The Wolverine’s EJ Holland talked about several topics on the Wednesday edition of The Wolverine Live recruiting show, including the recruitment of four-star Palatine (Ill.) High EDGE Jaylen Williams.
Watch the full show in the video above.
Williams Recruitment
Williams notched an offer from Michigan last spring and made multiple unofficial visits soon after, including for the game against Ohio State in November.
Michigan has been considered the leader for Williams for the majority of the cycle. However, the Wolverines were hindered by offseason staff changes — former defensive line coach Mike Elston bolted for the NFL, while his replacement, Greg Scruggs, was dismissed from the program.
New Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito has Michigan right back in the picture going into Williams’ official visit, which is scheduled for this weekend.
Here is what Holland had to say about his recruitment:
“Jaylen’s recruitment has been fun,” Holland said. “I’ve had my prediction in since November. Jaylen has always wanted to go to Michigan. I will tell you that he was very close to committing to Michigan in January. But then you had all the staff movement. Jim Harbaugh took Mike Elston with him to the NFL. Greg Scruggs was his replacement, and Michigan parted ways with him after that whole situation. Lou Esposito had to play from behind, but he’s done a fantastic job of building a relationship with Williams. He locked in the official visit with him last night going into this morning when they finalized the details. I think Michigan is back in the pole position, back in the driver’s seat in this recruitment.”
Michigan holds the lead for Williams on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with a 96.5 percent chance of landing him. Nebraska is in second place with a 1.4 percent chance of landing him.
At 6-foot-5, 238 pounds, Williams is ranked as the No. 22 defensive lineman and No. 278 overall prospect nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He is also ranked as the No. 6 overall recruit in the state of Illinois this cycle.
Michigan has five commits in its 2025 recruiting class — Top 100 Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick defensive lineman Nate Marshall, On300 Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot quarterback Carter Smith, four-star Birmingham (Mich.) Groves offensive lineman Avery Gach, four-star Howell (Mich.) High defensive lineman Bobby Kanka and three-star Alcoa (Tenn.) High tight end Eli Owens.
The class is ranked No. 18 nationally, per the On3 Industry national team recruiting rankings.
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