Michigan kept its 2027 offensive line momentum rolling on Wednesday, landing in-state three-star Braden Chaffin after he flipped his commitment from Stanford.
The Wolverines had just lost a lineman when three-star Sidney Rouleau decommitted last week, but Jim Harding and his staff moved quickly to plug the gap. Chaffin, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound prospect from Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, gives Michigan another big body from its own backyard.
Chaffin was offered by Harding and the Wolverines on Oct. 30, then took an official visit to Ann Arbor for the Michigan State game. Before that visit, he made it clear how much the opportunity meant to him.
“Every kid from Michigan dreams of playing for the Wolverines, so I personally feel like I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to see what the new staff and university are about,” Chaffin told Rivals before his official visit. “I’m excited to talk and meet with the staff about their vision for how I could play a role but also the program moving forward.”
Rivals’ Allen Trieu recently highlighted the kind of player Michigan is getting, pointing to Chaffin’s size, early promise and the way his recruitment was affected by a transfer and a lost junior season. He transferred from University of Detroit Jesuit to Stevenson and had to sit out his junior year, which slowed things down. But when he returned as a senior, he put together strong film that helped push Michigan to offer.
Chaffin’s offer sheet included Stanford, Michigan, UCLA, Northwestern, Minnesota, Louisville and more. He also visited Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan State, though none of those schools offered him.
With Chaffin in the fold, Michigan now has the No. 23 overall player and its fourth offensive lineman in the 2027 class. He joins four-stars Jakari Lipsey and Lincoln Mageo, along with three-star Louis Esposito.
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Tom Izzo Had Quite A Message For Duke After This Loss
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The more revealing part of the night was how quickly Izzo shifted from basketball to the broader mood around the program. With Michigan State still riding the emotional lift of its recent football win over Michigan, he drew a sharp contrast between the two moments, underscoring just how much that rivalry result meant in East Lansing. The Duke game mattered, but it was only part of a much larger stretch of celebration around the Spartans. [Read more 🡒]