Kellen Voss covers the Michigan men's and women's basketball teams and writes recruiting articles, plus occasional football articles with Maize n Brew. You can follow him on Twitter @Kellen__Voss.
The spring is almost here, and with the change in the season comes an important time in the college football recruiting calendar. Recruits will be on college campuses more frequently beginning in March, and the Michigan Wolverines are anticipating a ton of highly regarded prospects to visit Ann Arbor.
These are the five most important upcoming visitors for the Wolverines, ranked from highest to lowest in order of 247Sports' composite ranking.
Cantwell is set to unofficially visit on Saturday, March 22, and he will also officially visit the weekend of June 13. The 6-foot-7, 300-pound offensive lineman from Nixa, Missouri visited Michigan back in December and had good things to say.
"Coach Moore has a vision that he wants the offensive line to be the heart and soul of the team," Cantwell told On3 on his previous visit. "Coming from being that (offensive line) coach, he knows why prioritizing that can be successful long-term. I think that's exactly what he's doing right now -- getting his offensive line going, so it can be the best line possible."
Michigan is going to want to stockpile as many good offensive linemen as possible to protect Bryce Underwood the next few seasons. Cantwell also raises the ceiling of the running game immensely. He's about as important as it gets for any college program in this recruiting cycle.
The No. 1 wide receiver in the 2026 class is set to visit Michigan on April 5, with trips to Tennessee, LSU, Texas A&M, Miami, Auburn and Alabama also on the docket.
Michigan hasn't had a great track record when it comes to landing elite receivers in recent years, but that could certainly change with Underwood getting the attention of some of the country's best high school pass catchers.
A Crystal Ball prediction has been logged by 247Sports' Tom Loy for Keys to commit to Tennessee, so Michigan fans shouldn't get their hopes up yet. That said, the visit could certainly help Michigan move up his list.
Hiter recently included Michigan in his top-four and is set to officially visit Michigan the weekend of June 13. Based on comments from Hiter's mother to On3's Steve Wiltfong, the Wolverines appear to be in a great spot with Hiter.
"All of their staff keeps in touch and makes sure we know across the board Savion is their top priority for his class and top priority in general," she said. "They've been the most consistent and keeping us parents involved in everything. They always make sure we're involved. They've been amazing for providing resources and information. Coach Alford is one of the few coaches in his top from the beginning has shown not only what he plans to do for development, but actually show us what will be involved in Savion's development. Also things he can do right now to help Savion with his game. So definitely Michigan has set the bar very high from the beginning, but been consistent with that."
Hiter has the chance to be the next great running back in a long line of ball carriers this decade and would pair up nicely with Jordan Marshall.
Ojo, who was in Ann Arbor for the BBQ at the Big House this past summer, recently said he's hoping to "go back in the spring or for an official visit." He'll be visiting Michigan in early June, but no word yet on an unofficial visit happening this spring.
"Michigan made my top-eight because of their offensive line development," Ojo told On3's EJ Holland ($) earlier this month. "They have two offensive line coaches on the staff -- coach (Grant) Newsome and coach (Sherrone) Moore. We've been building a great relationship ever since I got the offer and went up there for the BBQ in the summer. Ann Arbor is a great place. Everything lines up for them to be a top school."
Getting Ojo on campus for a spring visit would be a good way for the Wolverines to showcase that development first-hand.
Osborne is set to visit Michigan at the end of March for a three-day unofficial visit (March 28-30) and will also be back for his official visit the weekend of June 20. Notably, he also canceled his official visit to Texas, and Holland put in a prediction for Osborne to eventually side with Michigan because of that development.
A three-day visit this spring shows how seriously Osborne is considering the Wolverines, and it would be a cherry on top for him to commit before official visit season even begins.