Jaylen Williams is another quality commitment for Michigan football

Michigan football coaches teased some good news on Sunday. We guessed it was about four-star defensive lineman Jaylen Williams and that guess was accurate.

Williams, a 6-foot-6, 265-pound defensive lineman out of Palatine, Illinois announced his commitment on Monday, giving the Wolverines their sixth pledge of the 2024 class. Williams is the No. 236 overall recruit in the 2025 class according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.

BREAKING: Four-Star DL Jaylen Williams has Committed to Michigan, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’6 250 DL from Palatine, IL chose the Wolverines over Tennessee, Nebraska, & Texas A&M

“Momma I did it we rocking blue!”https://t.co/cg6BMaDhoW pic.twitter.com/RIiILvzBzj

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 10, 2024

Another blue-chipper

There’s a lot to like about Williams. He’s a big, versatile defensive lineman and Michigan football loves those kinds of players. Allen Trieu of 247 Sports wrote in his scouting report that Williams will end up 290-300 pounds.

At 6-foot-6, that would be just fine with me. That’s the perfect size for a defensive end in an odd front. Mike Morris is a name I’ve used before as the ideal comparison that comes to mind.

Williams can play defensive end in a 4-3 or a 3-4 scheme. He can also play some on the interior, especially in pass-rushing stations. Someone who is that quick and long, at that size, will be tough to handle.

Another quality addition to the 2025 recruiting class for Michigan football

Quantity matters in college football recruiting. There’s no doubt about that. But you still want to add blue-chip prospects which is what Michigan football has done so far in the 2025 class.

The Wolverines have six commitments in 2025 and each of them rank as four-star recruits according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. It’s still very early in the 2025 class but all the people making jokes about Michigan taking three-star recruits haven’t checked the rankings.

Michigan football has landed six four-star commitments. That’s 23 now out of the 32 commitments/signings (72 percent) from the past two recruiting classes. Yes, the Wolverines have struggled with top-100 prospects and much of that can be laid at the feet of NIL, but as I wrote recently, Michigan football recruiting isn’t as bad as the narrative.

The commitment of Jaylen Williams is a reminder of that.

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