While the state of Michigan can be a bit of a hotbed for high school recruiting talent, the Michigan Wolverines are always at their best when they look to acquire the greatest players it can, in and outside of the midwest. One player that Kyle Whittingham and his coaching staff seem to be honing in on would be five-star safety Honor Fa'alave-Johnson. This 2027 prized recruit is from San Diego.
Ethan McDowell of On3/Rivals shared that Michigan could be making another trip to visit him soon.
Looks like Michigan could be making another trip to see 5 ⭐️ S Honor Fa'alave-Johnson. ⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/dfn3xy64ii
— Ethan McDowell (@ethanmmcdowell) January 19, 2026
According to the 247Sports Composite, Fa'alave-Johnson is the No. 1 player from California, the No. 1 safety in his class, and the No. 16 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle. At this stage of the game, he has 36 official offers. Right now, he is garnering the most interest from Alabama and home state USC. Michigan is trying to force itself into the equation for his services. Could they land him?
Frankly, Michigan stands as good of a chance to secure Fa'alave-Johnson's commitment as anyone.
Michigan is doing everything in its power to land Honor Fa'alave-Johnson
Not only is Michigan a massive football brand with nationwide reach, but it now has a former West Coast guy at the helm of the program in Whittingham. Utah may be in Salt Lake City in the Mountain Time Zone, but Whittingham had to for years recruit up and down the Pacific Coast to field the best teams possible. It was not always the best players, but his former school's effort was always there.
Based on Alabama and USC being at the top of the pecking order to land Fa'alave-Johnson, that gives Michigan a huge leg up as well. Alabama is not the program it once was under Nick Saban now that it will be year three under Kalen DeBoer. He has West Coast ties from his days at Washington and Fresno State, but he was not at either place very long either. USC is led by offensive guy Lincoln Riley.
In truth, Fa'alave-Johnson should be going to USC, all things equal. He is from San Diego, and USC is the preeminent college football program in his home state. While USC has more of its stuff together than it has in recent years, it is not a guarantee that he will move two hours north to go play for the Trojans. They might be the frontrunner for him, but Michigan has the resources to poach him anyway.
Expect for only heavy-hitters like Alabama, Michigan, and USC to be in line for Fa'avale-Johnson now.