Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore just picked up a super talented 4-star recruit to bolster the Wolverines' 2025 recruiting class. In a year where Michigan's defense has struggled, giving up about ten more points and 80 more yards per game, Benny Patterson is a huge addition to the defending national champion's core.
The senior defensive lineman from Castle High School flipped his commitment from Cincinnati to Michigan on Friday, according to On3sports National Recruiting Expert Hayes Fawcett. The huge news comes at a tough time for Michigan football, with the program set to be heavy underdogs against No. 1 Oregon on Saturday.
Michigan's woeful first year under Sherrone Moore
Benny Patterson is a crucial pickup for the Wolverines. Up until his commitment, Michigan football's 2025 recruiting class was struggling, ranking at only 14th in the country.
Patterson is a 6-foot-4, 245 defensive lineman who had additional offers from Florida State, California Berkley, and Boston College. The senior is having the best year of his career at Castle with 70 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and four sacks.
What makes Patterson's addition so crucial is much of Michigan's current defensive line contains upperclassmen with juniors such as defensive lineman Mason Graham projected to declare for the 2025 NFL draft. Patterson will be part of a rebuild on that side of the ball as Sherrone Moore tries to resolve Michigan football's uneven quarterback situation.
While the news of Patterson's commitment is terrific for the Wolverines, the immediate future of Sherrone Moore's program this year might not be too bright. Three out of Michigan's last four games come against legit playoff contenders.
The first is this weekend against No. 1 Oregon. Then, the following weekend, the Wolverines will travel to Bloomington to take on a historically great Indiana football team. And, to close out Moore's first season as head coach is “The Game”, which is in Columbus this year.
It's safe to say that if Michigan wins out, they will earn an at-large berth in the College Football Playoff. But, should they lose out, the Wolverines could have their fifth losing season of this century, which would be a terrible way to kick off the post-Jim Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor.
Still, overall, Michigan football is in much better shape now than they were a few weeks ago. The program is coming off a huge victory against Michigan State and looks like a way different team than the one that got humiliated at home by Texas earlier in the season. Time will tell soon how close Sherrone Moore's team is to getting back to the top of college football.
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