To acquire an underappreciated class of 2025 linebacker prospect out of Georgia, Michigan ventured into SEC territory / Chris Breiler – Michigan Wolverines On SI

In the first full cycle of the Sherrone Moore administration, Michigan appears to be heavily focused on recruiting the South. In the class of 2025, the Wolverines have verbally committed 13 players, eight of whom are players who reside south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

One of those commitments came from three-star linebacker Chase Taylor of Stockbridge, Georgia. On June 24, Taylor made his Michigan commitment among a final group that also included USC, Georgia Tech, and South Carolina.

#GoBluepic.twitter.com/4XwVBXbOAv ANOTHER ONE!!🔥🔥🧱

— @TWH_Chris, The Winged HelmetJune 24, 2024

Taylor has played well during the previous two years of high school. Taylor finished his sophomore campaign in 2022 with 66 tackles, including three sacks, according to MaxPreps. Subsequently, Taylor had a junior season with 73 tackles, including six tackles for loss, six sacks, and three forced fumbles. You can view the highlight reels from his junior season here.

Taylor’s offer sheet indicates that he is an undervalued talent, even if he is regarded as a three-star recruit. In addition to his final group, the 6-foot-3, 201-pound player has received 27 scholarship offers from FBS schools. Other schools that have expressed interest include Tennessee, Florida State, Clemson, and LSU. According to 247Sports’ Composite rankings, Taylor is ranked as the No. 588 overall prospect, No. 63 linebacker, and No. 65 player from the state of Georgia in the 2025 recruiting class.

In the struggle for Taylor’s commitment, Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale performed a fantastic job, culminating on June 21 when the Peach State native made an official visit to Ann Arbor. Taylor made visits to USC (May 31), South Carolina (June 7), and Georgia Tech (June 14) this summer, making that his fourth official visit.

Prior to this week, the Wolverines were unable to sign four-star Trenton, New Jersey, Hun linebacker target Kamar Archie. Nevertheless, they are still in a heated competition with Notre Dame and other teams for Bradenton, Florida’s Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (No. 70 overall) of IMG Academy.

Apart from Archie, the Wolverines have also seen four other highly-regarded prospects commit to other programs: four-star Dexter interior offensive lineman Hardy Watts (Wisconsin), four-star Danville (Calif.) edge rusher Marco Jones (Texas A&M), and four-star Seuseu Alofaituli (Las Vegas, Nev.) Bishop Gorman interior offensive lineman Maxwell Roy (Ohio State).

But good news may be on the way for Michigan the following week, as the Wolverines are currently the front-runners to sign three-star wide receiver Phillip Wright (No. 533) and four-star Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh tight end Andrew Olesh (No. 121). Olesh, who is also thinking about Alabama and Penn State, is scheduled to declare his intent on July 8, and Wright will declare his intention between Georgia Tech and Michigan on July 13.