What Devon Baxter’s commitment means for Michigan football

Published Jun. 20, 2023, 10:28 a.m. By Ryan Zuke | Michigan has its first true edge rusher in the 2024 recruiting class. Brandywine (Maryland) Gwinn Park three-star prospect Devon Baxter announced his commitment to the Wolverines on Monday night. Here’s what it means: June is offseason official visit month, and Michigan is hitting it out of the park. Baxter is the Wolverines’ fifth commit this month and 22nd overall, which is tied for second-most in the country, trailing only Minnesota. On tape, Baxter isn’t the most polished prospect, but he’s also relatively new to the edge position. He profiles as a project-type recruit for the Wolverines, but one the coaches are likely excited about. Michigan has a strong track record of molding players of Baxter’s size and athleticism into productive pros. His production at the high school level also can’t be ignored. He had 47 tackles, including 22 for loss and 12 sacks last season. Baxter also plays tight end for Gwynn and had 12 catches for 181 yards and four touchdowns. Baxter made his first trip to Ann Arbor last weekend for his official visit and decided to shut down his recruitment. He was slated to visit Virginia Tech this weekend but Michigan was able to win him over during “Victor’s Weekend,” where nearly all of the Wolverines’ current commits were in attendance. As mentioned above, Baxter is the first domino to fall in Michigan edge recruiting this cycle but won’t be the last. The Wolverines are the perceived leader for Deerfield Beach (Fla.) four-star Elias Rudolph, who announced Monday that he is no longer planning to visit Ohio State this weekend and will choose between Michigan, Miami and Pitt on July 3. Michigan also appears to be the frontrunner for Ijamsville (Maryland) Oakdale four-star Dominic Nichols and Cheshire (Conn.) Academy four-star Jacob Smith, the twin brother of current four-star defensive lineman commit Jerod Smith. Plus, it is in the mix with Olney (Maryland) Good Counsel four-star Darien Mayo and Youngstown (Ohio) Fitch four-star Brian Robinson. If the program’s edge recruiting goes sour, it also could move some of its current linebacker or athlete commits, such as Mason Curtis or Cole Sullivan to edge. Michigan defensive line coach Mike Elston appears to be settling in on the trail. He has served as the primary recruiter for five commits this cycle. Baxter ranks just outside the top 500, but three others: Smith, Ted Hammond and Owen Wafle, are all rated as four-star prospects and ranked in the top 500.