3 thoughts on recent Michigan Football commitments

Michigan football has picked up seven commitments on the recruiting trail in the month of July and here are three thoughts on the recent wave of momentum. 

There was a time not that long ago that Michigan football fans were panicking a little bit about recruiting and after Dante Moore committed to Oregon, it was easy to see why.

The Wolverines invested a lot in that recruitment. It didn’t pan out for a number of reasons but NIL turned into the scapegoat.

However, things have started to trend in the other direction on the recruiting trail, where perception really is reality.

When Michigan football didn’t have momentum, others used that against the Wolverines and why wouldn’t they? All’s fair in love, war, and recruiting, right?

Even if Michigan football isn’t going to treat NIL as pay-for-play (as many schools are), the Wolverines needed to improve their messaging and it seems they have done that.

Bigger tests lay ahead (Jadyn Davis) but Michigan football has started to right the ship and here are three thoughts on some recent commitments.

The NIL is getting better

Michigan fans are all excited about the new President and they should be, but the fact is, the Wolverines beat out Miami and Michigan State, two programs praised for their NIL collectives, for Collins Acheampong and Enow Etta.

Etta is a top-100 recruit according to 247 sports and No. 125 in 2023 in the composite rankings. Acheampong is just inside the top 300 right now but with a solid high school campaign, he could easily be in the top-100 range. The kid just oozes potential.

Acheampong and Etta are two guys who have barely scratched the surface of what they can do and that’s a good thing for Michigan football.

The Wolverines are having a difficult time landing the top-100 prospects right now, but the addition of these pass rushers is a very good sign, plus Amir Herring was a good get too.

Jared Wangler was right when he said that boosters or whoever is paying for these NIL deals aren’t going to want to pay if players don’t produce. For now, it’s the wild, wild west, but it won’t stay that way.

Michigan’s model of paying the guys who have produced already will work, not only from the perspective of the team culture (less jealousy) but from an advertising perspective.

If a five-star recruit gets paid $10 million in a NIL deal and then doesn’t deliver on the field, that sort of thing will stop happening so much.

Some teams are willing to push the envelope to try and win. We see it with NFL free agency but do those big spending sprees ever work? Obviously, college football is different and Michigan has to find its own way to make NIL work.

The good news is that it appears to be happening.