Michigan football fans were hoping the Fourth of July fireworks would continue into Saturday evening, with a commitment from five-star wide receiver Calvin Russell.
Unfortunately, the Wolverines suffered the first defeat on the trail in what seems like a month. I know there have been other misses, such as four-star Brody Jennings flipping to Miami on Saturday, which was another storyline that kind of got buried in the wake of Russell's commitment to Syracuse.
Michigan football fans knew that the Orange were a threat. The Orange did win 10 games last season, had a wide-open passing offense, and also have a solid basketball program.
It's surprising. Michigan could be a national title contender in both sports, but Fran Brown had a great relationship with Russell. Nowadays, relationships matter even more. Everyone has money, so recruiting is getting back to being recruiting.
Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines did well. They ran their race and essentially put up a PR. The other guy just ran a better race. It happens. But Michigan still has two top-150 recruits at wide receiver committed. The Wolverines also signed two top-200 wideouts in 2025, plus this 2026 class has a four-star tight end ranked 162 overall, too.
Michigan football adds a blue chip
And even though Jennings, a four-star cornerback, flipped, Michigan football added a higher-ranked four-star cornerback from Georgia, Dorian Barney, a couple of hours after. Michigan still has a top-10 class (No.7 via the 247 Sports composite rankings). It also has 11 commitments ranked in the top 200 after Barney's pledge.
Going further, Michigan has landed a top-200 recruit at every single position over the past two seasons, not counting specialists, outside of running back. Here's the breakdown: QB (2), WR (4), TE (1), OL (3), DL (5), LB (1), CB (3), and S (3). Michigan football has landed eight blue-chip recruits on the defensive line over the past two classes, and five in the top 200 at WR/TE, plus six (top 200) in the secondary.
Add Underwood, the No. 1 quarterback and prospect in the 2025 class, plus another top-100 quarterback, and the recruiting haul over the past two years has still been elite, even without Russell.
After looking at that list, you can make the case that Savion Hiter is more important anyway. Win that battle and Russell will be an afterthought.
Michigan basketball players on international stage
Morez Johnson of the Michigan Wolverines helped Team USA defeat New Zealand in the semifinals of the U-19 FIBA World Cup on Saturday. Johnson had six points and four rebounds in 15 minutes of the 120-64 win. Oscar Goodman, a redshirt freshman, had four rebounds and two assists in the loss.
Johnson and Team USA will play Germany in the championship game on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Syla Swords played for Canada in the semifinals of AmeriCup on Saturday against the USA. The Americans won 65-53 over the Canadians. Swords finished with four points, six rebounds, and four assists. She was 1-of-9 from the field. She's averaging 7.3 points in the tournament on 41 percent shooting.