Michigan gets massive recruiting win over Notre Dame

McHale Blade has been on a string of official visits, and he had a big one to Notre Dame coming up, but the Michigan Wolverines blew his socks off.

Blade was in Ann Arbor this past weekend for an official visit with the Wolverines, and on Monday, he announced his commitment to Sherrone Moore and staff.

“When me my parents and I got home, we talked about it and I knew,” Blade told Chad Simmons of On3 regarding the commitment. “I didn’t see myself taking anymore visits. I slept on it and when I got up Monday morning, I locked in and committed to coach Espo (Lou Esposito) and coach Moore. They were fired up.”

Blade is a four-star EDGE (fitting) from Chicago, Illinois (Simeon High School) who is ranked as the No. 21 defensive lineman in the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. 

He had already taken officials with Purdue and Wisconsin, and as mentioned, the Fighting Irish were next on the list. The official visit to Ann Arbor seemingly sealed the deal with him, though.

“I have known Michigan for a while. It was always them and Notre Dame on top of my list. When I got on campus this weekend, around the people, I knew where I wanted to be. When I was on the visit, I kind of knew. When I left, I told coach Espo and coach Moore how I was feeling," he said.

Blade is now shutting his recruitment down, and he's all-in with the Wolverines. He joins a 2026 class that's still growing (he's Moore's eighth 2026 commitment), but he projects to be a massive part of the puzzle.

As of now, only four-star quarterback Brady Smigiel is rated higher as a recruit than Blade.

Purdue, Wisconsin and USC also had a shot with Blade, but good luck getting him to flip his commitment now that he's seen a taste of what Michigan can give him.

"They have the best of both worlds with the academic piece and the NFL development. The Chicago to Michigan pipeline is real. I know guys there and I want to keep that pipeline going. Michigan is where I want to be," he said.