During the recruiting season, every school is hoping for the best of the best out of every class, which means landing five-star recruits. Sometimes those five-star recruits can go on and have a lot of success, and other times, they can be a big bust. Michigan has seen its fair share of both, and this season, sadly, there are some five-star recruits not living up to their rating.
During the Jim Harbaugh and Sherrone Moore era, both coaches had the strength of bringing in five-star talent, but if there is anything Indiana taught us in their National Championship season, it's that recruiting ratings don't always equate to talent on the field.
With Michigan struggling in the first season under Kyle Whittingham, it isn't his five-star guys that he recruited to Ann Arbor who are struggling, but Harbaugh and Moore's. So, here are three of Michigan's former five-star recruits who have not lived up to their high school rating.
2025 5-star Andrew Babalola: No. 10 overall, No. 2 offensive tackle
This is a tough one because, technically, Andrew Babalola hasn't even gotten a chance to show his talent on the field, but that is because he has dealt with injuries throughout his college career. In fall camp before the 2025 season, Babalola unfortunately tore his ACL, and his freshman season was over before it even began.
It looked like Babalola would get a chance to be a starter on the offensive line for the Wolverines, but he had to battle it out with Blake Frazier for the left tackle position. However, near the end of fall camp, Babalola suffered a setback from his injury a year prior and is only just now getting close to returning for Michigan.
The injuries are not Babalola's fault, but because of them, he hasn't gotten a chance to live up to his five-star rating, which lands him on this list.
2026 5-star Savion Hiter: No. 21 overall, No. 2 running back
Now, don't think I am sitting here saying that Savion Hiter is a bust or a bad player. Hiter has actually steadily improved as the season has gone on. However, the true freshman was hyped up to be the generational talent for Michigan as a five-star recruit, and that is what he hasn't lived up to.
Hiter so far this season has just 145 rushing yards on 45 carries and two touchdowns, both coming in the same game. He hasn't done much in the receiving game with only five receptions for 59 yards. With the way it sounded in fall camp, Hiter was going to come out and run through defenses and be unstoppable, but instead he is a part of a Michigan run game that has lacked power all season long.
2025 5-star Bryce Underwood: No. 1 overall, No. 1 quarterback
This should come as no surprise to see Bryce Underwood here. Not only did Michigan work tirelessly to flip Underwood from LSU to the Wolverines during his recruitment, but they then gave him and NIL where he would make $3 million each year for four years for a total of $12 million.
Now, Underwood is proving not to be the generational talent everyone thought he would be, and Michigan is stuck paying that kind of money to a guy who could be benched this season. Underwood's high school talent has not translated to the college level, and he could go down as one of the biggest recruiting busts in Michigan football history.
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