Five-Star LSU Football Commit Derek Meadows Visits the Michigan Wolverines – Sports Illustrated

Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman five-star Derek Meadows committed to the LSU Tigers in July after a visit to Baton Rouge.

Since then, he has remained a top prospect on the recruiting trail with America’s top programs continuing to clamor for the services of coveted clients.

The 6-foot-6, 205-pounder is rated as the No. 1 prospect in Nevada and a Top 10 wide receiver in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

After Meadows made his decision public over the summer, he chose the Tigers over Michigan, Alabama and Notre Dame, among several others.

Now he continues to keep his options open.

The top-ranked wide receiver made the trip to Ann Arbor on Saturday to check in with the Michigan Wolverines for their game against No. 1 Oregon.

There are ties here in favor of the Wolverines with the Meadows family, born and raised in Michigan.

“The home state for me and my wife,” Meadows’ father told On3 Sports in July. “We’ve always been Michigan fans growing up. You’re going to be a Michigan fan or a Michigan State fan growing up. We were Michigan fans. He has very close ties with the people there. A lot of my family is there. Derek has many family and friends. Great educationally and it doesn’t hurt to be a national champion. Great academic support.”

This is a dial to track progress. Meadows hasn’t visited Baton Rouge this fall, and with a visit to Ann Arbor now in the rearview mirror, he’s set to visit the Notre Dame Fighting Irish next weekend on the weekend of Nov. 8.

During the home stretch of Meadows’ recruitment, it quickly became an LSU vs. Notre Dame battle, with Michigan also a name heavily involved before his commitment to the Tigers.

Now, although Meadows remains verbally committed to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers, both the Fighting Irish and Wolverines have turned up the heat on a potential flip.

The early signing period is getting closer; prompting programs to put the finishing touches on their 2025 recruiting classes.

But the buzz grabbing headlines over the last week or so has been five-star quarterback and LSU commit Bryce Underwood.

Underwood, the No. 1 ranked signal caller in America, has recently been linked to the Michigan Wolverines, with the program reportedly offering a NIL package north of $5 million.

A Michigan native, the Wolverines have always been a threat, but Underwood has yet to visit Ann Arbor for an official or unofficial visit.

Underwood’s actions made it clear the five-star signal-caller was committed to the Tigers, but that didn’t stop Michigan head coach Sharon Moore from reaching out to the quarterback to keep the line open.

On3 sports recruitment expert Steve Wiltfong takes part in:

“As head coach Sharon Moore and Michigan make their big push into the early signing period, they currently sit in On3’s No. 12 recruiting class. One prospect they continue to have dialogue with is On3’s No. 1 prospect in of Bryce Underwood. Committed to LSU, this is recruiting to watch progress. I believe the dialogue with the Wolverines is real. We’ll see how things continue to develop there, I think it will open the eyes of some others before pen goes to paper.”

Moore and Co. remain in contact with Underwood and his camp down the stretch, but LSU is aware of the communication. The program is not surprised, although the national headlines attract attention.

LSU offensive coordinator Joe Sloan visited Underwood on Friday for his playoff game, with the five-star quarterback locking in an official visit to Baton Rouge next weekend for the Alabama game.

All signs point to Underwood putting pen to paper with LSU during the early signing period, but Meadows’ recruitment will certainly be one to keep an eye on down the stretch.

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Follow Zach Nagy on Twitter: @znagy20 and LSU Tigers on SI: @LSUTigersSI for all the coverage surrounding the LSU program.