It wasn't necessarily a positive thing when Michigan football missed out on five-star wideout Calvin Russell last week.
However, there were some positives that were going to come out of it. For starters, the NIL money that was promised to Russell, and there was a deal in place, Steve Wiltfong even said he received an embargoed press release that Russell was joining the Wolverines.
Then he changed his mind. Beyond what it means for that recruitment, in the big picture it means that the Wolverines have extra money to spend. Sort of like if you miss on a free agent in the NFL, you can allocate resources elsewhere, which appears to be what the Wolverines are doing.
Not only have the Wolverines been making a push to land four-star defensive tackle Deuce Geralds, another top-100 recruit in the 2026 class, but they are also trending up with four-star linebacker Nick Abrams, another priority target.
Michigan football doesn't have a ton of targets on the board. Abrams is one of them. I've detailed some other key targets here, but landing Abrams would be critical. The Wolverines landed three-star Markel Dabney at the linebacker spot, but could use another.
A blue-chip prospect like Abrams would be nice. He's 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, and ranked No. 249 overall in the 2026 class, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. There aren't any crystal ball projections, yet U-M is trending up.
Michigan trending up for elite 2026 linebacker
According to Brian Dohn, Michigan has "made a move" in the week leading up to Abrams' commitment date of July 16th. Alabama, Georgia, and Oregon are the other contenders. However, the Wolverines have made an NIL push, as I predicted they might.
There haven't been any expert projections yet, but it wouldn't be surprising to see some come soon. Abrams is everything you could want in a linebacker. He's out of Owings Mills, Maryland. The Wolverines have had some success in that state, and Abrams could be next up.