Tony Alford and the Michigan Wolverines came up just short in the Javian Osborne sweepstakes, as the 2026 four-star running back committed to Notre Dame, he announced on Saturday evening.
The 5-foot-10, 200-pound top-100 overall prospect was heavily favored to go to Michigan after he eliminated the Texas Longhorns from his list of suitors, but the Fighting Irish did a great job selling him on their program when he visited this spring. New Notre Dame running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider also established a strong bond shortly after getting hired back in February.
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So where does this leave Michigan at the running back position in this class?
Going all out for Savion Hiter
The Wolverines should be viewed as one of the frontrunners for the top running back in the nation, five-star Savion Hiter. The Virginia native is set to officially visit Ann Arbor next month — the weekend of June 13, to be exact — and will also take official visits to Ohio State, Tennessee and Georgia in June.
Hiter unofficially visited Ohio State and Tennessee this spring and did not get to Michigan or Tennessee. That could be viewed as a negative for the Wolverines and Bulldogs, but his intent for those visits was to meet the new running backs coaches at those schools and see their coaching styles in person. Hiter has visited Ann Arbor multiple times in the past, including for the MSU game back in October.
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The No. 18 overall prospect in the country, Hiter could very well be Michigan’s top overall target regardless of position in the class. Sherrone Moore and Alford will do all it takes to land one of the most electric players in the class.
There are other options, too
Outside of Hiter, Michigan will have a great shot at landing four-star Amari Lattimer. A top-300 overall player from Georgia, he trimmed his list down to six schools back in April, with Michigan making the cut alongside Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Florida State. He may be on the back burner at the moment, but the Wolverines could very well land Lattimer if they push hard enough.
Two prospects committed elsewhere that Michigan can circle back with are four-stars Javian Mallory (Miami) and Deshonne Redeaux (USC). Mallory, in particular, was heavily interested in Michigan before he ultimately sided with the Hurricanes — he seems like a guy that would listen to Alford and the Wolverines if they reconnect with him. Redeaux took a trip to Ann Arbor this spring before he chose the Trojans, so it would make a lot of sense for Michigan to at least check in with him if all other options don’t work out.
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Finally, a guy the Wolverines should continue recruiting despite him eliminating them from his top list is four-star Brian Bonner. The fringe top-100 overall player has a top-five list of Notre Dame, Penn State, Washington, UCLA and Nebraska. Bonner just visited Ann Arbor this spring, so perhaps Michigan can get back in it with him now with Osborne committed to Notre Dame.
Needless to say…
…Michigan will be just fine. While it sucks to miss out on one of the most dynamic players in the country at a position that Michigan has a proven track record with, not all is lost. Hiter is still on the board and is undoubtedly the best running back in the nation. And even if it doesn’t work with him for some reason, there is a lot of time before December when recruits will put pen to paper.
