Recruiting stars can light up a headline, but they do not guarantee production once the pads come on. Michigan has found that out the hard way with a few former five-stars who arrived in Ann Arbor with massive expectations and, for one reason or another, have not matched the billing.
Andrew Babalola is the easiest case to explain. The 2025 five-star offensive tackle, ranked No. 10 overall and No. 2 at his position, has barely had a chance to get started because injuries have kept stopping him in his tracks.
His freshman season was effectively wiped out in fall camp before the 2025 season when he tore his ACL. Babalola had been in the mix for the left tackle job with Blake Frazier, but near the end of camp he suffered a setback tied to the injury from a year earlier and is only now getting close to returning for Michigan.
Savion Hiter’s situation is different. The 2026 five-star running back, ranked No. 21 overall and No. 2 at his position, is not being labeled a bust here.
He has improved as the season has gone on. But he was supposed to arrive as a true freshman and look like a generational talent, and that hasn’t happened.
Hiter has 145 rushing yards on 45 carries with two touchdowns, both in the same game. He has added just five catches for 59 yards, and instead of taking over games, he has been part of a Michigan run game that has lacked power all season long.
Then there is Bryce Underwood, the 2025 five-star quarterback ranked No. 1 overall and No. 1 at his position, whose placement on this list is the least surprising of the three. Michigan pushed hard to flip him from LSU, then backed it up with NIL money that would pay him $3 million each year for four years, a total of $12 million.
So far, though, he has not looked like the kind of generational player that level of investment demands. Underwood’s high school reputation has not carried over to college, and there is a real chance he could be benched this season.
For Michigan, that makes him a candidate to go down as one of the program’s biggest recruiting busts.
In Other News...
Michigan's Exhibition Opener Suddenly Carries Two Huge Roster Questions
Michigans first exhibition game arrives Sunday against Eastern Michigan, and it now has a little more intrigue than a typical preseason tune-up. Head coach Mike Boynton Jr. said Roddy Gayle is expected to play, barring any last-minute changes, and the Wolverines are also hoping Jalen Reed will be cleared in time as they begin sorting out the early shape of the rotation.
The timing matters because this is the start of a short exhibition runway that also includes Oregon State and Houston before the regular season opens Nov. 2 against Oakland. Even in games that do not count, getting Gayle on the floor and Reed available would give Michigan a better read on how quickly the roster can settle, and it would answer two questions the staff would clearly prefer not to carry much longer. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans First Look Comes With Two Rotation Questions Still Looming
Michigan got a clearer picture of its preseason opener picture this week as Mike Boynton Jr. offered an update on availability before the matchup with Eastern Michigan. Several familiar names, including Moustapha Thiam, Roddy Gayle Jr., Kenny Noland and Ricky Liburd, are expected to be in the mix, giving the Wolverines a chance to start sorting out roles and combinations as the exhibition schedule begins.
Even so, the roster still has a few moving parts. Oscar Goodman and Jalen Reed remain uncertain, while Marcus Moller, Lincoln Cosby and Brandon McCoy Jr. are out for health and injury reasons, leaving a couple of rotation spots unsettled as Michigan tries to get a first real look at how its depth will hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Sent A Big Message In The In-State QB Race
Michigan has made another move to keep the states top talent close to home, this time extending a scholarship offer to Traverse City West quarterback Brayden Tillman. The rising prospect has drawn attention for the traits that tend to play well in Ann Arbor: size, arm strength, pocket presence and enough athletic ability to fit into what Michigan likes to do offensively.
For a staff that continues to emphasize in-state recruiting, the offer is as much about relationships as it is about evaluation. Tillman gives the Wolverines another local name to track in the quarterback conversation, and it also reinforces how seriously Michigan is treating the battle for elite homegrown talent as the cycle unfolds. [Read more 🡒]