Michigan Wolverines attempted victory lap over Notre Dame shows nearsighted and misguided perception of the recruiting reality

The Michigan Wolverines had a huge victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this week on the recruiting trail, landing 2026 Liberty Hill (Texas) High School defensive tackle Alister Vallejo. He was a player that head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff wanted, so losing him to a hated rival is never easy. 

That came one day after the Wolverines also landed Chicago (Ill.) Simeon four-star defensive lineman McHale Blade “over Notre Dame” and others. That caused Wolverine fans to take to all forms of social media, and victory lap over those recruiting wins. "Stuffing Note Dame in a locker again" was a phrase commonly used. 

It’s an ironic viewpoint that has no legitimacy, and is nothing more than a nearsighted and shallow victory. The reality is that the Fighting Irish cooled on Blade weeks ago, and were not pursuing him anymore. Right or wrong, agree or disagree, he wasn't a player they wanted. Notre Dame has been valuing other defensive linemen higher on the board for a while now.

In the wonderful world of recruiting, ask yourself, when was the last time the Wolverines truly beat Notre Dame for a big time recruit? They can try to claim Owen Wafle in the 2023 class if they would like, a player that the Irish dropped from their class. The same can be said about Greg Crippen. 

Oh wait, they did manage to get Brandyn Hillman after he couldn't get admitted into school. I guess they also had a commitment from Ivan Taylor for a bit in the 2025 class before he flipped again to Alabama, if you feel like puffing your chest out about it. 

The reality is that Notre Dame has been besting Michigan for quite some time on the recruiting trail. That was true even back when Jim Harbaugh was the head coach, but the gap is even widening with Marcus Freeman leading the Irish. It just hasn't been much of a contest in recent years.

Notre Dame Recruiting (@NDrecrutiing01) on Twitter pointed out the harsh reality when comparing the Irish to the Wolverines on the recruiting trail in recent memory. For the 2025 projected starters for Michigan, only one player is starting for them who they beat Notre Dame for. That is defensive lineman Rayshaun Benny, who Notre Dame valued as an offensive lineman coming out of high school.

On the Notre Dame side, they beat Michigan for quarterback CJ Carr, running back Jeremiyah Love, offensive linemen Charles Jagusah, Billy Schrauth and Ashton Craig, defensive linemen Joshua Burnham and Jason Onye, linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry, safety Adon Shuler, and Christian Gray. Those are just victories amongst the starters.