Kyle Whittingham only has a few players committed in the 2027 class as of now, but as he alluded to when he spoke to the media last week, recruiting is a marathon, not a sprint. There is plenty of time between now and the early signing period in December for the Michigan Wolverines to put together a solid recruiting class.
And if things go the way that Rivals recruiting expert Greg Biggins believes they will, the Wolverines will eventually add a highly regarded defensive prospect to their class. Biggins recently
wrote a piece detailing where he believes some recruits on the West Coast will land, and he believes that four-star cornerback Darius Johnson will choose Michigan when the time comes for him to announce his commitment.
Here’s what Biggins had to say:
Johnson locked in his official visit with Michigan a month ago and told us at the time the Wolverines were the team to beat. Since then, he added an unofficial trip to Ann Arbor for later this month and if said trip goes well, it won’t shock us at all if Johnson decides to cancel a few trips set to other programs. Cal has an official visit with Johnson and they’re definitely high on his list as well. UCLA is trying to stay involved and USC and Oregon are also in the picture although both appear to have other corners higher on their board right now which is another reason we like the Wolverines here.
Prediction: Michigan
Confidence level: 50%
Biggest competition: Cal
Johnson has been one of the Wolverines’ top overall targets on defense following the arrival of Whittingham and his defensive coaching staff. He was offered by Michigan back in January and has just one official visit booked — to Michigan the weekend of June 19. He is also set to take an unofficial visit to Michigan this Saturday.
Cornerbacks coach Jernaro Gilford is his primary recruiter for the Wolverines, but as you can see from the social media post below, pretty much every coach in Ann Arbor has lent a helping hand.
The 6-foot-1, 155-pounder from Murrieta, California has a ton of other really good offers from schools like USC, Oklahoma, Oregon, Indiana and others, but Biggins actually believes Cal is the top competition for Michigan in this recruitment.
With Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry and transfer Smith Snowden entering their final season of college football, as well as the Wolverines only getting one cornerback in the 2026 cycle (four-star Jamarion Vincent), cornerback is going to be a big position of need for Michigan in this class. To get a solid prospect like Johnson to commit sooner rather than later would be a great start for Whittingham and company.
Johnson is ranked No. 22 in the state of California, No. 26 at the cornerback position and No. 251 overall, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.
