The Michigan Wolverines were yearning for a messiah figure to lead them back to their pedestal. They identified the no.1 overall recruit, Bryce Underwood, to fit that bill. Boy, did they make sure the love was reciprocated. Upwards of $10 million in NIL money later, HC Sherrone Moore has his man. Underwood’s arrival is akin to a mythical being descending upon Ann Arbor from the skies. To lift the vibes in and around the program. Speaking of mythical, a bit of a unicorn may now be following suit. One that excels in 3 sports and a plethora of positions on the gridiron. But is trending towards the exact one Michigan needs most.

After playing three different ones last season, Sherrone Moore’s personnel issues at quarterback are now resolved. Portal-acquire Mikey Keene will probably fill that void in 2025, with Underwood taking the helm beyond. Now, it’s time to move to the ancillary pieces on offense. Michigan begrudgingly missed out on 4-star TE Andrew Olesh in the class of ‘25. He was committed to the program for a while but ditched them for B1G contemporaries at Penn State. As a result, the tight end remains an issue. But the script may be flipping in favor of Coach Moore now. 

A solution to this issue hasn’t been conspicuous yet. However, the no.6 TE in the class of ‘26 has offered a proverbial helping hand. A 3-sport athlete who’s committed to ASU but has the maize and blue playing on his mind. Aidan Sen, recruiting journalist for the Michigan Wolverines, spoke to 4-star Israel Briggs out of Visalia, California. While Briggs has initially opted into staying close to home and joining Big 12 champs ASU, echoes of longing from Ann Arbor are loud enough. So is the prospect of featuring for a blueblood catching footballs from Bryce Underwood.

Israel Briggs told Sen, “Right now, I’m committed to Arizona State, but I always said if I have a better opportunity to care for my Dad and my family, I will.” The 6 ‘5, 205-lb man mountain only committed to Kenny Dillingham’s Sun Devils earlier this month. He has an official visit to Tempe scheduled for April. That visit is now surrounded by an air of caution for Dillingham. As for Sherrone Moore, it’s a helping hand he really needed. As hard as Sherrone Moore tries to ascend out of the metaphorical quicksand that is the Jim Harbaugh era, he seems to sink deeper. Whether it’s on the field or off it. 

Michigan’s national championship in 2023 was in some ways marred by allegations of ‘sign-stealing’. The program was observing the banned malpractice of sending “scouts” to watch opposition games live and bring back insider knowledge. That de-commitment of Andrew Olesh was largely due to the cloud looming over this and the subsequent reprimand by the NCAA. Well, at least there is hope now with Israel Briggs opening the door to this process back up. Bryce Underwood needs his TE, and Michigan currently has 1 on the entire roster. They’ll have to fend off ASU, as well as offers from the likes of Bama and Oregon. But it seems like there is a path to landing Briggs. It’ll be fascinating to see if Coach Moore and co. can land this one. He’s still on the hunt for offensive players beyond 2026. Including a two-way, potential Travis Hunter regen.

Sherrone Moore targets a WR-CB to compliment Bryce Underwood’s receiving corp.

Sherrone Moore has identified an in-state recruit to bolster a fractured receiving corp. Except he can play both sides. Something the player has expressed his wishes to continue doing. 4 Star ATH CJ Sadler is the no.1 recruit in the state of Michigan, and keeping him in close proximity to his hometown, Detroit, is on the board. According to the aforementioned Aidan Sen, the program is pursuing CJ as a pass-catcher for Bryce Underwood. Which is his primary forte. However, he also states the player “hopes to play both ways in college”. Well, as enticing as this sounds, it may be too good to be true. The reasons are multifold, and Sadler’s tangibles may begrudgingly be standing in his own way.

For starters, CJ Sadler is merely 5’10, 170 pounds. Aidan Sen pointed to how that’s “under-sized in comparison to Michigan’s regular prototype corner” For context, Will Johnson stood at 6”2. Now, Sadler still has room to grow, so that’s a checkmark in the right column. But not every player is an athletic phenom like Travis Hunter, and not every coach is an eccentric maverick like Deion Sanders. Conventional wisdom has to take precedence sometimes, as vanilla as that may be. 

Perhaps the two parties can come to a resolution, like playing sporadic defense in certain contexts. New OC Chip Lindsey will hope the program can successfully make this happen. So will Underwood, whose options on the perimeter do the project better than his ones at the tight end. It’s merely a matter of when, not if, before Bryce Underwood is throwing dots at the Big House. Will Israel Briggs and CJ Sandler be on the other end of them? We shall see.