Michigan football just landed a quarterback in the 2026 recruiting class, Brady Smigiel. The 6-foot-5 quarterback from California is ranked 74th overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings for the 2026 class.
Rivals has him rated as a five-star prospect. He was committed to Florida State at one time, before de-committing, which opened the door for the Wolverines.
The addition of Smigiel in the 2026 class doesn't lessen the need for the Wolverines to add a quality signal-caller in the 2027 class.
Trae Taylor seemed like a great option. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound quarterback is ranked No. 35 overall in the 2027 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Michigan football is among his finalists and a decision is going to be announced by Taylor Thursday.
Nebraska, Texas A&M, LSU, and Illinois are the other teams in the mix. However, after a visit to Nebraska over the weekend, the Huskers have started trending as the favorite.
Steve Wilftong of On3.com projected Taylor to land with the Huskers on Wednesday, making them the heavy favorite (88 percent chance) according to the On3 prediction machine.
It's still disappointing, especially when Taylor visited Michigan football so often, 14 times according to his On3 recruiting profile. Visits usually tell the story of a recruitment, but timing is important. Taylor has visited Nebraska four times since October, compared to two visits to Ann Arbor.
Things have cooled recently and Taylor's name hasn't been mentioned much in Michigan circles lately. Malachi Zeigler is ranked 88th in 2027 class and was just offered by Michigan football.
The Wolverines also hosted the No. 1 quarterback, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings, in Elijah Haven recently. Keegan Croucher is another name to know, but Taylor would have been a huge recruiting win, and it will be a bummer to see him land with another Big Ten school, especially after spending so much time in Ann Arbor.