From The Road: Thoughts, intel on pair of Michigan targets in Florida

*** Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas opened up the season with a lopsided win over Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot on Thursday. The St. Thomas Aquinas defense, led by rising 2026 linebacker Phillip Goodrich, kept Michigan quarterback commit Carter Smith in check, limiting him to fewer than 150 yards of total offense. Goodrich is one of the more intriguing targets on Michigan’s linebacker board for next cycle. He is definitely undersized at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds. That is obviously a concern and will limit his rankings ceiling. However, Goodrich is ultra-productive for one of the best schools nationally and displayed plenty of physicality and sideline-to-sideline speed. Only one service (Rivals) has him ranked at this time — a high three-star. I think starting him off in the three-star range is fair.

*** Goodrich grew up watching Michigan and dreaming of playing in The Big House. He visited Michigan twice before earning an offer on his third visit this summer. Goodrich camped in front of new Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary and took home MVP honors from the event. Goodrich is very familiar with the program and loves what it has to offer on and off the field. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him end up in the 2026 recruiting class if Michigan makes a hard push. The biggest competition here appears to be South Florida and Wake Forest. Goodrich told me he is planning to be back at Michigan for a game this fall and is eyeing next month’s marquee non-conference matchup with Texas.

*** Michigan is also in a really good spot early on with rising 2027 Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas offensive lineman Jayden Dean, who notched an offer from the Wolverines on his first unofficial visit this summer. I talked to Dean and one of his coaches after the game, and they made it clear that Michigan is at the very top of their board early on. Dean already has a strong relationship with new Michigan offensive line coach Grant Newsome and is planning to be back in The Big House for a visit this fall. He even introduced himself to Carter Smith after the game and told him about his high interest in the Wolverines. Dean also holds early offers from Auburn, Colorado, Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas A&M and others.

***Michigan has taken a center in back-to-back recruiting cycles, so I’m not sure they will look at one in the 2026 recruiting class. However, the Wolverines could be back in the market for one in 2027, which would open the door for Dean. While he started the game at guard, it’s clear he’s a center prospect all the way. Dean did slide to center in the second half and looked much more comfortable at that spot. Dean is definitely on the short side at 6-foot, so it will be interesting to see if he grows much over the next couple of years. As mentioned, I think he’s strictly a center based on his current build.

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