Always be 'crootin'. That is the name of the game when it comes to major college football. While Kyle Whittingham has never had these kind of resources at his disposal, he should expect to see players coming and going as part of Michigan's 2027 recruiting class. On Tuesday evening, Michigan lost its four-star commitment from quarterback Peter Bourque. He will be re-opening his recruitment now.
ESPN's Pete Thamel was all over the news of the Tabor Academy star no longer being with Michigan.
NEWS: Class of 2027 quarterback recruit Peter Bourque has de-committed from Michigan, he told ESPN. Bourque is ESPN’s No. 130 overall recruit in the Class of 2027 and is a Top 10 quarterback recruit. He plans to re-open his recruitment. pic.twitter.com/Pmy7gchfJI
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 18, 2026
Not long after Bourque de-committed, Kamden Lopati put forth this message on his social media.
After a great talk with @Coach_Beck7 and @COACHKDJR I am grateful to be offered an opportunity to play for @UMichFootball #GOBLUE @coachsolovi @westpanthersfb @On3 @PeteThamel @Hayesfawcett3 @_willcompton @Rivals @SWiltfong_ @GregBiggins @BrandonHuffman @BlairAngulo @adamgorney pic.twitter.com/EaQ1svruK5
— Kamden Lopati (@CowboyKamden) February 18, 2026
While Lopati has been committed to Illinois since July 27 of last year, the Salt Lake City native just picked up a Michigan offer after speaking to two of Whittingham's staffers in offensive coordinator Jason Beck and quarterbacks coach Koy Detmer Jr. With Illinois having had a miserable time of late having homegrown players starting games at quarterback for them, Michigan has a Bourque solution.
Whittingham and his staff need to use their connections to Utah and the West Coast to its advantage.
Michigan offers Illinois commit Kamden Lopati after Peter Bourque walks
If Michigan were to land Lopati in the wake of Bourque de-committing that would be fantastic. Being able to keep the best player in-state in Dakota Guerrant would be even better. While going from Bourque to Lopati may be a bit of a downgrade in the 247Sports Composite, Michigan should want players who want to play for the Wolverines. Let's take a look at what all Lopati has to offer for them.
According to the 247Sports Composite, Lopati is a four-star recruit from Salt Lake City. The West High School standout is the No. 3 player from Utah, the No. 12 quarterback in his class, and the No. 149 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle. He has 22 officials offers. Outside of Illinois and Michigan, teams like Colorado, Duke, Florida, Stanford, and Tennessee all have had interest in him.
Overall, Whittigham and his staff know that Michigan needs to land either a four or five-star quarterback in the 2027 cycle. They inherited Bryce Underwood, as he will play for the Wolverines this year. He has two more seasons worth of eligibility to exhaust. Thus, landing a player who is in a similar neighborhood as Underwood two recruiting cycles later is tremendously paramount for them.
In the end, this kind of swift action by Whittingham, Beck and Detmer shows how serious they are about taking Michigan to heights equal to that of Jim Harbaugh, but never reached by Sherrone Moore. While Michigan is certainly a player in the NIL space, Whittingham's recruiting chops will decide if he can lead the Wolverines back into the College Football Playoff before he does retire.
Losing Bourque might sting a little bit, but the idea of maybe flipping Lopati from Illinois is intriguing.