Michigan Bests Ohio State for a Recruit... Again

With Monsanna Torbert Jr. choosing the Wolverines over the Buckeyes in the 2027 class, let's look at a couple other times Michigan has bested Ohio State for a recruit

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Michigan and Ohio State own one of the gridiron’s most famous rivalries. However, the enmity shared between and directed across these two programs extends well beyond the turf and stadiums upon which and in which their contests are played. 

Past fighting words spit out behind podiums at press conferences and beyond traditions targeting either the team up north or those guys down south, perhaps the most impactful battleground of this rivalry outside the games themselves is on the recruiting trail. 

BREAKING: Four-Star CB Monsanna Torbert Jr. has Committed to Michigan, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’0 175 CB chose the Wolverines over Ohio State and Indiana

“I guess I’m the villain now, GOBLUE”https://t.co/ESqFiFi7Jy pic.twitter.com/xUIrcpxr5W

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 1, 2026

Michigan and Ohio State are two of the preeminent programs in college football, each with resources and allure aplenty, and the two of them consistently attract players from among the best high school has to offer. Geographically close as well, it is only natural for the two Big Ten behemoths to find themselves locked in a head-to-head recruiting battle on occasion, each vying for the same four or five-star prodigy. 

When that happens, recruitments get vicious and commitments become ever sweeter when Michigan can secure a decision over their Buckeye rivals. 

With Monsanna Torbert Jr.’s decision, Wolverine fans can now bask in such a recent triumph. What makes this recent victory so enjoyable, and when have we seen similar victories in recruitment struggles before?

Torbert to Michigan

Torbert is a top-100 prospect out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and the tenth-best DB prospect in the 2027 class, according to Rivals. His story did not initially star the Buckeyes and Wolverines, as Torbert had been committed to Indiana until mid May, but when he reopened his recruitment, the two rivals quickly swooped in.

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It appeared early on that it was the Buckeyes who had usurped the Hoosiers as Torbert’s likely landing spot, but when the Wolverines secured an official visit from the Ohioan for Victors Weekend, they hit that opportunity out of the park. 

Now, they’ve secured Torbert’s commitment and added to their already staunch 2027 recruiting class, bolstering an especially strong cluster of incoming secondary players. However, Torbert’s recruitment is more meaningful than just that. 

Monsanna Torbert a fast cover corner with great change of direction and football I.Q. with his quarterback background helping.

How he fits into a very strong Michigan secondary class right now and how the Wolverines got it done.

(On3+) https://t.co/x4saA9s8Eo pic.twitter.com/NT2aALk1nC

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) July 1, 2026

Swooping in and stealing the four star from Ohio State’s backyard is immensely satisfying in the vindictive rivalry sense, but also evinces the solidity of Michigan’s program under Kyle Whittingham. Torbert spurned Columbus in favor of Ann Arbor. Say what you will about the Buckeyes, but they recruit at the apex of the sport, and swaying a prospect from them is no easy task - doing so reflects a vital and surging football program.

When else has this happened?

Torbert is not the first (sensible) recruit to choose Michigan over Ohio State. Though he is the first Ohio native in the 2027 class, Michigan has recruited quite well from the Buckeye state in the recent past. 

Fellow Cincinnati native Jordan Marshall was another priority target for the Buckeyes during his recruitment, but he dons maize and blue because of the work Jim Harbaugh put into his commitment.

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A little further back, Donovan Edwards was a blue chip recruit who had serious ties to Ohio State despite being a Michigan resident, instead of the other way around. Capitalizing on home-field advantage, Edwards was another commit Harbaugh bested the Buckeyes for - a triumph that Ohio State would grow to rue. 

Further still, Jabrill Peppers was a top-four recruit in the nation who was between Ohio State and Michigan towards the end. Like Edwards, like Marshall, and hopefully like Torbert, Peppers chose Michigan and played out a legendary career.