Wolverine Digest

Four-star DL Jaylen Williams commits to Michigan over Tennessee, Nebraska and Miami

The Wolverines' run of recruiting success this summer all started with this rising prospect out of Illinois...

Matt Lounsberry

Four-star Palatine (Ill.) defensive lineman Jaylen Williams poses outside Michigan Stadiun while on an official visit with the Wolverines
Four-star Palatine (Ill.) defensive lineman Jaylen Williams poses outside Michigan Stadiun while on an official visit with the Wolverines /
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At the beginning of June, Michigan football's 2025 recruiting class hadn't really gotten off the ground yet. The Wolverines had only five high school prospects committed in the cycle, and their class didn't even rank inside the Top 50 nationally.

That all changed with the verbal pledge of four-star Palatine (Ill.) defensive lineman Jaylen Williams, who ended a more than month-long recruiting draught for U-M when he committed back on June 10. Williams' pledge was the first of nine commitments in the month of June for the Wolverines, including eight in a two-week stretch.

Williams was a longtime target for Michigan going back several defensive line coaches. Mike Elston, who led the position over the previous two seasons, recruited the Illinois native before following former head coach Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. Williams was then recruited by new head coach Sherrone Moore's first D-line coach hire, Greg Scruggs, whom Williams had a prior relationship with during Scruggs time at Wisconsin. However, Scruggs resigned his position at U-M following an OWI arrest. Moore than replaced Scruggs with former Western Michigan defensive coordinator Lou Esposito, who gave Williams one of his first scholarship offers while with the Broncos.

Despite all that staff turnover, Michigan still came out on top with Williams, who was also strongly considering Tennessee, Nebraska and Miami in his recruitment. The 6-foot-6, 265-pounder is considered the No. 222 overall prospect, No. 26 defensive lineman and No. 6 player from the state of Michigan in the 2025 class, according to 247Sports' Composite rankings. Here's what 247's national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu had to say about Williams in his scouting report:

"Tall, long frame with athleticism and a basketball background. Gets off the ball with quickness and makes a good number of negative plays in the backfield. Runs by his high school competition quite a bit or wins quickly with his size and strength. Will need to get more technically adept at shedding against more even competition in college. Has a little bit of experience standing up, but we're likely looking at a 290-300+ pound hand-down college lineman. He fits very well in an odd-front as an end. In a 4-3, he could be a combo guy but will likely grow into more of an interior player in that scheme. Still learning and has rawness to his game, but has clear high-major physical gifts and plays the game hard which is a good foundation."

Highlights:

Since Esposite was hired at Michigan on March 29, he's done an excellent job on the recruiting trail. In addition to Williams, Esposito was able to land commitments from four-star Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall and four-star Alpharetta (Ga.) edge rusher Julius Holly. The defensive line coach was also able to retain the verbal pledge of four-star Howell (Mich.) defensive lineman Bobby Kanka, whom in-state rival Michigan State was working hard to flip.

Currently, Michigan has 16 total verbal pledges in the '25 recruiting cycle. The class is ranked No. 10 in the country and No. 3 in the Big Ten behind only Ohio State and Oregon. The Wolverines' average player rating of 91.66 is good enough for No. 8 nationally.

Michigan Football Verbal Commits, Class of 2025

  • Four-star DL Nathaniel Marshall; Fenwick High School; Oak Park, Ill.; No 46 nationally, No. 6 Defensive Lineman, No. 2 in state of Illinois
  • Four-star CB Ivan Taylor; West Orange High School; Winter Garden, Fla.; No. 54 nationally, No. 6 cornerback; No. 9 in state of Florida
  • Four-star S Kainoa Winston; Gonzaga College High School; Washington, D.C.; No. 91 nationally, No. 10 Safety, No. 1 in Washington D.C.
  • Four-star TE Andrew Olesh; Southern Lehigh High School; Center Valley, Pa.; No. 120 nationally, No. 5 Tight End; No. 3 in state of Pennsylvania 
  • Four-star QB Carter Smith; Bishop Verot High School; Fort Myers, Fla.; No. 160 nationally, No. 13 Quarterback, No. 24 in state of Florida
  • Four-star DL Jaylen Williams; Palatine High School; Palatine, Ill.; No. 222 nationally, No. 26 Defensive Lineman, No. 6 in state of Illinois
  • Four-star OT Avery Gach; Wylie E. Groves High School; Franklin, Mich.; No. 251 nationally, No. 13 Offensive Tackle, No. 2 in state of Michigan
  • Four-star WR Jacob Washington; Archbishop Shaw High School; Marrero, La.; No. 262 nationally, No. 36 Wide Receiver, No. 8 in state of Louisiana
  • Four-star EDGE Julius Holly; Alpharetta High School; Alpharetta, Ga.; No. 299 nationally, No. 24 Edge Rusher, No. 39 in state of Georgia
  • Four-star RB Jasper Parker; Archbishop Shaw High School; Marrero, La.; No. 301 nationally, No. 22 Running Back, No. 9 in state of Louisiana
  • Four-star RB Donovan Johnson; IMG Academy; Bradenton, Fla.; No. 318 nationally, No. 24 Running Back, No. 43 in state of Florida
  • Four-star DL Bobby Kanka; Howell High School; Howell, Mich.; No. 388 nationally, No. 41 Defensive Lineman, No. 3 in state of Michigan
  • Four-star TE Eli Owens; Alcoa High School; Alcoa, Tenn.; No. 415 nationally, No. 21 Tight End, No. 15 in state of Tennessee
  • Three-star WR Phillip Wright; Destrehan High School; Destrehan, La.; No. 429 nationally, No. 67 Wide Receiver, No. 12 in state of Louisiana
  • Three-star IOL Kaden Strayhorn; IMG Academy; Bradenton, Fla.; No. 449 nationally, No. 27 Interior Offensive Lineman, No. 60 in state of Florida
  • Three-star LB Chase Taylor; Stockbridge High School; Stockbridge, Ga.; No. 599 nationally, No. 62 Linebacker, No. 66 in state of Georgia

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Matt Lounsberry
MATT LOUNSBERRY

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