2026 class currently has zero in-state prospects committed. A look at the rankings of the top players in the state shows most of them have committed elsewhere, with Cass Tech’s CJ Sadler as the only prospect Michigan appears to be recruiting, though he may not be a take by the Wolverines at this juncture.