3 Michigan Football players named in On3’s Top 100 for 2026 season

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Michigan Football had three of its players inside On3’s preseason Top 100 players for the 2026 season, and the names on the list tell us a lot about what this team could lean on this fall.

Cornerback Jyaire Hill led the way at No. 24 overall, while running back Jordan Marshall came in at No. 37 and edge rusher John Henry Daley landed at No. 55. All three guys making the list makes a ton of sense.

Hill’s placement probably stands out the most. The senior cornerback has been popping up on more and more national watchlists this offseason, and On3 referred to him as “one of the steadiest corners in the country.”

It’s hard to argue with the numbers either. According to the article, “each of the last two years Hill has logged at least a 76 PFF coverage grade, 12 stops, and seven defended passes. And he’s coming off an effort where he beat national averages in Clamp Rate (24.5 percent), yards/target (4.8), and yards/coverage snap (0.6).”

For a secondary that’s expected to lean heavily on experience this season, Hill increasingly looks like one of the anchors of the entire defense in 2026.

Then there’s Marshall, who somehow has quietly become one of the offseason’s most underrated players. The junior running back looked like Michigan’s most explosive offensive player for stretches of 2025 despite battling injuries throughout the year. He finished with 932 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging more than five yards per carry, and there’s real reason to believe new offensive coordinator Jason Beck’s offense could elevate his production even further.

The talk around the offense this offseason has been focused on creating more explosive plays and putting skill players in space, and Marshall has already shown flashes of being capable of handling a much bigger role than the RB2 duties he was tabbed with early last season.

Finally, Daley might be the biggest wildcard of the three, but he also may be the player with the highest ceiling.

Before suffering an Achilles injury at Utah at the end of last season, Daley was one of the more productive pass rushers in all of college football, totaling 11.5 sacks last season. Nationally, there’s clearly belief he can return to that level once healthy, and Michigan’s staff has sounded extremely confident throughout the spring that he’ll be a major piece of the defense.

Daley’s inclusion on this list probably says a lot about how people are starting to view Michigan’s defensive front overall. There’s been a ton of focus on what the Wolverines lost at defensive end this offseason, but between Daley, Dominic Nichols, Nate Marshall, Cam Brandt and others, the rotation might quietly be much stronger than people initially expected.

And that’s what stands out most about Michigan’s representation on this list. The Wolverines may still have questions to answer and plenty to sort through during fall camp, but players like Hill, Marshall and Daley are a reminder there’s still a considerable amount of high-end talent on this roster.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos