ICYMI: Miami beats Michigan football recruiting… again

Throughout the 2023 offseason, Michigan football recruiting has experienced its fair share of ups and downs. While Michigan currently holds the country’s 8th-ranked class (composite), ever since spring ball ended, there seems to be more bad news floating around than good for the Wolverines. Heading into the weekend, the Miami Hurricanes got the better of Michigan once again; this time, they grabbed one of the top remaining targets on the board: four-star safety Zaquan Patterson.

Miami beats Michigan football recruiting for another blue-chip target

Michigan football recruiting once had the No. 1 class in the nation (2024) after a series of massive wins for Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff. However, de-commits and a few notable misses have pushed the Wolverines down to the lower side of the top 10 in the composite rankings. Ahead of the first weekend of college football (Week 0), Michigan missed out on another blue-chip target.

Miami has become a problem on the recruiting trail for the Maize and Blue throughout the offseason, with the Hurricanes’ most notable move against the Wolverines being the theft of four-star edge rusher Elias Rudolph.

On Saturday, Miami once again got the better of Michigan football on the recruiting trail, this time landing one of Jim Harbaugh’s final remaining blue-chip targets in the 2024 recruiting class. Zaquan Patterson, who has been one of Michigan’s top interests for quite some time, opted to stay in his home state and commit to the Hurricanes.

Wolverines miss on four-star 2024 recruiting target, but the class is still in solid shape

Per the On3 rankings, Patterson is a four-star safety in the 2024 recruiting class — he ranks as the No. 80 player in the nation, the No. 3 safety in his class, and the No. 11 player in the state of Florida.

While this is not the best news for Michigan football recruiting, Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines are still in good shape with the 2024 class. At this point, Michigan should continue pushing for more commitments, but the priority when it comes to the 2024 cycle should be focused on keeping players like Jadyn Davis and Jordan Marshall committed through National Signing Day.