Michigan football lands in-state four-star lineman

Four-star offensive tackle Jakari Lipsey from Loy Norrix High in Kalamazoo has committed to Michigan.

Lipsey, 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, is ranked third overall among in-state recruits, according to 247Sports Composite. With his commitment on Saturday, Michigan now has six commitments to the 2027 class, half of which are from Michigan. Four-star edge Recarder Kitchen (Muskegon) is ranked No. 4 in the state, and offensive lineman Louis Esposito (Saline) is No. 16.

Kalamazoo Loy Norrix offensive tackle Jakari Lipsey will take an official visit to Michigan on June 5-7.

This was another recruiting win for offensive line coach Jim Harding, who is in his first season at Michigan. Although he has coached out west since 2009 and joined new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham’s Utah staff in 2014, Harding has local roots and knows how important it is to keep local talent. Harding is from Maumee, Ohio, was a standout offensive lineman at Toledo, and coached at Troy Athens from 2005-2008, including his last season as head coach.

During a recent interview with The Detroit News while in Detroit to meet local high school coaches, Harding said his focus was recruiting in state.

“If it was in a perfect world, you'd like to build the offensive line room from inside out, meaning trying to get the top offensive linemen from the state,” Harding said. “I think that promotes pride and interest from fans around the state. Having seen the kids play in high school and having coached in the state of Michigan, I know there's really good high school football here, and so we’re doing things like this to try to network and get the high school coaches comfortable with a brand new staff.”

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan football lands in-state four-star lineman