After losing three straight games — including back-to-back weeks as a three-touchdown favorite over UCLA and Northwestern — Penn State has fired head coach James Franklin, per multiple reports on Sunday afternoon. Franklin was among the longer tenured coaches in the Big Ten and had been with the Nittany Lions since the 2014 season.
Penn State and Michigan have had some great battles on the field over the years, but they have also recruited a lot of the same players as well.
Here are three players committed
to Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class that Michigan should reach out to now that Franklin is no longer in Happy Valley.
Three-star CB Jaziel Hart
A 5-foot-11, 170-pounder from Roanoke, Virginia, Hart was one of Michigan’s top targets in the secondary before he committed to the Nittany Lions back in May. He has visited Michigan in the past, so he is already familiar with what the program and school would offer him.
“Penn State and Michigan are at the top right now,” Hart told On3’s EJ Holland ($) before he made his commitment. “They’ve shown intense and consistent loyalty to me. They’ve shown consistent love and hospitality every time I go (for visits).”
With a need at the cornerback position still to be filled in this class for the Wolverines, it would be a good idea to at least reach out and gauge his interest. Hart was set to take an official visit to Ann Arbor in June before he shut things down. With official visits still in his back pocket, perhaps Morgan and company can get him to use one for one of the remaining home games at the Big House this season.
Four-star WR Davion Brown
Another player Michigan was pursuing before a commitment back in the month of May, Brown is a 6-foot-1, 195-pound wideout from Richmond, Virginia. Ron Bellamy offered him a scholarship back in Jan. 2024 and got him on campus earlier this spring for an unofficial visit.
Described by 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins as a “RAC bully with linear juice and a larger frame that will go down as the all-time leading receiver in the greater Richmond area,” Brown would be a fantastic addition to Michigan’s 2026 wide receiver class that already features four-stars Travis Johnson and Zion Robinson, and three-star Jaylen Pile. Ivins also deems him a “dangerous return man,” which is something Michigan desperately needs.
With wideout being a major need for the program moving forward, it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Bellamy to reach out to Brown and see if he would have any interest in hearing out other schools.
Four-star edge Jackson Ford
Michigan doesn’t need another defensive lineman in this class…at least not this very moment.
Four-star edge rusher Julian Walker, who committed to Michigan this summer, has been flirting with South Carolina recently. He also took a trip to North Carolina, although the Tar Heels don’t appear to be a legitimate threat to flip him. In the event Walker flips to South Carolina, Michigan would very likely want to get another edge rusher in the class.
Ford — a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder from the state of Pennsylvania — was a top priority for the Wolverines before he committed to Penn State. Michigan hosted him for an official visit back in June and was on his Top-4 list as well, alongside the Nittany Lions, Ohio State and Wisconsin. Lou Esposito has proven to be one hell of a recruiter in Ann Arbor, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him reach out to Ford when/if Walker decommits.
