Michigan Wolverines get first 2027 commitment of the Kyle Whittingham era

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Michigan is on the board with its first addition to the 2027 class since Kyle Whittingham and his staff took over the Wolverines program in December.

Chicago (Ill.) Morgan Park three-star safety Darrell Mattison added his name to the commitment list on Tuesday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Nebraska, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Ole Miss and more than a dozen others in doing so.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder visited U-M last week for a spring practice after safeties coach Tyler Stockton stopped by his school twice in January. That relationship has blossomed into one of the strongest he has with any position coach recruiting him.

“He’s a very genuine, very kind guy,” Mattison recently told TheWolverine.com. “He’s very just upfront, you know? He doesn’t BS you — excuse my language — but he’s a very straightforward guy.”

He joins a class that already features commitments from four-star edge rusher Recarder Kitchen and three-star offensive linemen Tristan Dare and Louis Esposito. All three of those commitments came under the prior staff, but they’ve remained in the fold since Whittingham took over.

In Mattison, Michigan gets a dynamic playmaker in the back end of their secondary, according to Rivals Midwest analyst analyst Allen Trieu.

Mattison brings a ball-hawking safety to Michigan’s secondary

“He is a former wide receiver who brings those ball skills to the defensive side of the ball. A rangy, instinctive prospect who can be a center-fielder and take away the middle of the field. He has no verified speed times but shows closing ability to the ball, is fluid and changes direction well. Mattison is a willing tackler and plays with some physicality but needs to add weight and get stronger. He makes a lot of plays, gets his hands on a lot of passes, and should be high-level starting free safety type with some room for moving around in college.”

The Rivals Industry Ranking — an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services — tabs Madison as the No. 407 prospect nationally. He also ranks as the No. 37 safety in the country and No. 16 player in a deep class in Illinois this cycle.

As a junior, Mattison finished with 47 tackles, five interceptions and three pass breakups to help lead Morgan Park to a 9-5 finish.

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