Another college football head coach has been fired, as Hugh Freeze has been fired at Auburn following an embarrassing 10-3 loss to Kentucky at home on Saturday afternoon. He is the third head coach in the SEC and the fourth big time head coach to be fired in the last month, as James Franklin (Penn State) was fired a few weeks back, while Billy Napier (Florida) was fired two weeks ago and Brian Kelly (LSU) was fired last weekend.
With the Tigers starting over, the time is now for Michigan — and other programs, for that matter — to raid Auburn’s 2026 recruiting class. One prospect in particular that Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines should reestablish contact with is four-star linebacker Shadarius Toodle.
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At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Toodle is ranked No. 14 at the linebacker position and No. 253 overall on the 247Sports composite. The Mobile, Alabama native has taken multiple visits to Ann Arbor in the past, including an official visit the weekend of May 30, so there is plenty of familiarity there.
“The overall visit was good,” Toodle told Rivals’ Chad Simmons after his official visit. “I got to know the head coach and defensive coordinator more, and I got a good feeling from the whole staff. It was my second visit up to Michigan, and each time they have treated me like family.”
Michigan has just one linebacker committed in the 2026 class in three-star Markel Dabney. Brian Jean-Mary has been going after a few other linebackers, including four-star Georgia commit Nick Abrams II, three-star Wisconsin commit Aden Reeder, four-star Iowa commit Kasen Thomas and three-star Iowa commit Billy Weivoda. They clearly want one more guy to pair up with Dabney, so it’s worth checking in with Toodle and seeing where things stand with his commitment following Freeze getting fired.
Toodle would be a fantastic addition to the Wolverines’ class. As a junior in 2024, Toodle compiled 157 total tackles, 13 tackles for loss, two sacks and one interception at Cottage Hill Christian Academy. He has followed that up with a solid senior season with 92 total tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks, three pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
