Rivals300 in-state EDGE Recarder Kitchen commits to Michigan

Michigan picked up a statement commitment Sunday afternoon from Recarder Kitchen, a Rivals300 edge rusher out of Muskegon (Mich.) High. After signing just one in-state recruit in the 2026 class, the Wolverines already hold two local pledges for 2027. 

Kitchen has been at the top of the Wolverines’ edge board for a long time. He kept his recruitment quiet, but U-M always looked like a top contender for the No. 126 recruit in the Rivals Industry Rankings. 

Defensive line coach Lou Esposito is his primary recruiter, and head coach Sherrone Moore took on a personal role as well, which caught Kitchen’s attention. 

“It’s just a great bond,” Kitchen said in August. “I love Michigan.”

He’s the No. 19 junior edge rusher in the country and just wrapped up a season that included all-conference and all-region honors. The 6-5, 240-pound Wolverine commit is also the No. 2 recruit in the state of Michigan. 

Kitchen checked out schools like Penn State and Wisconsin during his recruitment, keeping a Big Ten focus to his recruitment while piling up an elite offer list that also included Texas A&M, Tennessee, USC, Notre Dame and many others. 

Michigan established itself as a top school early on after offering Sept. 2024. A trip to Ann Arbor earlier this spring left a lasting impression. 

“We went to a lot of colleges and, when we got there, it was different,” Kitchen said. “Everybody was huge. They were really hitting out there, really putting in work and it was just different.”

The blue-chip pass rusher is the fourth commit of the 2027 class and the first defensive pledge. He joins Top 100 quarterback Peter Bourque, three-star offensive lineman Tristan Dare and three-star offensive lineman Louis Esposito in the foundation of next year’s recruiting cycle.