The drama of the early signing period extended into the final hours for Michigan’s football program.
Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh four-star tight end Andrew Olesh was the Wolverines’ only commit who didn’t sign during the first two days of the early window, which opened Wednesday and closed Friday. The No. 59 overall prospect and No. 3 tight end nationally, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, was wavering on his verbal pledge and was also strongly considering Penn State and Oregon.
Olesh held a signing ceremony at his high school Friday to announce his final college decision and chose his home-state Nittany Lions. The talented tight end, sitting next to his parents, had hats representing five schools on a table in front him. He first picked up the Penn State hat before setting it back down and proceeded to do the same with the Michigan and Oregon hats. Olesh once again grabbed the Lions hat and this time put it on, saying he was headed to Happy Valley and enrolling early.
The 6-foot, 4 ½-inch, 215-pounder had a chance to be an instant impact tight end for the Wolverines, especially in the passing game. He had 973 receiving yards as a junior and followed with another strong senior campaign, registering a program-record 75 catches for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“Three-level pass catcher with a favorable combination of measurables and traits that has a chance to emerge as a game-changing combo tight end on Saturdays,” 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins wrote in his scouting report. “Tested in the upper percentile spring before senior season, clocking a 4.6 in the 40-yard dash and a 4.13 in the short shuttle. Has been deployed primarily as a large outside receiver at the prep level, but has proven to be an effective move blocker out on the perimeter and has finished a bulk of his run-blocking chores when asked to work out of a three-point stance. Mixes gears well as a route runner and turned heads at the Elite 11 Finals with his dynamic cuts, large catch radius, and superb body control. Competitive with the ball in his hands as he will use his burst and agility to get out of tackles.”
Olesh’s flip dampens an otherwise strong early signing period for the Wolverines, who now have 22 signees in their 2025 class, which dropped two spots to No. 9 in the national rankings. They still have five top-100 prospects, including No. 1 overall recruit Bryce Underwood, after landing just one the previous two cycles.
Olesh was one of two tight end commits in Michigan’s class, but Alcoa (Tenn.) three-star Eli Owens is viewed more as a blocker at the position.
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