Michigan football flips five-star defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall from Auburn

Michigan has been active on the recruiting trail with some of the top prospects in the 2025 class since flipping No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood.

In a massive flip before early National Signing Day, 2025 five-star defensive lineman Nathanial Marshall has de-committed from the Auburn Tigers and is instead heading to the Michigan Wolverines to play for head coach Sherrone Moore.

Marshall, ranked the No. 2 defensive lineman in the 2025 class and the No. 26 overall recruit by Rivals, is a 6’5”, 270-pound recruit from Oak Park, Illinois who had initially been committed to Michigan, but flipped to Auburn back in August.

Now, he’s back with the Wolverines, who have been making significant steam on the recruiting trail as they look to amp up their 2025 recruiting class on National Signing Day.

Marshall’s visits have been all over the place, as he was initially expected to visit Texas A&M this past weekend, but didn’t make that visit. Before that, he headed over to Texas two weeks ago, but has now re-flipped back to Michigan in time for 2025 early National Signing Day, marking what could be a busy, busy 24 hours for the Wolverines.

Michigan has been active on the recruiting trail with some of the top prospects in the 2025 class since flipping No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood from the LSU Tigers with a hefty NIL package that stems over four years for the heralded quarterback.

Marshall becomes the top defensive player in Michigan’s 2025 class and the No. 2 overall commit behind Underwood, joining a group that currently ranks sixth in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Having a basketball background, the five-star is a good athlete for the position, which is a plus for Michigan as Marshall can be plugged in anywhere along the defensive line with his frame.

He could be an edge rusher for the Wolverines with his agility and movement off the edge, could be a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end with his size and strength, or could even bulk up and eventually be a disruptor on the interior, depending on what fits best for Michigan.

This is a big recruiting win for the Wolverines, not only because they’re getting a major recruit to add to their 2025 class, but Marshall adds to their Chicago pipeline, as he gives the program another high-end commitment from the state to bolster their recruiting platform in a major way.

Michigan now has five defensive linemen committed to them in their Class of 2025: Marshall, four-star Bobby Kanka, four-star Julius Holly, three-star Travis Moten, and three-star Benny Patterson.

That marks yet another strong class at the position after Michigan landed seven recruits in the Class of 2024: four-star Lugard Edokpayi, four-star Dominic Nichols, four-star Ted Hammond, four-star Owen Waffle, three-star Manuel Beigel, three-star Devon Baxter and three-star Deyvide Palepale.

The Wolverines are up to 22 commits in their 2025 on National Signing Day, with room for more as they look to make some last-second flips, while also focusing their efforts to the later signing period with top recruits such as Alabama five-star offensive line commit Ty Haywood.

Nonetheless, Marshall is a major addition on the recruiting trail for Michigan’s defense, and marks yet another high-profile flip for the Wolverines in the 2025 class.