A lot has been happening behind the scenes at Michigan lately. HC Sherrone Moore has been embroiled in the 2 year old sign-stealing controversy, with hearings still pending. Michigan’s athletic director, Warde Manuel, and former president Santa Ono have been named in the Matt Weiss lawsuit. And on the field? Sherrone Moore’s first year was far from flawless, with just 8 wins, although they won against Ohio State. Yet, despite all of this going on behind the scenes, Sherrone Moore is still finding time and energy to rope in commit after commit, and that’s remarkable.
The Michigan head coach has already roped in a 6th-ranked 2025 class and went on to get Bryce Underwood in a last-minute coup. The result? The head coach has solved his QB issues, as he was forced to experiment with 4 QBs last year, and no one performed. As for the 2026 class? The head coach is again showing that, despite rumors against him in the media, the recruits still prefer to come to Michigan.
The 2026 class is stacked with top talent and is ranked 9th nationally, with national signing day still quite far away. They’ve already secured 20 commits, including standout names like Titan Davis, a 10th-ranked DL, Malakai Lee, an 11th-ranked OT, Brady Smigiel, a 10th-ranked QB, and Carter Meadows, the 6th-ranked highly talented edge rusher. And now? Sherrone Moore has gone to rope in another 4-star edge rusher to pair him up with Carter Meadows.
Hayce Fawcett, the On3 recruiting reporter, announced the commitment of Julian Walker on his X account as Julian Walker relayed his message by commenting on the post. “I want to thank god first, for blessing me with a skillset to play the game I love. Secondly, I appreciate everyone who has stood by me until this decision. This was not an easy choice, but I’m % confident & grateful for the support of my family & Michigan – go blue,” wrote Julian Walker. Moreover, the 6’6 and 250 lbs edge rusher also quickly got Brady Smigiel’s seal of approval, who commented on Fawcett’s same IG post and wrote, “,” indicating his unwavering loyalty towards Michigan.
Walker, a native of Irmo, South Carolina, is a no. 20 edge rusher of the 2026 class and the No. 4 player from South Carolina. Possessing great size and length, the guy fits like a glove for a 3-4 defensive line and offers fluid movement to get past the O-line. As for his dynamism? Walker is a true 3 down player and plays with quickness and elite poise. All in all, Michigan has a true beast in Julian Walker, who can even upgrade himself to a 5-star recruit, given he still has his senior season to play at the high school level.
Michigan’s got a ‘gold standard’ in recruiting with Sherrone Moore?
Sherrone Moore went 8-5 in his first a massive downgrade given the program was coming after winning the natty. But is it a downgrade? To be fair, after that national title win, Harbaugh quickly went to the NFL to the Los Angeles Chargers, and Sherrone Moore was left with a program with high attrition and transition. So, going 8 wins in the first year, that too without a solid QB, and defeating Ohio State was decent considering his debut year. As for the recruiting aspect? ROC Boys were all in praise of Sherrone Moore.
“Two things I want to note right off the bat,” the host said. “You all know my love that I got for Coach Harbaugh. It feels a little different in the talent acquisition department with Sherrone Moore at the helm. It was very clear early on, when Sherrone Moore took over this program, he felt like, ‘Hey, we can probably squeeze a little bit more out of the talent acquisition that this Michigan program can kind of do.’ We’ve seen that take place over the last 18 months,” said the host.
The host is quite right since Michigan landed seven top-100 recruits in its 2025 class and is out to do the same in 2026. But it wasn’t overnight. Before Moore became the head coach, he helped the O-line become the best in the country, including helping the team win the national title. So, Moore, being with the program since 2018, already knew the ins and outs of the program, and that experience is proving that Michigan’s future is still in good hands.
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