Michigan football has landed its share of blue-chip talent over the last decade, but the true five-star haul has been a short list. Some arrived with huge expectations and never quite matched them. Others became the kind of players who helped define the Harbaugh era, especially when the stakes were highest.
Looking back at every five-star recruit Michigan has signed over the past 10 years - including the program’s newest additions - the ranking starts with a few misses and ends with the players who left the biggest mark.
Aubrey Solomon comes in at No. 9.
A composite five-star and the No. 23 overall player in the 2017 class, his signing was seen as a major win for Jim Harbaugh. But Solomon lasted only two seasons in Ann Arbor before transferring to Tennessee, making him the least impactful of Harbaugh’s five-star signees.
Donovan Peoples-Jones is next at No. 8.
The top wide receiver in the 2017 class, he never fully lived up to the billing, even though Michigan fans will always remember the unforgettable touchdown catch against Michigan State in 2018 and the end zone pose that followed. He finished his Michigan career with 1,327 yards, left after his junior season, and was taken in the sixth round by the Cleveland Browns.
In the end, Nico Collins - a four-star from the same class - ended up having the better college and NFL résumé.
At No. 7 is Carter Meadows, a 2026 EDGE who already looks the part at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds. He may be the most talented defensive line prospect Michigan has signed since Rashan Gary.
There’s obvious upside here, and the comparison to Aidan Hutchinson is about motor and how much a player can squeeze out of his gifts. Meadows has the kind of ceiling that makes people talk about “sky is the limit” before he’s even played a snap.
But Michigan has seen this movie before with Solomon and Gary: one hit, one miss. Meadows has to be the one who delivers.
Rashan Gary lands at No. 6.
The No. 1 overall prospect in the 2016 class, he was a stellar player for Michigan, even if he was used more like an interior defensive lineman than a pure edge rusher. He spent plenty of time absorbing double teams and working inside.
In the NFL, Gary has posted six seasons with at least five sacks, though he has never reached 10 in a year. The New Jersey native was traded this offseason after earning a second contract that eventually became a salary dump.
At Michigan, he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.
Daxton Hill checks in at No. 5.
Flipping a five-star defensive back away from Nick Saban on signing day was one of Harbaugh’s best recruiting wins, and Hill eventually became a key piece for Michigan. His first two seasons were uneven, but by his junior year he had settled in at nickel corner and earned All-Big Ten honors with four interceptions.
That season helped make him a first-round pick of the Bengals. He was also part of the 2021 team that won the Big Ten and beat Ohio State for the first time in 10 years.
No. 4 is Savion Hiter, and this one is a projection. Still, the feeling around him is strong enough to place him this high.
He might be the most talented offensive prospect in the class, even if he doesn’t play quarterback. He’s described as being in the perfect situation with Kyle Whittingham, and the running back comparisons are loud: he might be the best at the position since Saquon Barkley.
The blend of size, speed and power stands out immediately, and the expectation is that he won’t need long to make an impact. By the end of the 2026 season, he could be one of Michigan’s best players.
Donovan Edwards lands at No. 3.
There was always a sense that Michigan never fully unlocked everything he could do, especially as a receiver. The end of the 2021 season hinted at more after his 100-yard receiving game against Maryland, but the Wolverines rarely returned to that wrinkle.
Even so, Edwards delivered when it mattered most. He had the two iconic touchdown runs against Ohio State in 2022 and scored twice in the national championship game against Washington.
The in-state star finished with 2,251 rushing yards and 797 receiving yards, and his 216-yard, two-touchdown performance against Ohio State in 2022 is one Michigan fans won’t forget.
Will Johnson sits at No. 2.
He was one of the five-star additions that helped push Michigan all the way to a national title, along with J.J. McCarthy.
The 6-foot-3 corner chose Michigan over Ohio State in the 2022 class, committing before the 2021 season and then becoming part of the turnaround. He helped slow Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2022, then beat him to the ball for an interception in the first quarter of the 2023 game that essentially decided it.
That pick led to a Michigan touchdown, and Johnson did it again in the national title game, intercepting a pass in the third quarter to set up a field goal and stop Washington’s momentum. The Cardinals took him in the second round, and he also had two pick-sixes as a junior before an injury ended the rest of his 2024 season.
At No. 1, it has to be J.J. McCarthy.
Michigan had 25 future draft picks on its 2023 national championship team, but none mattered more than McCarthy. Across 2022 and 2023, he threw 22 touchdown passes, and his career numbers finished at 49 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
As a junior, he led the Big Ten by completing 72.9 percent of his passes and averaged 9.0 yards per attempt in 2023, 8.7 for his career. He also added 10 rushing touchdowns, including a career-high 27 total touchdowns in 2022.
Against Ohio State in 2022, he accounted for four scores - three passing and one rushing - and in 2023 he threw a touchdown pass without an interception. The numbers tell part of the story, but not all of it.
Michigan does not beat Ohio State three straight times or win a national championship without J.J. McCarthy.
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