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Well, that didn’t take long.
Michigan football appeared to be in decent standing, but on the outside looking in, for one of its top targets, with Notre Dame being in the pole position for an elite prospect out of the Chicagoland area. But after hosting the second official visit weekend of the summer — with some of the top prospects in the country — the Wolverines didn’t just surge in one recruitment; it took over. And got the commitment to boot.
With that in mind, the maize and blue entered the weekend with seven commitments. Who ended up being No. 8 for the maize and blue?
McHale Blade chooses Michigan football over Notre Dame
On3’s Steve Wiltfong made the surprising flip of his prediction that 2026 Chicago (Ill.) Simeon four-star edge rusher McHale Blade would choose the Irish, switching it to Michigan on Monday morning. It didn’t take long before the 6-foot-4, 245-pound edge rusher made it unofficially official, committing to Michigan football.
While Notre Dame was his other finalist, he also showed interest in Wisconsin, USC, and Purdue. He also had offers from Florida, Georgia, Miami, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas A&M. He’s rated highest by Rivals which has him as the No. 111 player in the country, regardless of position.
The current 2026 class
As noted, Blade is the eighth commitment of the 2026 class. He’s the 169th-rated prospect and second-highest pledge according to the 247Sports Composite. Using these metrics, here is the class thus far:
- Newbury Park (Calif.) four-star QB Brady Smigiel (No. 82 overall, 7th QB, 11th in California)
- Chicago (Ill.) Simeon four-star EDGE McHale Blade (No. 169 overall, 21st EDGE, 5th in Illinois)
- Billings (Mont.) West four-star TE Matt Ludwig (No. 220 overall, 11th TE, 1st in Montana )
- Jacksonville (Fla.) Mandarin four-star CB Brody Jennings (No. 275 overall, 23rd CB, 42nd in Florida)
- Cartersville (Ga.) Cass four-star IOL Bear McWhorter (No. 399 overall, 33rd IOL, 48th in Georgia)
- Denver (Colo.) Mullen three-star TE Mason Bonner (No. 593 by 247Sports Composite; 30th TE, 5th in Colorado)
- Dallas (Tx.) Parish Episcopal three-star WR Jaylen Pile (No. 702 overall, 103rd WR, 113th in Texas)
- Washington (D.C.) St. John’s three-star EDGE Tariq Boney (No. 783 overall, 71st EDGE, 4th in D.C.)
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