Michigan football's top underrated recruits of the modern era who beat the odds
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With recruiting heating up for Michigan football now that official visitors are making their way to campus each weekend for the next month, we looked at the top recruits that the Wolverines have gotten in the modern era. Fans will certainly celebrate the big names that pledge to their favorite university, but what about the players who are somewhat under the radar?
Michigan is not a traditional developmental school, yet it tends to do better by developing prospects that aren’t of the blue-chip variety.
Here, we’re taking a look at the past 15 years of recruiting classes to see who rose above their station, those the recruiting services missed on that Michigan hit on, and those who had some kind of stunning disparity from one recruiting site to the next.
The sites completely missed
These are the guys that none of the recruiting services came close on, the ones that were so egregious that it makes you wonder if they had any idea that these players existed while in high school.
Of course, one family dominates the headlines here, but they’re not the only ones to make this category. These are the players that every site missed on to some degree compared to how they ended up doing in college and beyond.
OL Graham Glasgow
High school: Summit Argo (Ill.) Marmion Academy
Drafted: third round, 2016
Class: 2011
Stars: not rated
Ranking: not ranked
The first of three brothers who came to Ann Arbor as a walk-on, Glasgow worked his way up to become a starter and thrived. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions, signed with the Denver Broncos, and then came back to the Lions, where he’s still a starter at left guard. Easily the best story of development on the entire list.
DT Ryan Glasgow
High school: Summit Argo (Ill.) Marmion Academy
Drafted: third round, 2017
Class: 2013
Stars: not rated
Ranking: not ranked
Like his brother before him, Ryan came to Michigan to play on the other side of the ball – again, as a walk-on. Just like Graham, he was drafted in the third round of the NFL draft, but injuries precluded him from having a profitable NFL career.
OLB Josh Uche
High school: Miami (Fla.) Columbus
Drafted: second round, 2020
Class: 2016
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 701 overall (247Sports Composite)
A consensus three-star, no one was particularly high on Uche coming out of high school. But, even with all of the talent that Michigan had in 2018 and 2019 (names like Rashan Gary, Kwity Paye, and Aidan Hutchinson), it was Uche who led the team in sacks each year. He was rewarded by being selected in the second round by the New England Patriots.
EDGE Mike Danna
High school: Warren (Mich.) De La Salle
Drafted: fifth round, 2020
Class: 2015
Stars: 2-star
Ranking: 2034 overall (247Sports Composite)
We didn’t include every transfer on this list, but Danna was the first notable one. A two-star who cut his teeth at Central Michigan, he became such a great rotational edge rusher that he was selected early on day three of the 2020 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs – a team he still plays for today.
LB Jordan Glasgow
High school: Summit Argo (Ill.) Marmion Academy
Drafted: sixth round, 2020
Class: 2015
Stars: not rated
Ranking: not ranked
The third and final Glasgow brother to come through Ann Arbor, the trajectory was about the same. He went from being an unranked walk-on to being a starter to being drafted into the NFL by the Indianapolis Colts. Somehow, the recruiting services never picked up on the family dynasty.
OL Jon Runyan Jr.
High school: Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Josephs
Drafted: sixth round, 2020
Class: 2015
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 1132 overall (247Sports Composite)
It made sense that Runyan would end up in Ann Arbor given that he was a legacy prospect. But he wasn’t exactly an obvious choice to eventually start – either in college or in the NFL. Yet, in 2018, Runyan got to start at left tackle and he ended up getting picked up by the Green Bay Packers in the draft.
FB Ben Mason
High school: Sandy Hook (Conn.) Newtown
Drafted: fifth round, 2021
Class: 2017
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 796 overall (247Sports Composite)
No one loved ‘Bench Mason’ like Jim Harbaugh did and his persistence in inserting Mason in as a fullback paid off. His brother, John, ended up taking him in the fifth round in the 2021 draft. But as a recruit, not many top schools were clamoring for him.
LB Hassan Haskins
High school: Eureka (Mo.)
Drafted: fourth round, 2022
Class: 2018
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 975 overall (247Sports Composite)
Michigan actually tried to keep Haskins a secret during his recruitment in hopes that other schools wouldn’t find out about his prowess as a running back. Though he moonlighted as a linebacker, he came on strong in his sophomore year, backing up Zach Charbonnet. Then, in 2020, we started to see just how good he could be before he became the main starter in 2021 – splitting carries with Blake Corum.
TE Luke Schoonmaker
High school: Hamden (Conn.) Hall
Drafted: second round, 2023
Class: 2018
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 796 overall (247Sports Composite)
Another marvelous find by Michigan in the New England area, Schoonmaker started to show his prowess in 2019 but didn’t truly round into form until 2021. By 2022, he was one of the Wolverines’ primary threats in the pass game. He was picked in the second round by the Dallas Cowboys.
WR Ronnie Bell
High school: Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill
Drafted: seventh round, 2023
Class: 2018
Stars: 2-star (Rivals)
Ranking: 1473 overall (247Sports Composite)
Perhaps the best receiver Michigan has had in the past decade, Bell outshined all kinds of supposed superior talent – including five-star Donovan Peoples-Jones and current NFL star Nico Collins. A basketball commit to Missouri State, Michigan saw something in him and nabbed him not long before the early signing period – to which Wolverines fans asked, ‘Who?’ His fifth year wasn’t quite as prolific as his previous seasons, perhaps because he was returning to form after a catastrophic injury sustained in the 2021 season opener. But it was still good enough to hear his name called when picked by the San Francisco 49ers.
LB Michael Barrett
High school: Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes
Drafted: seventh round, 2024
Class: 2018
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 751 overall (247Sports Composite)
This one makes some sense given that Barrett was a dual-threat quarterback and came to Ann Arbor as – a football player? Thought to eventually be used as Don Brown’s ‘viper,’ he got that chance in 2020, to mixed reviews. But late in 2022, the lights turned on and he became a standout linebacker in a more traditional sense rather than a hybrid safety-linebacker.
EDGE Josaiah Stewart
High school: Everett (Mass.)
Drafted: third round, 2025
Class: 2021
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 749 overall (247Sports Composite)
A transfer from Coastal Carolina, Stewart was picked up by Michgian as a four-star transfer. But even then, he exceeded expectations. Certainly, none of the recruiting experts anticipated that Stewart would be a third round pick, and given his lack of size on the edge, it’s not surprising.
The sites were definitely off, but most all of them were on the same page
These are the ones who needed a little bit more development and weren’t just obvious misses by the recruiting services. The consensus three-stars (or pretty close) who ended up doing much more once they had time on task.
WR Jehu Chesson
High school: St. Louis (Mo.) Ladue Horton Watkins
Drafted: fourth round, 2017
Class: 2012
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 656 overall (247Sports Composite)
It was clear when Chesson arrived in Ann Arbor that he would eventually end up being pretty good – him and four-star WR Amara Darboh. The question was more about who would be better? They both ended up about equal, and Chesson ended up being drafted by Kansas City.
S Jeremy Clark
High school: Madisonville (Ky.) North Hopkins
Drafted: sixth round, 2017
Class: 2012
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 579 overall (247Sports Composite)
Clark was what they call a ‘greyshirt,’ meaning he wasn’t on scholarship when he first arrived on campus – that shows just how little he was thought of from a national perspective. He had injury issues while in Ann Arbor but was good enough that he was selected by the New York Jets in the sixth round in 2017.
S Josh Metellus
High school: Pembroke Pines (Fla.) Charles Flanagan
Drafted: sixth round, 2020
Class: 2016
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 719 overall (247Sports Composite)
ESPN actually had Metellus as a four-star, somewhat shockingly, given that he was listed by the recruiting services as a two-star at the time of his commitment. Thought to be collateral by fans at the time of his pledge, given Michigan’s pursuit of his teammate Devin Bush, Metellus has proven to be one of the best players on this entire list. A longtime starter with the Minnesota Vikings, he’s also a team captain, and he’s feared as a safety all around the league.
EDGE Kwity Paye
High school: Warwick (R.I.) Bishop Hendricken
Drafted: first round, 2021
Class: 2017
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 481 overall (247Sports Composite)
Another one that ESPN was all over, having him as a four-star, Michigan fans actually lamented when Paye committed, calling him a ‘Don Brown special.’ Once evaluators got their eyes on him, he rose to a higher three-star ranking on 247Sports and Rivals, but still didn’t rise to what he became: a first-round talent.
OL Andrew Stueber
High school: Darien (Conn.)
Drafted: seventh round, 2022
Class: 2017
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 363 overall (247Sports Composite)
A camp offer, no one thought much of Stueber as a recruit, but he ended up being a solid offensive lineman for the Wolverines. 247Sports proprietary ranking actually had Stueber as a four-star.
DT Kris Jenkins
High school: Olney (Md.) Good Counsel
Drafted: second round, 2024
Class: 2020
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 502 overall (247Sports Composite)
With an NFL pedigree in his blood, Jenkins saw the field right away as a freshman. He was arguably Michigan’s best lineman by his third year, 2022, even while starting alongside Mazi Smith – who became a first round pick in 2023. A fan favorite, Jenkins was a standout on a defensive front that was rife with NFL picks.
DB Mike Sainristil
High school: Everett (Mass.)
Drafted: second round, 2024
Class: 2019
Stars: 3-star
Ranking: 589 overall (247Sports Composite)
Speaking of fan favorites, there’s perhaps no one on this list that Michigan fans love more than Mike Sainristil. Originally committed to Virginia Tech as a cornerback, he came to Ann Arbor as a wide receiver, but switched back to defense in 2022 – and became the best player on the entire star-studded defense at nickel. He was picked in the second round by the Washington Commanders and became a starter there almost immediately.
DT Kenneth Grant
High school: Merrillville (Ind.)
Drafted: first round, 2025
Class: 2022
Stars: 3-star (Rivals, ESPN)
Ranking: 444 overall (247Sports Composite)
On3 and 247Sports were all over this one with Grant being listed as four-star, but ESPN and Rivals had him as a three-star. On3 was by far the highest on him, as 247Sports still didn’t have him in their Top247. He went on to be the No. 13 overall selection in this year’s draft.
The overachievers
Michigan managed to get some players who the recruiting services were split on – some saw them as top talent, while others not so much. But these are players who ended up being even better than even the most optimistic sites had envisioned.
Regardless, it makes you wonder: what were the dissenting sites seeing?
DT Mo Hurst
High school: Westwood (Mass.) Xaverian Brothers
Drafted: fifth round, 2018
Class: 2013
Stars: 3-star (Rivals, ESPN)
Ranking: 256 overall (247Sports Composite)
Hurst was projected to be a first rounder until a heart problem discovered at the NFL scouting combine tanked his draft stock. And he’s the first on this list that did have a four-star ranking to at least one recruiting service (247Sports) but was seen as a three-star on the others. Even so, he was easily the best player on the 2017 team and was unstoppable in the middle of the defense.
LB Devin Bush Jr.
High school: Hollywood (Fla.) Charles Flanagan
Drafted: first round, 2019
Class: 2016
Stars: 3-star (247Sports)
Ranking: 316 overall (247Sports Composite)
The No. 10 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019, Bush was an absolute star at linebacker, particularly in 2018. Even though Rivals and ESPN had him as a four-star, 247Sports was lagging behind, having Bush as the 62nd-best player in the state of Florida, compared to Rivals which had him 26th.
EDGE Chase Winovich – third round
High school: Jefferson Hills (Pa.) Thomas Jefferson
Drafted: third round, 2019
Class: 2014
Stars: 3-star (ESPN)
Ranking: 290 overall (247Sports Composite)
ESPN was the only one that truly missed on Winovich, but no one really thought he’d become as dominant as he eventually did. Listed as a linebacker in high school, he started there, moved to tight end and fullback, starred on special teams, then became an edge rusher in 2016 and thrived.
EDGE David Ojabo
High school: Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy
Drafted: second round, 2022
Class: 2018
Stars: 3-star (Rivals)
Ranking: 331 overall (247Sports Composite)
247Sports and ESPN were all over this one, but Rivals had Ojabo as a three-star. Yet, if it weren’t for a catastrophic injury during pro day, he would have been a first-round draft pick.
OG Zak Zinter
High school: North Andover (Mass.) Buckingham Brown & Nichols School
Drafted: third round, 2024
Class: 2020
Stars: 3-star (247Sports)
Ranking: 249 overall (247Sports Composite)
Rivals and ESPN both understood the assignment and had Zinter as a four-star. 247Sports, however, listed him as a three-star. Given that he quickly became (as soon as his sophomore year) the best offensive lineman on a star-studded group that won two straight Joe Moore Awards and a national championship, it’s at least worth pointing out.
DT Mason Graham
High school: Anaheim (Calif.) Servite
Drafted: first round, 2025
Class: 2022
Stars: 3-star (ESPN)
Ranking: 247 overall (247Sports Composite)
Called the 72nd-best defensive tackle by ESPN and 49th by On3, Graham ended up being the first one taken in this most recent NFL draft. The other sites got on board around the time that Michigan identified him, listing him as a four-star. But On3 and ESPN lagged behind on this one. Still, even as the No. 247 player in the country as a recruit, he was still awfully underrated.
Does Michigan do more with less? In some ways, it appears so, as the Wolverines have had better luck putting three-and four-sars into the league. Yes, there have been five-stars who became first-rounders, but just as often, the lower-rated players who developed ended up being high-end NFL draft picks.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Underrated Michigan recruits who became stars
