In September 2011, four-star athlete Dymonte Thomas of Alliance (Ohio) Marlington was in the Big House. He was there to visit Michigan, where he saw the Wolverines’ thrilling 35-31 win over Notre Dame. Quarterback Denard Robinson racked up nearly 450 yards of total offense while leading Michigan to 28 points in the fourth quarter and the comeback victory.
Thomas witnessed the magic. He saw that big stadium light up. He heard the roar of the crowd. He wanted to be a part of it.
So that night — 79 days before Urban Meyer was hired by Ohio State — he committed.
That was the last time Michigan got a commitment from a top-100 player from Ohio in the 247Sports Composite.
Until Tuesday.
Four-star running back Jordan Marshall of Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller visited Michigan over the weekend. A few days after returning to Ohio, he committed to the Wolverines. He is the No. 91 overall player and the No. 7 running back to the country. He has an Ohio State offer. The Buckeyes wanted him, and Michigan got him. There is no excuse on the message board.
Michigan’s official Twitter account wasted no time boasting, posting a video of Donovan Edwards’ 75-yard touchdown run that all but sealed the Wolverines’ win over Ohio State at Ohio Stadium on Ohio Stadium — the program’s second straight victory in the rivalry. The message is a smiling Emoji. That’s all that needs to be said.
It’s personal. Winning the last two years on the field is more than enough to hurt Ohio State. But going to Ohio and getting a top-100 player is an invasion, a reminder that the Wolverines didn’t just win a few fluke games before going back to second fiddle in this rivalry.
It’s how Michigan continues to reclaim a rivalry that was once, not so long ago, considered all but dead. This is the next step for Michigan’s football renaissance.
Meyer knew the importance of this geographical difference when he was the head coach at Ohio State, so he spent his entire tenure maniacally trying to prevent Michigan from crossing the border. Win the field. Win the recruiting field. Repeat. It got to the point where Michigan basically stopped trying to recruit Ohio State. It came close to landing five-star defensive end Zach Harrison out of the Columbus area in the 2019 class, but ultimately chose the Buckeyes. The only time Michigan landed an Ohio recruit was when the Buckeyes didn’t offer.
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This is probably why Michigan’s recruiting strategy has been so sporadic under Jim Harbaugh. If Ohio — the most obvious place — is off the table, what is? California? Texas? Massachusetts? There is no clear and identifiable plan for Michigan’s recruiting strategy, which is perhaps why the Wolverines have struggled to gain traction with the accumulation of high school talent. Ohio not being a factor hurt Michigan more than people will admit.
Clearly that is no longer the case. Michigan isn’t just trying to do it again in Ohio — it’s winning battles.
It was always a chicken and the egg situation once Ohio State ran away with the rivalry during Meyer’s tenure. Does Michigan need to get the players to beat Ohio State? Or does Michigan have to beat Ohio State to get the players? My thought process has always been that the talent gap is too wide — and continues to widen — for Michigan to win. Erasing the talent gap must come first. In my mind, that’s the most important thing.
I am wrong. Despite having little talent on its roster the past two years, Michigan didn’t just beat Ohio State — it won convincingly. Those are statement games, the kinds of wins you’d think would lead to more effective recruiting. They are proof of concept, a reason for elite-level players to want to come to Michigan.
Surprisingly, Michigan’s recruiting in the 2023 cycle didn’t get the jump you’d expect. Maybe it’s because of Harbaugh’s flirtation with the NFL, but Michigan failed to sign a top 100 player in the cycle. It’s still amazing to say that out loud. Yes, Michigan has been very effective on the portal. And yes, the Wolverines return a large portion of last year’s College Football Playoff team. But it’s always about high school recruiting in this sport if you want to maintain success and avoid a long season.
The 2024 cycle has been a “do-or-die” class for Michigan as the Wolverines missed out on several five-star quarterbacks in their home state in Dante Moore (Class of 2023, UCLA) and CJ Carr (Class of 2024 , Notre Dame), the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr. Harbaugh returned to his NFL flirtations this year, but without excuses. This class will determine if Michigan can not only continue to beat Ohio State, but if it can win a Playoff game.
That’s largely because Michigan went all-in on five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis of Charlotte (NC) Providence Day School. Davis returned to Michigan’s campus this past weekend, along with five-star edge Dylan Stewart of Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate Academy, four-star tight end Brady Prieskorn of Rochester (Mich.) Adams and Marshall. We know how the Marshall recruitment ended. Who’s next? Davis? Maybe it’s all coming together.
Marshall’s commitment follows a notable addition to Michigan’s 2023 class. On Sunday, the Wolverines landed four-star athlete Brandyn Hillman of Portsmouth (Va.) Churchland. Hillman signed with Notre Dame in December but asked for his letter of intent and immediately picked up offers from Ohio State, LSU, Wisconsin and others. Michigan received his commitment, winning a head-to-head battle with, you guessed it, Ohio State.
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Some may be quick to point out that Marshall is just one player, and that Ohio State will focus its attention solely on four-star running back James Peoples of San Antonio (Texas) Veterans Memorial, another top-100 player. Both of those statements are true. Michigan certainly has more work to do to erase the wide talent gap it still faces when it looks at the Buckeyes’ roster.
But it is significant. This is geography. This is history. It is a statement of what is possible again.
It’s the first time Michigan has landed a top-100 player from Ohio since the 2013 recruiting cycle. It’s been a long time coming. You can bet Ohio State coach Ryan Day and his staff felt it. Buckeyes fans did without question.
The conflict is back.
You can bet it won’t take another decade for Michigan to land a prospect out of Ohio that Ohio State wants. That alone is reason to believe the Wolverines can take the next step.
(Photo of Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh: Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)
