Michigan has more wins than any other college football team. That has made the Wolverines a recruiting powerhouse, although the school and everything it has to offer certainly helps.
There is a saying that Michigan recruits itself, meaning no matter who the head coach is, quality players will want to come to Ann Arbor.
Michigan football fans have another saying: The best players from Michigan go to Michigan.
Most of the time, that's true. Not always, though. The Wolverines have lost some painful recruiting battles to the Spartans over the years. Ohio State and Notre Dame have beaten Michigan out for some critical in-state recruits, too.
Looking back at the modern era of recruiting and back even farther, here's a look back at the biggest recruiting misses Michigan football has ever had.
Charles Rogers (Saginaw), Michigan State
There aren't many recruiting losses more painful than losing out on the nation's No. 3 overall prospect in Charles Rogers to the Spartans. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound receiver only played two seasons for Michigan State before becoming the No. 2 overall pick.
However, Rogers went over 1,200 yards in each season with 25 touchdown receptions. He led the Big Ten in touchdown receptions in 2001 and 2002. He also led the Big Ten in receiving yards as a redshirt sophomore with 1,351.
The Saginaw, Michigan, product caught six passes for 86 yards in the 2001 win over Michigan, but was held to four for 75 in a 49-3 loss the next season. Still, Michigan football was 18-7 in those two seasons. You have to wonder if Rogers would have helped improve that record.
Carl Banks (Flint), Michigan State
A three-time All-American linebacker before becoming the No. 3 overall pick of the New York Giants, a franchise he won two Super Bowls with, was another recruiting miss that dates back to the 1980s. He would have looked great in a Michigan football uniform. Yet, the super athletic linebacker started a trend of great players going to East Lansing.
Banks was a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants.
Jerome Bettis (Detroit), Notre Dame
This is one of Michigan football's most notable recruiting losses to the Fighting Irish, at least in terms of in-state recruits. Bettis was known as a bowler, but also became a dominant high school football player.
The 10th overall pick, who later won a Super Bowl in Detroit with the Steelers, rushed for 1,937 yards in three seasons with the Irish, averaging 5.7 yards per rushing attempt.
Bettis, "The Bus," would have been legendary in Ann Arbor, although there are reports Michigan wanted to move him to linebacker. He also played fullback. It was a different time, so fullbacks were still part of the offense, but not Michigan's.
Vernon Gholston (Detroit), Ohio State
The 6-foot-4, 258-pound pass rusher never reached his potential in the NFL. He was dominant for Ohio State, though with over 28 sacks in 2005 and 2006. He was critical in the Buckeyes going 2-0 over Michigan in those years, including the No. 1 vs No. 2 game in 2006.
Gholston had nine tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks against Michigan football. He eventually became the sixth overall pick for the New York Jets.
Dante Moore (Detroit), UCLA/Oregon
Michigan football technically had two chances to land Dante Moore. He signed with UCLA coming out of high school in the 2023 recruiting class. He struggled with the Bruins that first season, then decided to transfer.
Instead of coming to Michigan and taking over for J.J. McCarthy, Moore went to Oregon, sat for a season, and stood out in 2025. He's been talked about as the No. 1 overall pick, and could lead the Ducks to a national title this season.
CJ Carr (Saline), Notre Dame
One of two grandsons of former Michigan football head coach Lloyd Carr, CJ was available in the 2024 class. Marcus Freeman built a strong relationship with him and was able to steal him away from the Wolverines.
Carr didn't seem like he wanted to play for Michigan. His brother Tommy Carr is now expected to be Bryce Underwood's backup for the next two seasons before possibly winning the starting job in the future.
If Michigan had Carr, maybe it wouldn't have gotten Underwood. Still, it's hard to see another quarterback from the state who has top-10 NFL draft potential play for the Irish. He could also lead Notre Dame to a national title, which would make it sting even worse.
Andre Rison (Flint), Michigan State
Another player out of Flint that chose the Spartans over Michigan, sort of like Banks, Rison became a first-round pick (22nd overall of the Colts in 1989). He had just under 3,000 receiving yards in four seasons with Michigan State, before notching over 10,000 in the NFL.
The five-time Pro Bowler won a Super Bowl championship with the Green Bay Packers after the 1996 season. He caught a touchdown in that game from Brett Favre.
As far as Michigan is concerned, it was one of the more painful recruiting misses, especially since he had such a great career in East Lansing.
Pepper Johnson (Detroit), Ohio State
This is another that dates back to the 1980s, but in terms of great Michigan players, who ended up playing for Ohio State, Pepper Johnson is hard to forget.
He finished his career as the fourth leading tackler in Ohio State history. He was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and went on to win two Super Bowls with the New York Giants.
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