Kyle Whittingham’s hot streak continues as Michigan pries 4-star RB out of SEC country

Michigan came into this week with just seven commits in the 2027 class, but as spring is heating up into summer, so is Kyle Whittingham. He landed a pair of four-stars in wide receiver Quentin Burrell and defensive lineman Xavier Muhammad, along with Wolverines legacy Charles Woodson Jr., a three-star safety, and on Saturday, he kept it rolling with four-star running back Tyson Robinson. 

This run of commitments has vaulted Michigan into the top 20 in the national recruiting rankings with 11 commits in place. Robinson is the sixth-highest-ranked recruit in Michigan’s class according to 247Sports Composite, the 224th overall player and 15th-ranked running back in the country. 

A 5-foot-9, 200-pound back from Brandon High School in Mississippi, Robinson chose the Wolverines over Alabama and Tennessee. Early in his tenure, Whitingham has shown a propensity to recruit the south with two commits from Texas, one from Florida, and now Robinson from Mississippi. 

Tyson Robinson could be the perfect change-of-pace complement to Savion Hiter

Not many running backs are built to be a bell-cow in the Big Ten, but 2026 five-star Savion Hiter looks like one of those players. He’ll certainly share the workload as a true freshman this season with Jordan Marshall and Bryson Kudzal, but coming off a strong spring, it’s almost inevitable that he’ll take over the backfield, especially by the time Robinson arrives in Ann Arbor. 

Robinson, though he has a stout build weighing 200 pounds at 5-foot-9, doesn’t necessarily project as a player who will shoulder a massive workload at Michigan, at least not early on in his career. However, with his low center of gravity, Robinson has the agility to hit cutback lanes, along with the speed to get to the edge. He doesn’t necessarily have the long speed to be a consistent home run hitter, but with his slippery running style, which includes an ability to work between the tackles and finish runs with physicality, and his comfort in the passing game, he’s the ideal change of pace back to pair with a player like Hiter. 

As a pass-catcher, Robinson doesn’t just win on screens and check-downs, though he’s certainly adept at making defenders miss in space and gobbling up yards after the catch; he’s a legit downfield threat out of the backfield. His tape includes over-the-shoulder grabs in traffic, explosive plays on wheel routes and up the seam, and the type of nuanced route-running that can make a running back a real threat in the red zone. 

Robinson will need to prove he can hold up in pass protection if he wants to see the field early in his career. If he can, he’ll be a valuable asset to Bryce Underwood as a third-down back. Whittingham is early in his tenure, but he’s 66 years old and, presumably, has two years to maximize Michigan’s eight-figure investment in the No. 1 quarterback in the 2025 class. 

With that in mind, Robinson is the ideal running back target for the Wolverines. Plus, beating SEC powers for a player from Mississippi is a little feather in the cap of Whittingham and his staff.

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