Michigan football recruiting: Wolverines take decisive lead for massive OT

Do not be shocked if four-star offensive tackle prospect Andrew Sprague commits to Michigan.

At 6-foot-8 and 290 pounds, why wouldn’t the Michigan Wolverines want to have Andrew Sprague join their football team?

Fresh off a second straight Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff appearance, Michigan has not-so-quietly been a force on the recruiting trails. Their area of excellence of late happens to be in the trenches. Co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will be leading his own Power Five team in short order. Jim Harbaugh’s staff has made a killing in the recruiting realm.

So with four 247Sports recruiting experts tying Sprague to Ann Arbor, including director of football recruiting Steve Wiltfong, to the victors go the spoils, I suppose.

Let’s talk about what this means for Sprague and the Michigan football faithful going forward.

Michigan football projected to land four-star offensive tackle Andrew Sprague

According to the 247Sports Composite, Sprague is the No. 4 player from Missouri, the No. 9 offensive tackle prospect in his class and the No. 160 player nationally for 2024. The Kansas City native stars at Rockhurst High School. He currently has 30 official offers, but seems to be leaning the closest to Michigan, Notre Dame and USC. Frankly, the Wolverines do have a fantastic chance.

Harbaugh’s Michigan program has become synonymous with great line play. You go to Michigan, you will win 10 games a year, play in New Year’s Six bowls, contend for Big Ten titles and reach the College Football Playoff. Ann Arbor has become the new home of the Joe Moore Award. Although Notre Dame does develop great offensive line talent, this is only year two under Marcus Freeman.

Factor in the finesse nature of Lincoln Riley’s offense over in Los Angeles, and you can understand why big boys like Sprague who hail from the midwest want to suit up for the Wolverines. Even if the Jayhawks and the Wildcats were interested, Sprague seems to be looking at mostly going to a program where he can be developed and turned into a first-rounder. The Wolverines could do that.

While there are no locks among Sprague’s crystal ball predictions, we know where he is leaning.

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