The Michigan football coaching staff is beginning to make inroads in its new home turf.
Kyle Whittingham and company landed their first pledge from the Mitten State on Saturday, May 2, as Jakari Lipsey committed to the Wolverines. Lipsey, who shared the news on his Instagram, is a four-star tackle from Kalamazoo Loy Norrix ranks as the No. 3 player in Michigan, the No. 10 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 115 player nationally in the class of 2027, according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings.
It’s the first major commitment for first-year offensive line coach Jim Harding, who also has a pledge from Saline’s Louis Esposito (Saline), who is the son of former defensive line coach Lou Esposito and originally committed to the previous staff. Michigan also has a pledge from Muskegon defensive lineman Recarder Kitchen, who, like Esposito, committed to the previous staff but appears poised to remain in the fold.
Harding, meanwhile, is known for his development skills, as evidenced by last month’s NFL Draft: Two of Harding’s former charges at Utah – Spencer Fano (No. 9 overall, Cleveland Browns) and Caleb Lomu (No. 28, New England Patriots – were selected in the first round.
Before the commitment, Lipsey had official visits set up with UCLA (May 15), Wisconsin (May 29), Michigan (June 5), Minnesota (June 12) and LSU (June 19) − it’s unknown if he will take those visits or shut down his recruitment.
At 6 feet 5 and 290 pounds, Lipsey doesn’t quite have prototypical tackle size, but he is more than large enough to be a guard. Michigan now has six commits in the class of 2027; its group ranks No. 33 in the nation and No. 12 among 18 Big Ten teams, per 247.
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football lands four-star OL Jakari Lipsey for 2027