College football fans routinely celebrate recruiting wins, often based on rankings. But as Michigan football fans and others have learned, players don't always live up to the lofty ranking.
You can often look back at high school recruiting rankings, even at the top, and see names of players you no longer recognize. There will be busts in the 2027 recruiting class, like there always have been.
Maybe they are less prevalent than they used to be, but looking back at the modern era of recruiting, starting with the recruiting rankings around the turn of the century, here are the five biggest recruiting busts in the past 26 years for Michigan football.
5. Aubrey Solomon
Aubrey Solomon has been on a couple of the lists we have done recently, looking back at some recruiting wins and losses. He was a player who got away in the transfer portal after two seasons in Ann Arbor, in which he made a minimal impact. He was more productive with Tennessee, but not to the point that it was gut-wrenching for Michigan fans. Solomon didn't make it to the NFL.
It's fairly easy to say he was a bust, at least for Michigan.
4. Kevin Grady (2005)
This one hurt because Grady was supposed to take over for Mike Hart and be the next great thing. However, it was clear pretty quickly that the No. 1 running back in the 2005 class, as well as a consensus five-star recruit, was just a guy.
Grady was supposed to be like a newer version of Jermore Bettis, another in-state recruit that Michigan missed on. Grady rushed for 483 yards on 121 attempts (4.0 per carry) as a freshman. He also scored five touchdowns and had 114 receiving yards. However, the next step never came.
Grady was eventually moved to fullback. He wound up with 783 rushing yards and 150 receiving yards. The explosion was just never there at the college level. Maybe if Lloyd Carr hadn't retired, and kept the same pro-syle system, it would have worked out better.
3. Derrick Green (2013)
It was uncanny how much Michigan struggled to develop a five-star running back. Derrick Green is one name on the list, but three of the five are running backs, and they were all within about 12 years of each other.
Grady had a limited role after coming in as a dominant high school recruit. Derrick Green was ranked 27th overall. He had a stellar high school career in Texas, but things never really got off the ground in Ann Arbor. He rushed for 898 yards on 212 carries at Michigan (4.2 attempt).
Green even showed some promise as a sophomore, rushing for 471 yards with 5.7 yards per attempt. But injuries and other factors limited his role. He transferred to TCU, helping him rush for just over 1,000 yards for his career.
Green was supposed to be one Brady Hoke's major recruiting wins, instead, he was a flop.
2. Marques Slocum (2005)
The 6-foot-5, 335-pound nose tackle was thought of as another major recruiting win for Lloyd Carr in the 2005 class, only the Pennsylvania recruit never amounted to much. He was ranked 33rd overall in his class, but had just one tackle in four seasons. He should have been a force to be reckoned with. Instead, his college career barely made a dent.
1. Kelley Baraka (2001)
It's hard to think of a bigger bust for Michigan football than Kelly Baraka. He was supposed to be the next great Wolverines running back when he signed with U-M back in the 2001 class.
However, off-the-field issues prevented him from playing a single snap under Lloyd Carr, who kicked him off the team after he was arrested for marijuana. The 12th-ranked player in his class is still viewed as one of the greatest high school players in Michigan history, but his college career didn't pan out.
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