There were no pre-holiday fireworks for Michigan’s football program on Sunday.
The Wolverines were victims of a recruiting stunner, with 2024 Chicago (Ill.) St. Ignatius five-star defensive tackle target Justin Scott making a surprise commitment to Ohio State. The No. 14 overall prospect nationally, per the 247Sports Composite index, chose the Buckeyes over 29 other reported offers, including top schools Michigan, Notre Dame and Georgia.
The 6-foot-4, 310-pounder’s recruitment has been a rollercoaster. The Irish were widely considered the early leader, but then the Wolverines appeared to gain ground on his official visit to Ann Arbor on June 9. However, OSU hit a home run on Scott’s official visit last weekend, scoring a commitment from one of the top defensive lineman in the country. He previously had not set a decision date.
“When we came back from the Michigan visit, the whole family was set on them,” he told On3. “I was ready to commit to Michigan. And then we went to Ohio State, and the one thing that pushed Ohio State over the top was getting coached by (defensive line) coach Larry Johnson.”
Michigan currently has four verbal pledges from defensive lineman in the 2024 class, but Scott would have been a massive land at the nose spot. Jim Harbaugh’s program also missed on another nose target on Saturday, with three-star Deyvid Palepale committing to USC.
Elsewhere Sunday, Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow four-star cornerback Terhyon Nichols committed to Kentucky over Michigan, OSU and three other finalists.
The Wolverines currently have the fourth-ranked class with 24 commitments.
