Michigan and Sherrone Moore flip incredible defensive recruit who chose Wolverines over Big Ten rivals

Michigan has been gaining some momentum on the recruiting trail here recently, which is great news for Sherrone Moore and his coaching staff. Despite this season not going according to plan thus far the Wolverines still continue to add key talents.They added five star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola two weeks ago, a speedy wide receiver […]

Travis May College Football Managing Editor
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Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore cheers up fans before the Michigan State game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024.
© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan has been gaining some momentum on the recruiting trail here recently, which is great news for Sherrone Moore and his coaching staff. Despite this season not going according to plan thus far the Wolverines still continue to add key talents.

They added five star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola two weeks ago, a speedy wide receiver in Jaylen Pile right before that, and as of today they've flipped an incredible edge defender recruit in Benny Patterson from Newburgh, Indiana.

Patterson is a four star talent according to On3 Sports who continues to rise up the rankings boards. He had been committed to Cincinnati since the spring, but as he's gained more notoriety this fall buzz began to build that he might flip. Top Big Ten rival schools came racing to steal his services as he visited with USC, and got a late offer from Penn State, but ultimately Patterson committed to Michigan on Friday.

Patterson has been adding weight, explosiveness, and filling the stat sheet this fall for Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana. Through nine games he's already up to nearly 60 tackles (13 for a loss) and has tallied seven sacks of opposing quarterbacks. Patterson is reportedly up to 245 pounds now as he's clearly trying to get ready for the next level, and it shows on every snap.

He's primarily been playing defensive tackle at the high school level, but will almost certainly kick outside for Sherrone Moore and Michigan as they're likely going to need some fresh edge defenders next fall. Josaiah Stewart, Derrick Moore, and even TJ Guy might all three choose to depart Michigan after this fall, which would leave a massive opportunity for Patterson to see some early snaps in Ann Arbor.

Patterson's commitment marks him as the 17th member of Michigan's 2025 high school recruiting class. There's still plenty of work to do, but it's a great sign that Sherrone Moore and company are finding success on the recruiting trail amid some losses this season. Hopefully this momentum carries throughout the rest of November as the Early Signing Period (December 4-6) is just barely a month away now for high school recruits.


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