Michigan coach Kyle Whittingham’s defense lands 4-star Chicago DB

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Michigan is embarking on a new era in Ann Arbor, as Kyle Whittingham has become the head coach. Whittingham worked heavily in the transfer portal to prepare for the 2026 season.

Now, Whittinghame is focused on the college football recruiting trail and has landed a major recruit for the 2027 class, per Lucas Reimink of Sports Illustrated.

Darrell Mattison, a four-star defensive back out of Chicago, has committed to the Michigan Wolverines and announced his commitment on X.

According to 247sports, Mattison is the 243rd-ranked player in the country, while also the 23rd-ranked safety and 11th-best player out of Illinois. He chose Michigan over Wisconsin, Illinois, Washington, Indiana, and Penn State, among others.

“Darrell Mattison is an athletic safety, and listed at 6’2″ and weighing 160 lbs. he’s got good size for the position as well. You don’t have to watch very far into his highlight tape to recognize his superior coverage ability and ball skills,” Reimink wrote in his scouting report of Mattison. “So far in high school he’s played a lot of deep safety and that’s what he projects to play in college as well. He’s got the look of an excellent coverage safety who also has the frame to add weight and be able to hold his own in the box as well.”

He was great in his junior campaign at Morgan Park High School. He had 47 tackles, with three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and five interceptions.

“As far as tackling goes, Mattison is instinctive and aggressive despite only weighing 160 lbs. He will need to wrap up better and more consistently to tackle college level players but he’s got plenty of time to work on that before he makes his way to Ann Arbor,” Reimink continued. “He certainly doesn’t lack for physicality in tackling, and that can often times be the hardest thing to teach a young defensive back. With his all-around skill set, this is a recruit I could see rising up the rankings quite a bit before the end of this 2027 recruiting cycle.”

Michigan now has the 36th-ranked recruiting class for the 2027 class.

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