As the defending national champs, Michigan is bound to have even a little more clout on the recruiting trail this summer.

While the Wolverines only have eight players committed so far in the 2025 recruiting class, seven of those are blue-chip talents. On Tuesday, Michigan just picked up its first 2026 commitment, beating out Clemson for 4-star quarterback Brady Hart. Now we have at least two more battles that look to be coming down to the Tigers and Wolverines, with both of these for players in the 2025 class.

Clemson has already netted two commitments from high school prospects to have taken officials this month in 4-star offensive lineman Rowan Byrne and 4-star corner Graceson Littleton, although several more priority targets have chosen to see their recruitments through and take more official visits.

Two of those will be heading to Ann Arbor this weekend, in 4-star offensive lineman Hardy Watts and 4-star linebacker Kamar Archie, meaning Clemson is once again going head-to-head with the defending champs.

Michigan has long been considered the biggest competition for Watts. However, coming out of his official to Clemson, it went so well that Watts said Dabo Swinney’s program checked all the boxes and would be the standard moving forward.

“They definitely set the bar and I’d say that they’re the standard,” Watts told The Clemson Insider after the visit.

“It checks all the boxes. All the boxes are checked. Clemson set the bar. And I think it’ll be interesting to see how other schools compare. Because I was just absolutely amazed and blown away by the generosity and the hospitality and quality of the people at Clemson.”

Watts has took an official to Wisconsin as well. He was planning to also visit Duke and Boston College, but eventually scrapped those plans and eventually named Clemson and Michigan, along with Wisconsin as his three finalists.

Archie was the only linebacker on hand for the big official visit weekend earlier this month, something that really made its mark on the blue-chip talent.

“Means a lot to me,” Archie said after the visit. “Just knowing how special Clemson is. That I was the only linebacker there, that plays a big part in my recruitment, as well, with me making my final decision. Just because I know the importance they have, like how important I am to Clemson and coach (Wes) Goodwin.”

Like Watts, Archie will be in Ann Arbor this weekend for his final official visit. Rutgers got one last weekend and is one of the three finalists, along with the Tigers and Wolverines. While the Scarlet Knights certainly helped themselves, it’s not likely to have catapulted them to the top of the list.

Two priority targets with quite possibly nothing but a trip to Michigan standing between them and Clemson. Just like it did with Hart, both of these battles seem to be coming down to the Tigers and Wolverines.

Again, the Michigan visit is the final official for both players, with each eyeing early July for making a decision, although nothing is set in stone as of yet. What does appear to be certain, is that going forward, we can count on Clemson and Michigan doing battle on the recruiting trail even more often that they have in the past.

Photo courtesy of Kamar Archie on X (formerly known as Twitter)

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