Spring visits heat up
Michigan hosted top recruits Darrell Mattion, Colt Lumpris, and Carter Meadows during spring practice visits — a notable recruiting surge for Jim Harbaugh’s staff — while Alabama expects a loaded visitor group of key prospects. The visitor weekend momentum could reshuffle early signing expectations. ( )
Darrell Mattison, a 6-foot-2 safety from Chicago Morgan Park, made his verbal pledge to Michigan on March 24, 2026 after an unofficial spring practice visit to Ann Arbor on March 17, choosing the Wolverines over Power Five offers including Penn State and Ole Miss. (247sports.com) Colt Lumpris, a 6-foot-6/6-7 four-star tight end who took a spring visit to Michigan in March, instead announced a commitment to Alabama on Dec. 9, 2025 after an earlier trip to Tuscaloosa; he’s listed by Rivals and 247Sports among the top tight ends in the 2027 cycle. (on3.com) Carter Meadows, the Gonzaga product measured at 6-foot-6.5 and long regarded as a top EDGE, has been in Michigan’s fold since his recruitment visits and is listed on Michigan’s official roster as a headline defensive add to the program. (mgoblue.com) Alabama’s upcoming visitor weekends have featured multiple high-end targets — staff coverage lists names like John Meredith, Mark Matthews and Elijah Haven among the recruits Alabama has prioritized during recent official-visit slates. (on3.com) The timeline shows visits producing concrete swings: Lumpris cited his March Tuscaloosa trip as decisive before his Dec. 9, 2025 commitment to Alabama, and Mattison’s March campus visit preceded his March 24, 2026 pledge to Michigan. (on3.com) (247sports.com) Alabama’s class moved into the top tiers nationally after adding Lumpris, with outlets noting the 2027 class rising into the low-teens in composite rankings, while Michigan’s March visit-to-commit timeline produced the program’s first 2027 pledge under its new staff, signaling measurable shifts in early signing projections. (si.com) (247sports.com)
