Michigan football is in the running for a bunch of elite 2026 recruits. Another one to know is Calvin Russell, a four-star wide receiver out of Miami, Florida.
Russell is ranked as a five-star in the 247 Sports rankings for 2026. He's also ranked fifth among wide receivers and is 43rd overall, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound pass catcher has an elite wingspan. He visited Michigan unofficially this spring. The Wolverines don't have an official visit scheduled yet, but they aren't alone in the teams that are pushing to get one.
Michigan football pushing for official visit with Calvin Russell
According to On3.com, Florida State has an official visit scheduled, but that's the only one for June (so far). Russell cut his recruitment down to eight teams on Thursday. A commitment date has been set for July, so official visits will be essential in this decision.
Miami, Oregon, Syracuse, Florida State, LSU, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan are the finalists. It feels like the Wolverines have been moving up in this recruitment. The coaching staff, Ron Bellamy, the wide receivers coach, just visited Russell in Florida earlier this week.
According to EJ Holland of The Wolverine, an official visit to Michigan is "likely." If that happens, the Wolverines have to be considered a serious contender. There aren't any crystal ball projections yet. Miami leads according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.
There is still time to change that. Bryce Underwood should be an obvious selling point but NIL will be a factor, too. The Wolverines will need to get aggressive again with NIL, otherwise, they can probably kiss a commitment goodbye.