Wolverine Digest

Michigan's 2026 recruiting class moves up after beating out Notre Dame for elite defensive lineman

Jerred Johnson|
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore
Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Michigan fans have been unfairly maligned in the 2026 recruiting cycle. The class has been slow to develop, with only eight members in total. Sherrone Moore and his staff do not seem worried, though; they have stuck to the process and kept grinding to build relationships with elite-level recruits. Those efforts paid off, as they were able to snag an elite blue-chip defensive lineman from rival Notre Dame.

McHale Blade is an imposing figure, standing at 6 feet 5 inches and weighing 255 pounds. He is a composite four-star recruit with a composite national ranking placing him 155th in the nation. Blade was thought to be favoring the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for much of his recruitment. A recent visit to Ann Arbor changed all of that, and Blade became the eighth member of Michigan's 2020 recruiting class.

Blade's commitment moves Michigan up to 15th among teams in On3's team recruiting rankings for the 2026 cycle. The Wolverines have been steadily moving up and appear poised to assemble another top 10 class. Four of the Wolverines' eight commits are blue chip level (four or five-star). The class is headed by quarterback Brady Smigiel, who is the only member to have a five-star rating on any of the major recruiting sites (Rivals). While the class is trending and heading in the right direction, Coach Moore and his staff have a lot of work left to do and a number of prospects that could help push this class into an elite level nationally.

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Jerred Johnson
JERRED JOHNSON

Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration.

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