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Five-star offensive tackle Ty Haywood — the top remaining uncommitted prospect in the 2025 class — signed with Michigan on Wednesday morning, capping a torrid finish to the recruiting cycle for coach Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines in the early hours of national signing day.
Haywood, a one-time Alabama commit, is ESPN’s No. 16 overall recruit and third-ranked offensive tackle prospect in the 2025 class. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound lineman chose not to sign during the early signing period in December and decommitted from the Crimson Tide last month before he formally committed to Michigan on Wednesday in a ceremony at Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, amid heavy interest from Florida State and Texas Tech.
Haywood stands as the second-highest-ranked member in the Wolverines’ 2025 class, trailing only No. 1 overall prospect and five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood among recruits set to join Michigan for the 2025 season. With Haywood in the fold, the Wolverines hold signatures from 11 ESPN 300 recruits in the latest cycle, including eight from the top 100 in a high school recruiting class that began Wednesday ranked ninth nationally in ESPN’s class rankings.
“We all have the same mindset of winning,” Haywood told ESPN. “We’re going to go in and do what we’re supposed to do. But we’re also going to have fun with this process and this next chapter of life. I’m ready to go dominate, win games and make it a fun time in our lives.”
Closing out with Haywood’s commitment, Michigan has executed one of the strongest recruiting runs across the country in 2025 in the final stages of Moore’s first cycle in charge of the program, surging late in spite of the Wolverines’ 8-5 finish to the 2024 season.
Michigan held pledges from just four eventual blue-chip signees when four-star offensive tackle Andrew Babalola (No. 28 overall) committed to the program on Oct. 21, 2024, kicking off a series of six top-100 pledges who joined the Wolverines’ 2025 class in the seven weeks before the early signing period began Dec. 4.
Underwood’s flip from LSU to Michigan was the most significant domino to fall over that span. But the Wolverines also bolstered their defensive class with a series of late additions, pulling in top 100 recruits Shamari Earls (No. 68 overall), Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (No. 76), Nathaniel Marshall (No. 77) and Jordan Young (No. 96) all after Nov. 1.
In Haywood, Michigan has its second five-star signee and another cornerstone in Moore’s inaugural recruiting class.
An imposing tackle with elite length, Haywood initially committed to Alabama over Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Florida State in July. The opportunity to play in the SEC, Haywood told ESPN, was a dream, and he would have been the second-ranked member of coach Kalen DeBoer’s debut class if he had ultimately landed with the Crimson Tide. Yet Haywood never signed, reopening his recruitment in the new year.
“Life doesn’t always happen the way you want it to happen,” he said. “You find better options in life. I was hoping to explore my options more in the recruiting process.”
Michigan, Florida State and Texas Tech quickly emerged last month as the primary contenders to land Haywood. The Wolverines and Seminoles made home visits to Haywood in January before Haywood said his recruitment swung on an official visit to Michigan on the weekend of Jan. 17, where his comfort on campus, as well as with Moore and offensive line coach Grant Newsome sealed his commitment.
“They made sure my mom was OK,” he said. “They made sure my brother who came with me had fun. When you pick a place, it’s not only for you, it’s for your family. That’s part of what did it for me.
“Coach Moore is a former offensive lineman and Coach Newsome is a great guy, too,” Haywood continued. “Those guys understand what it takes to prepare every day, workout and win games. They know what it takes.”
Haywood and Babalola — ESPN’s No. 8 offensive tackle — now represent Michigan’s top offensive line signings in the ESPN recruiting rankings era, which dates to 2006. Between them, the program has not only a pair of blue-chip linemen to protect Underwood, but elite bookends to an exceptional recruiting finish for Moore and the Wolverines in the 2025 class.