Former Cal safety signee Ernest Nunley commits to Michigan

Michigan landed a commitment from former Cal safety signee Ernest Nunley Tuesday evening, less than a week after the Wolverines offered the former ACC pledge. The three-star defensive back just wrapped up an official visit with the program. 

He’s the No. 121 safety in the country out of Anaheim (Calif.) Western High. Michigan’s new staff, led by safeties coach Tyler Stockton, wanted to add another freshman defensive back to this class. Nunley will enroll early with the Wolverines later this month. 

Stockton was Nunley’s primary recruiter during this accelerated decision-making process. He recruited the newest U-M commit to Boise State. 

“They wanted to take another young guy in the class of 2026 at DB, and they’ve seen my film, and they see I can play anywhere in the secondary,” Nunley said before his visit. “I’m a very versatile player, so they thought that I would be a great addition…I fit very well in their scheme, and they want me to come there and compete early for a job.”

Nunley re-opened his recruitment and heard from Michigan’s staff just a couple of hours later. He will start off at safety but touted his ability to play all over the secondary. The 6-0 defender logged 5 interceptions, 20 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles as a senior to go along with 57 total tackles. He explained why his skill set would be a good fit for the Wolverine secondary. 

“My aggressive nature, me being able to just come down and destroy blocking receivers just to get to the ball, my ball skills, my instincts, my patience at the line and me being really like a man-to-man guy,” Nunley said. “That’s what the new staff is going to run up there, a lot of man-to-man. I just fit right there.”

The Wolverines’ recruiting class ranks No. 12 nationally and No. 4 in the Big Ten. 

Michigan now holds 22 commits in its 2026 recruiting class — Nunley, five-star Mineral (Va.) Louisa County running back Savion Hiter, five-star Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga EDGE Carter Meadows, Top 100 Honolulu (Hawaii) Kamehameha offensive tackle Malakai Lee, Rivals300 St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet defensive lineman Titan Davis, Rivals300 Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian’s offensive lineman Marky Walbridge, Rivals300 Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith wide receiver Travis Johnson, Rivals300 Waco (Texas) Connally cornerback Jamarion Vincent, Rivals300 Liberty Hill (Texas) High defensive lineman Alister Vallejo, four-star Chicago (Ill.) Simeon EDGE McHale Blade, three-star Washington (D.C.) St. John’s EDGE Tariq Boney, three-star Denver (Colo.) Mullen tight end Mason Bonner, three-star Dallas (Texas) Parish Episcopal wide receiver Jaylen Pile, three-star Richmond (Va.) Huguenot linebacker Markel Dabney, three-star Columbus (Ohio) St. Francis DeSales running back Jonathan Brown, three-star Wilmette (Ill.) Loyola Academy offensive lineman Tommy Fraumann, three-star Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier linebacker Aden Reeder, three-star Jackson (Miss.) Hartfield Academy linebacker Kaden Catchings, three-star Saline (Mich.) High quarterback Tommy Carr, three-star Newberry Park (Calif.) High quarterback Brady Smigiel and  three-star Washington (D.C.) St. John’s offensive lineman Adrian Hamilton.