Michigan Football Early National Signing Day preview

Looking ahead to Early National Signing Day for Michigan football — what to watch and how many commitments to expect? 

Early National Signing Day is set for Wednesday and frankly, it’s probably not going to be all that action-packed for Michigan football, at least not compared to the last two years.

Michigan actually went on a late run and landed some key additions on signing day a year ago. They also signed Xavier Worthy and Donovan Edwards on signing day two years ago, although we all know how things worked out with Worthy.

You just never know what’s going to happen. However, one thing that’s not expected to happen is for five-star Nyckoles Harbor to sign with anyone on Wednesday.

The five-star athlete is expected to take his recruitment into the month of February and the late-signing period. Michigan is still in the mix as are Maryland, LSU, and South Carolina.

This has been a tough recruitment to read but the Wolverines currently hold a narrow lead according to the On3 prediction machine and have a 37-percent chance of winning his commitment.

Another recruit that will reportedly take his recruitment into the late signing period is Jamel Howard, a three-star defensive tackle that was formerly committed to Wisconsin.

Howard is 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, and is a three-star recruit but LSU and others such as Wisconsin and Illinois are still pushing

The Wolverines have a 98-percent chance right now according to the On3 prediction machine but it sounds like they will have to wait for February which means it’s far from over. Getting Howard to change that decision is likely a goal for U-M and something to watch on Wednesday.

Can Michigan football land Jyaire Hill?

Jyaire Hill’s recruitment has been a strange one to follow. Michigan has been viewed as the leader a couple of different times, with Illinois looking like the team to beat this fall.

Hill is ranked in the top 200 of the On3 and 247 sports consensus rankings. He’s 6-foot-1, 170 pounds and all of his current expert picks are favoring Michigan football.

Yet, that’s before Hill released a top five on Monday that didn’t include the Wolverines. Since Michigan has been near the top, it could be a sign of the Wolverines being eliminated. However, Brice Marich of The Michigan Insider said he’s still confident in his pick.

He compared the release of the top five to a head fake, which makes you think Michigan still has a good shot here. Maybe Michigan was left out of the top five because it’s No. 1.

You never know with recruiting decisions anymore, but the Wolverines aren’t out of it yet and if they landed a surprise commitment from any of the three guys mentioned here, it would be a huge win for the 2023 recruiting class, which currently ranks 19th in the 247 team rankings.