Wolverine Digest

Michigan in heated recruiting battle with Ohio State, Oregon ahead of 4-star's decision

The Michigan Wolverines are in a battle with Ohio State and Oregon for one of the nation's top defensive prospects.
Chris Breiler|
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Michigan is looking to score a big win on the recruiting trail this weekend, but the Wolverines will need to beat out teams like Oregon (the current favorite), Ohio State, and LSU in order to get it done.

Four-star defensive lineman Deuce Geralds will be announcing his decision on Saturday at 4:30 pm ET, and he'll be choosing from his five finalists: LSU, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Oregon, and Michigan.

Geralds is rated as the No. 8 overall defensive lineman in the nation for the 2026 recruiting class, according to Rivals' latest rankings. The 6-1, 268-pound prospect out of Georgia is also listed as the No. 10 overall player from the state.

Speaking with Rivals ahead of his decision, Geralds shared his thoughts on Michigan. He understands the value of a Michigan education and acknowledged the Wolverines' success in developing NFL talent at the position.

“Michigan I feel like they have a great life after football with their alumni and they put two defensive tackles in the first round this past draft,” Geralds said. “That was very intriguing to me. I like coach (Sherrone) Moore, what he has going with the program and them having Bryce Underwood int he program. Playing with him would be amazing.”

Although anything is possible in today's era of recruiting, the Oregon Ducks appear to be the heavy favorite in this one, with On3 giving them a 64.6 percent chance in this recruiting battle. Michigan rival Ohio State is listed with the second-best odds at 26.4 percent.

In recent days, Michigan has fallen outside of the top 10 in the latest 2026 team rankings via On3, currently sitting at No. 11 in the nation. But the Wolverines are far from done when building the 2026 class, and there are some big targets still left on the board. As of this writing, the Wolverines have 22 total commitments in the class, including 12 four-star prospects and one five-star prospect.

Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

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Chris Breiler
CHRIS BREILER

Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.

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