Nation's No. 3 OLB Drew Singleton commits to Michigan football

Michigan football landed its top defensive recruit Friday, as four-star linebacker Drew Singleton committed to the Wolverines.

Singleton is the No. 3 outside linebacker in the country and the No. 66 overall recruit in the nation, according to 247 Sports. He is also the top-ranked player in New Jersey, a state Michigan has dominated over the last few seasons -- landing top players like Jabrill Peppers and Rashan Gary.

Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State, Michigan and Pittsburgh were the five finalists to land Singleton, but he ultimately chose the Wolverines.

Singleton had 24 scholarship offers, including offers from Wisconsin, Ohio State, Rutgers, Penn State, Michigan State, Maryland and Illinois from the Big Ten.

The highest-ranked linebacker in Michigan's 2017 class, Singleton joins fellow outside linebacker Jordan Anthony, who committed to Michigan on Thursday night.

With Singleton, Michigan has 26 commitments in the 2017 class, which ranks fourth in the nation behind Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia.

After all three starting linebackers graduated in 2015, and with Ben Gedeon graduating after the Orange Bowl, Michigan is in desperate need of linebacker depth. There's also a strong chance Jabrill Peppers will forego his final year of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft, opening up another starting spot on the Michigan defense.