With July here, the countdown to college football keeps shrinking, and Michigan fans are already looking ahead to the program’s first season with Kyle Whittingham in charge. As part of that preview, Michigan on SI put together its list of the 25 most important Wolverines for 2026, and the latest name on the board is incoming freshman edge rusher Carter Meadows at No. 24.
Meadows arrives with plenty of buzz. The Washington, D.C., native was ranked as the third-best recruit at his position in the class of 2026 and the No. 11 overall recruit in the country. At roughly 6-foot-6 and 235 pounds, he already has the kind of frame that jumps off the page, and that size is expected to keep growing once he gets to Ann Arbor.
The interest in Meadows was widespread long before he signed. Ohio State, Miami, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Penn State and Notre Dame were among the schools that offered him.
His path to early playing time looks especially clear because of what Michigan lost to the NFL. Derrick Moore and Jaishawn Barham, the team’s two sack leaders from a season ago, are gone.
TJ Guy, another important edge piece in 2025, also moved on to the NFL as an undrafted free agent. That kind of turnover opens the door for a newcomer to carve out snaps quickly.
Whittingham made his feelings on Meadows clear on signing day, calling him, "Carter Meadows big good-looking young man six-foot-seven," and adding, "One of the top defensive ends in the country if not the top. Tremendous athlete, you know the length as I mentioned is a big positive for him.
Had some good conversations with Carter. Young man out of Maryland and we're excited to get him here in June."
For now, John Henry Daley stands as the established name on Michigan’s edge. The Utah transfer comes in with plenty of preseason attention and is expected to be one of the top defensive linemen on the roster, maybe even the best player on the team. Last season, he earned All-American honors as a junior.
After Daley, though, the picture gets much less settled. There’s room for someone to grab pressure-producing snaps, and Meadows has the tools to be that player.
Even if he starts the season in a limited role, the expectation is that his workload will keep climbing as the year goes on. By November, he should be a regular part of the defensive rotation.
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