Michigan football knows the value of quality special teams as well as any college football team in the country.
For years, the Wolverines have been stellar in the kicking game. They have had some issues with punt returns, but in terms of the kicking game, Michigan has been elite.
Jake Moody was an NFL draft pick as a kicker. James Turner was also solid, and so is Dominic Zvada, who helped the Wolverines score wins over Alabama and Michigan thanks to his clutch kicking.
Yet, in order to have a good kicking game, you need a quality long snapper. Michigan football has had that in the past few seasons, and on Saturday, it locked down an elite long snapper in the 2026 class by landing the commitment of Colton Dermer.
BOOOOMMM!!!!
— "EJ Holland" (@EJHollandOn3) June 14, 2025
Michigan has landed a commitment from elite long snapper Colton Dermer (@colton_dermer). Ranked as a five-star on Kohl's #GoBlue. https://t.co/9yy6qyL0B3 pic.twitter.com/nFGNBVFhdJ
Kohl's, which ranks special teams players, ranks him as a five-star long snapper. Alabama was among the teams interested in his commitment, but the Wolverines landed his pledge on his official visit.
Michigan will have a new long snapper this season after adding Trent Middleton from UCLA via the transfer portal. Middleton will compete for the job this season. Dermer will provide a long-term solution for the position.
It's not the commitment that Michigan football fans were probably hoping for on Saturday, especially with five-star running back Savion Hiter on campus for an official visit.
Michigan has a total of 13 official visitors on campus this weekend in addition to Dermer. The Wolverines now have 10 commitments in the 2026 class.