Dakota Guerrant quote on Oregon makes Michigan losing out on him even worse

After a few wins on the recruiting trail this month, Michigan was just dealt a big loss at the hands of Oregon. Five-star wide receiver and Michigan native Datoka Guerrant announced his commitment to Oregon. The commitment came as a surprise, as Guerrant did not have a date set for the announcement until it was reported about 20 minutes before he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show.

It was clear that Guerrant was leaning heavily towards Oregon, but it seemed like Michigan was still solidly in the mix. The Wolverines could not have been more wrong after hearing this quote from Guerrant after his announcement.

"This was always my dream school growing up," Guerrant said. "Then, when they started recruiting, it felt like family from the start. I just kept building things with them, and how they do things with their receivers and how they're producing, things like that, I've seen kind of seen myself there from the start."

Dakota Guerrant miss is another example of Kyle Whittingham's in-state recruiting struggle

Of the 16 players that Michigan has committed in the Class of 2027, only four hail from Michigan, which doesn't bode well for Kyle Whittingham's efforts with in-state recruiting. The Guerrant miss was another whiff for the Wolverines with an in-state recruit, especially the No. 1 recruit in the state.

Now, Michigan does have two of the top five recruits in the state of Michigan. After that, other Big Ten programs like Michigan State, Oregon, and Indiana are dominating with recruits from Michigan. While Whittingham has done well recruiting-wise since coming to Ann Arbor, his in-state recruiting game has to improve.

Not only did Guerrant pick a team that is halfway across the country from his hometown, but a rival Big Ten school that has owned Michigan in the last three meetings, especially its last one in 2024. This was a big miss for the Wolverines, and it stings even more to know that Michigan was never really that close to landing the five-star talent.

Guerrant went on and on about how Oregon felt like home, when Michigan was literally less than an hour away from his hometown. Michigan's lack of wide receiver talent is another takeaway from Guerrant's quote, as the Wolverines have struggled to bring in pass-catching talent for some time now, and certainly haven't produced many to the NFL.

While Michigan has some promising players in the wide receiver room this upcoming season, it wasn't enough for Guerrant to feel he has a true future as a star receiver at Michigan. Michigan will now have to turn things around quickly with Victor Weekend on the heels of this commitment.

Victor Weekend will span from June 19 to June 21, when Michigan will host its largest number of official visits in Ann Arbor. Guerrant was supposed to travel to Ann Arbor this weekend, but don't be surprised if that visit is now cancelled with the sudden announcement.

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