Top-ranked Michigan football commit visiting two SEC schools

Just when things are starting to look up for Michigan football recruiting, there’s some troublesome news for the Wolverines as their top-ranked commitment in the 2025 class — Nate Marshall — has set official visits to Alabama and Auburn.

Marshall will visit Auburn this weekend according to Jeffrey Lee, who is an Auburn reporter for On3.com. It has also been reported that Marshall will visit Alabama next weekend.

Michigan 4-star DL commit Nate Marshall is taking an official visit to Auburn this weekend, per @JLeeAULive🦅

Read: https://t.co/OwKBppyeBa pic.twitter.com/TJiia0tpke

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) June 7, 2024

The 6-foot-4, 265-pound prospect out of Fenwick, Illinois, is ranked No. 41 overall according to the 247 Sports composite rankings and is the fourth-ranked defensive lineman. Michigan football landed his commitment back in April right after a visit for the spring game.

There were rumblings about other programs pushing for Marshall, but the thought was that he was solid in his commitment to the Wolverines. Yet, when you have a committed recruit taking official visits to other programs, that makes you concerned.

How worried should Michigan football be about Nate Marshall?

My biggest reason for concern is NIL. Top-100 recruits like Marshall are generally getting paid quite a bit upfront money. We know that Michigan football has been reluctant to do that kind of thing. Jim Harbaugh was against it, saying Michigan needed a “transformational” approach and Sherrone Moore doesn’t seem inclined to chase players solely after money.

But quality talent has value in this market and Michigan football hasn’t been willing to meet that demand. We’ll see if that’s a factor for Marshall. That’s total conjecture but it’s something to think about because Auburn and Alabama have no issue dropping bags.

I don’t get the sense that a flip is imminent but Michigan football now needs to worry about holding its top-ranked commitment, while also trying to add to its 2025 recruiting haul.

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