Four recruiting experts believe Michigan eventually lands five-star DL

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March and April are about to be busy months for Kyle Whittingham and the Michigan Wolverines. Not only do they start spring practices later this month — culminating with the Spring Game on April 18 — but they will also be hosting recruits throughout the next two months on unofficial visits.

The 2027 class currently features three committed prospects: four-star edge rusher Recarder Kitchen, and three-star offensive lineman Louis Esposito and Tristan Dare. The class is far from complete, but lucky for Michigan, plenty of prospects in this recruiting cycle plan on seeing Ann Arbor this spring, with hopes that the top targets will return for official visits in the summer.

One of Michigan’s top targets actually already has a spring visit and an official visit in June already schedule. That prospect is five-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou, the No. 36 overall player in the country according to the 247Sports composite. The 6-foot-6, 275-pounder from California is being pursued by other elite programs like Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas, Ohio State and Georgia, but Whittingham, edge coach Lewis Powell and defensive tackles coach Larry Black are making it clear he is not only a want, but a need for the Wolverines.

And if this recent feature story ($) is any indicator, Whittingham and company may eventually get their wish. In that article, recruiting experts from Rivals detailed where they currently expect some of the top recruits in the class to commit to. Steve Wiltfong, Greg Biggins, Brandon Huffman and Adam Gorney all picked the Wolverines to eventually get a commitment from Fakatou.

Here is what they had to say:

Gorney — Michigan: “A lot of changes have occurred in Fakatou’s recruitment recently, so there could still be some significant movement, but Michigan is now out front. Fakatou is planning two visits to Ann Arbor in the coming months and has anyone ever been disappointed when they saw what the Wolverines have to offer in-person? Notre Dame is battling along with Georgia and Ohio State.”

Biggins — Michigan: “This is a fluid recruitment and I don’t think there’s a solid leader at the moment. I’m going to predict Michigan as I think they have the momentum right now, but Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame are right there as well.”

Huffman — Michigan: “For a long while, it seemed like Notre Dame was the front runner but some coaching dominoes pushed the Irish back. At the same time, Michigan emerged, largely with the presence of Lewis Powell, who had built the relationship with him early while at Utah and then took it to another level when he got to Ann Arbor. Now, the Wolverines seemed best positioned, though the Irish aren’t entirely out and Oregon, Texas and Ohio State stay in the mix.”

Wiltfong — Michigan: “Michigan is the program get grabbing the momentum now, with their coaches going out to see him a couple times, including Kyle Whittingham on one trip. This has been a fluid recruitment, but the Maize and Blue are certainly piquing his interest at the very least.”

This would be a massive addition to Michigan’s defensive line class. Of course, the Wolverines also had a great haul at the position in 2025 with five-star edge Carter Meadows, four-star tackle Titan Davis and others. But Whittingham’s defenses have always been stout up front, and that is clearly being reinforced on the recruiting trail in this 2027 class.

Holding onto Kitchen’s commitment following the coaching change was massive, as he is a top edge rusher not just in the state of Michigan, but the entire country. Pairing him up with an elite interior player such as Fakatou would provide the Wolverines with another elite duo along the defensive line and eventually pair them up with the aforementioned Meadows and Davis, along with the others in the trenches. Of course, there is still plenty of work to be done before that dream becomes a reality, so hopefully the Wolverines can make this happen after a couple highly successful visits in the coming months.

Do you think Michigan will eventually land the commitment of Fakatou? What do you think of these comments from the experts? Let me know what you think down in the comments section below!

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