Let's circle April 18 on the calendar. Not only will it be the date of Michigan's annual spring game, but a top-tier defensive back will be coming to town by way of a Californian high school power. Yes, four-star safety Isala Wily-Ava from St. John Bosco over in Bellflower, California will be in attendance for the spring game. This top-250 recruit for the 2027 class already has a whopping 29 official offers.
Ethan McDowell of On3/Rivals was all over Wily-Ava being in Ann Arbor for Michigan's spring game.
Rivals300 S Isala Wily-Ava will visit Michigan for the spring game!
— Ethan McDowell (@ethanmmcdowell) February 11, 2026
He's the No. 179 recruit in the country out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco.
Isala recently spoke with https://t.co/WoUrAFvIvi: https://t.co/lXEWNpziOi pic.twitter.com/HUhGiBVTV8
According to the 247Sports Composite, Wily-Ava is the No. 23 player from California, the No. 24 safety in the country, and the No. 232 overall recruit in the 2027 cycle. Along with Michigan, some of the 29 official offers he has include Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, USC, Utah, and Washington. Clearly, everybody wants to land this guy!
As Wily-Ava starts to put together his list of vists heading into spring and summer, getting one is key.
Michigan expected to have 4-star S Isala Wily-Ava at the Spring Game
The is one of the advantages to having a seasoned West Coast coach in Kyle Whittingham taking over the operations of Michigan. From his decades of experiencing coaching at Utah, his defensive-minded nature typically resonates with some of the best prospective recruits in that part of the country. In a way, he gives Michigan more of a honey hole when it comes to West Coast recruiting.
As far as who Michigan's biggest competition for Wily-Ava is concerned, one would think places like BYU, USC, and Utah would be near the front of the line. These are all programs you can contend for playoff berths at, even though none of them have ever produced a playoff team before. Michigan has, three times in fact... Again, it may come down to how far from home is Wily-Ava willing to go to school.
In the end, we still have a long road ahead of us when it comes to landing Wily-Ava's four-star commitment. He is only a 2027 prospect after all. With him not really having any defined leaders at this time, we need to operate with patience. Michigan fans can only hope that the plan in place under Whittingham does align with the vision Wily-Ava has for his budding college football-playing career.
For now, April 18 cannot get here soon enough. Spring football is only right around the corner, folks!