Kamden Lopati’s first Friday night of his senior season looked a lot like the kind of performance that gets a coaching staff excited in the first place.
The Michigan quarterback commit helped Salt Lake City (UT) West open its year with a 20-14 win over Arbor View, and he did it by showing off the same dual-threat traits that made him such an appealing target for the Wolverines. Lopati finished 14-of-23 for 265 yards and a touchdown through the air, then added 80 rushing yards on 13 carries.
He also spent the night in a matchup with a familiar name for Michigan recruiting followers: former Wolverines target Thaddeus Thatcher, who ended up choosing Oregon State.
Lopati’s path to Ann Arbor was not the straight line it first appeared to be. He initially pledged to Illinois before reopening his recruitment after Kyle Whittingham and Jason Beck moved on to Michigan. The Wolverines had already been in contact with the Utah native, and by April, Lopati was in Michigan’s 2027 class.
At 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, Lopati brings the kind of frame and arm talent that can jump off the screen. He can drive the ball downfield, layer throws, and create when the pocket breaks down. He is not as athletic as Devon Dampier was for Utah this past season, but the playmaking shows up.
His senior debut only added to the momentum around his profile. Lopati is currently No. 118 on Rivals’ Industrial rankings and as high as No. 35 overall, according to ESPN. He’s also coming off a high school career that already has plenty of production behind it: more than 5,600 passing yards and nearly 60 touchdown passes over his last two seasons, plus 730 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground last year.
247Sports remains the outlier, keeping Lopati as a three-star prospect even after his showing at Elite 11 and the growing buzz around him. If he keeps stacking performances like Friday’s, that label may not last long.
For Michigan, the appeal is pretty clear. Jason Beck identified Lopati as his first quarterback in the 2027 cycle, and with Bryce Underwood expected to be in place for at least one more year, and likely two, Lopati won’t be asked to walk in and take the job on day one. But he has the tools to push for a backup role, and nights like this are exactly why the Wolverines wanted him.
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