We’re a few weeks into the college football season, and there’s plenty of recruiting news to get to before Michigan hosts Central Michigan this weekend. Let’s start this edition of the Recruiting Roundup with a player Michigan is trying to sway away from a new Big Ten rival.
Michigan still going after five-star DB
Michigan lost out on the initial recruiting race for 2026 five-star defensive back Davon Benjamin, but the race may not be over just yet. Benjamin, who reportedly had Michigan in his top two, committed to Oregon a month ago. He
recently told On3’s Ethan McDowell ($) that Michigan nearly got to the finish line with him.
“People don’t really know that, but Michigan was very, very close,” Benjamin said. “If I didn’t choose Oregon, I was going to choose Michigan.”
Benjamin went on to say that Oregon’s culture is what ultimately helped the Ducks win the race. In a recent story ($), McDowell reported that Benjamin talks to Michigan defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan every other week. He also reported that Malik Cyphers, Benjamin’s high school secondary coach, “emphasized just how close this recruitment was.”
Reading the tea leaves here, the fact that Morgan is maintaining a relationship, and Benjamin’s high school coach is telling a reporter how close the decision was, tells me that Benjamin is keeping his options open. Michigan is doing its best to flip him, so stay tuned for more developments.
Michigan recruiting LB from Biff Poggi’s old stomping grounds
Biff Poggi — who was just announced as Michigan’s interim coach during Sherrone Moore’s suspension — is a legend in the DMV area. After winning 13 state titles in 19 seasons at Gilman, he founded Saint Frances Academy, a private school in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.
With that connection, it’s a no-brainer that Michigan is pursuing players like 2026 four-star linebacker DQ Forkpa, who just transferred to Saint Frances from IMG Academy this year. Forkpa was supposed to make his decision this summer, but that kept getting delayed. According to On3’s EJ Holland ($), Cliff Hill, Forkpa’s agent, is working on finalizing a game day visit to Michigan.
“Coach Poggi is amazing,” said St. Frances head coach Messay Hailemariam to Holland. “He’s a marquee mentor in our community. He was good to a lot of people in the area. He does an amazing job of giving kids opportunities to develop. I have a lot of respect and love for who Biff is as a man as well as what he did for the young men at our school.”
Hill also said that Michigan General Manager Sean Magee has been “incredibly transparent” and has “always been a pleasure to work with.” This all comes as Holland reported that Florida has dropped off in the recruiting process, leaving Florida State as Michigan’s biggest threat.
Michigan has worked with Hill before, as he represented freshman linebacker Nathanial Owusu-Boateng and 2026 wide receiver commit Jaylen Pile through their recruitments. Hopefully Hill and Magee can come to a reasonable agreement and help get Forkpa to Ann Arbor.
Michigan included in group of favorites for four-star S
While a lot of the recruiting news this week has focused around the two 2026 players listed above, a new interview from a 2027 prospect sheds light on where Michigan stands with him.
Michigan has been pursuing 2027 four-star safety Myles Baker — ranked 341st on the composite — for a while now, and Baker called Michigan his “dream school” last month. Baker, whose dad is from Michigan, told Rivals’ Adam Gorney ($) that Michigan offered him when he last went to campus.
“Everything I’ve been working on since I was young was starting to pay off,” Baker said. “I would say they’re definitely a top three for me. They’re up there for sure.”
In that interview, Baker acknowledged Notre Dame and LSU also made a good impression on him. There are no crystal ball predictions logged for Baker, but I’d suggest Michigan continues to lean on that family connection with this recruitment.
