Michigan football suffered a setback on the recruiting trail on Friday, as four-star defensive back Marcus Jones committed to Tennessee over the Wolverines.
It was a heated recruiting battle. Both teams had Jones on campus for official visits in the past month, but the Vols, who had a prediction from Steve Wiltfong, before the official visit to Ann Arbor, were able to ride their momentum to a commitment.
Michigan football did land a four-star linebacker on Thursday, thanks to the commitment of Frederrick Ford, who is ranked No. 224 overall in the 2027 class, via the 247 Sports composite rankings.
It felt like that might be the last linebacker addition in the class, but now, after a new prediction from Ethan McDowell of The Wolverine, that no longer appears to be the case.
New expert projection for Michigan football that's surprising
Weston Port, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker who signed with the UCLA Bruins as a three-star recruit in the 2025 class, has reopened his recruitment. He is serving a two-year mission, and will enroll with his school in 2027 with five years to play.
UCLA has a different head coach then when Port signed. Michigan football recruited him out of high school, so were BYU and Utah. The current defensive coordinator Jay Hill, was formerly the defensive coordinator with the Cougars. Kyle Whittingham was obviously the head coach at Utah.
That familiarity surely has played a role here. According to McDowell, the Wolverines are expected to land his commitment, which could come at any time. It's hard to know what kind of football shape Port is in. I wouldn't expect him to contribute right away next season.
However, Port was highly productive in California in high school. His 247 Sports profile listed him at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds. Port is described by 247 Sports as a guy with a "relentless motor." He also had 316 tackles in his last three seasons of high school football.
Port projects to inside linebacker with the Wolverines. He would be a nice fit alongside Ford, an explosive athlete, who can run sideline to sideline. The addition of Port to the 2027 class would give the Wolverines a third linebacker along with Ford and Brayden Watson.
That's a solid group. Michigan can't afford to invest tons of NIL resources in every position and linebacker feels like one that is lower on the Wolverines totem pole in terms of positional value.
That means you have to find diamonds in the rough. Port could be that, especially after a year or two of development.
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