Michigan Football 2018 Recruiting Class Might Look Underwhelming

The Big Ten as a whole is putting together some really good 2018 recruiting classes, leaving Michigan football with what might be an underwhelming showing.

If you look at the 247Sports 2018 recruiting class rankings right now, it shows rather surprising results in the Big Ten.

Yes, of course, Ohio State is holding onto the top spot with two five-star and eight four-star commitments already, but it gets a little weird after that. Penn State is currently No. 2 (also with two five-star commits), followed by Nebraska at No. 3, Northwestern at No. 4, and Minnesota at No. 5.

You won’t see Michigan football until No. 6, an unfamiliar spot when considering the Wolverines have never finished worse than No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite era, which dates back to 1999.

As it stands now, it would be surprising to see Michigan at something worse than No. 5 come next spring, but to see the Wolverines move up to No. 2 or No. 3 would be almost as surprising. Ohio State and Penn State are putting together two really good classes, and Nebraska could be a strong No. 3.

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That leaves Michigan passing Minnesota and Northwestern for the No. 4 spot, which seems like a much more reasonable outcome.

Part of what’s hurting Michigan right now is that it only has eight commits, while every team above it has at least 10. The Wolverines are without a five-star (and it doesn’t look like there’s a great chance that they’ll get one), but they do have five four-star commits.

Michigan has missed out on a couple big-time prospects that could have given it a rankings boost. Maybe most notable, four-star dual-threat quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson chose UCLA over the Wolverines.

Michigan doesn’t seem to be on the inside track for any remaining five-stars, but top remaining targets like four-star defensive tackle Tyler Friday and four-star tight end Mustapha Muhammad indicate that the Wolverines are still very capable of making moves upward.

As odd as it might seem to see Michigan in such a position in the Big Ten, the Wolverines are still in good shape on the national stage with a No. 17 ranking.

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Michigan has finished No. 2 in the Big Ten the last two seasons (behind Ohio State each time), but that doesn’t look like a trend that’s going to continue with the next recruiting class. However, don’t let that become too big of a staple next year, as this developing class is still going to be in good shape.

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