Michigan recently suffered a recruiting loss. Following a hot May on the recruiting trail, Maxwell Miles flipped his commitment from the Wolverines to Minnesota. Miles was one of the first commitments under Kyle Whittingham, along with four-star Darrell Mattison, and now neither are part of the class.

Miles is from Las Vegas, and is ranked as a three-star prospect. On Rivals' Industrial Rankings, Miles is the No. 621 prospect in the country.

While Michigan has been known to produce high-quality defensive backs, Miles said a big reason he flipped to Minnesota is because the Gophers are 'Safety-U'.

“The turning point for me was definitely getting to hang around the staff and the guys on the team,” Miles told Rivals. “Everything just clicked for me and I knew I could be a very valuable player in their defense, that’s Safety-U (University) and I love how I fit in.”

Minnesota was one of the first offers Miles received and the Gophers never backed down. Once Miles went back for an official visit, he said the coaching staff was genuine in how they treated him and his parents. He likes the vision Minnesota sees with him and he has a chance to make an impact on the field.

Last season, Miles tallied 77 tackles and six interceptions in his junior season of football.

Michigan looks to fill his commitment

Minnesota has had some good defensive backs in recent years under PJ Fleck. Koi Perich, who is now at Oregon, along with Antonie Winfield Jr. and Tyler Nubin made up three of the better DBs the Gophers have had.

However, it's still Michigan and the Wolverines produce some elite talent in the secondary. Most notably, this season alone, Michigan will star Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, Smith Snowden, and Rod Moore — all four having a fighter's chance of being named All-Big Ten.

But, it's also possible that Michigan has better candidates to fill its secondary over Miles. While Miles is a loss, being a potential diamond in the rough candidate, the Wolverines are looking at some higher-ranked prospects, along with some emerging stars.

Five-star Joshua Dobson is the one Michigan really wants, but the Wolverines are also in a good spot with four-star safety Marcus Jones, and three-star Miami (OH) commit Errol Kerns, who has been rapidly rising in his recruitment.

It's possible Michigan lands all three of those players this cycle, or at least two of them. Defensive back is an area of need with the Wolverines set to lose multiple players to graduation.