It’s been an interesting season for Michigan football in terms of recruiting. There has been essentially zero movement within the 2024 class for the entire season; most of the recruits committed before the start of the season, and there hasn’t been much drama within the class.
With all the drama surrounding Michigan football during the season, there wasn’t much movement with other targets. That is, until now. With the noise dying out and Michigan being ranked #1 in the country, recruits have taken notice.
While there isn’t a ton of space remaining in the 2024 class, there are two targets that Michigan football appears to be trending for.
The 2024 class appears to be in a position to become even stronger as early signing day approaches. Let’s break down the targets, starting with the highest-rated one.
WR Gatlin Bair
Ranked as the #35 player in the nation, per 247 Sports, Bair is a borderline five-star recruit and has been a top target for the Wolverines all cycle long. Bair initially committed to the hometown school in Boise State, but Boise State fired their head coach during the season.
Bair visited Michigan for The Game and decommitted from Boise State a few days later. In his decommitment post, Bair said that he would be focusing on Oregon and Michigan. Despite Oregon negatively recruiting the Wolverines, Michigan seems to be trending with Bair.
The Wolverines received two crystal ball predictions for Bair, and it certainly seems that the Wolverines have the lead. Per ON3, Michigan is conducting an in-home visit with Bair today, December 5th. The Ducks held one on the 4th, meaning Michigan is getting the final visit.
NIL is not much of a factor with Bair. Upon graduation, Bair will be taking a two-year mission trip, which is something that Michigan offensive lineman Andrew Gentry did.
Bair would be a phenomenal land for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, even though he likely won’t step on the field until 2026. Bair has game-breaking speed and has elite potential.
DL Deyvid Palepale
If you’ve followed recruiting closely, you’ll know that Palepale was a huge target in the Summer. He had a very up-and-down recruitment; at one point it seemed a sure thing that he would commit to Michigan, then it flipped to Penn State, and lastly USC where he committed. Well, Palepale is rethinking that decision.
USC fired their defensive coordinator during the season, and obviously, Lincoln Riley hasn’t done a great job of putting together competitive defenses. Michigan has been putting the full-court press on Palepale, and it appears to be working. Multiple flip predictions have been made in favor of the Wolverines.
According to ON3, Palepale had very solid things to say about the Wolverines, saying “I’m realizing I might want to be developed under coach Mike Elston like the guys he has now.” That sounds like a kid who’s ready to commit.
Palepale is a very intriguing prospect. While ranked as a three-star, Palepale is a very similar prospect to Mason Graham or Mazi Smith. Palepale was injured for the majority of his senior season, which could be another factor in his ranking.
Regardless, the staff is very high on Palepale and thinks he’s extremely underrated. He’d be an amazing land for the Wolverines and could make an instant impact.
Conclusion
Michigan’s 2024 recruiting class currently sits at #16 in the rankings. With Bair and Palepale, Michigan would move to #12. While still somewhat underwhelming for the back-to-back-to-back Big Ten champions, it’s a step in the right direction.
Recruiting will continue to go up if the Wolverines continue to win. At this point, the focus is entirely on Alabama. If the Wolverines can knock off the Crimson Tide, I fully expect recruiting to take a leap forward. But that’s a lot of speculation.
Landing Bair and Palepale would be huge for the 2024 class. Michigan is known for closing recruiting cycles strongly, so we’ll see if they can do it again. Go Blue!