The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465847
M ichigan's 2015 recruiting class could feature the great- est impact of any such aggregation over the past five 45 years. Period. Matter of fact, make that an exclamation point. Really? A class ranked No. 48 in the nation by Rivals.com? A class containing 14 incoming players, compared to 30 or more for some over- signing juggernauts? A class featuring zero five- star performers? Sounds like somebody bought a ticket on the delusion train, and is riding it all the way to Crazy Town. Not in the slight- est. First off, in quarterbacks such as 6-7, 230-pound Zach Gentry and 6-2, 205-pound early entry Alex Mal- zone, the Wolverines feature strong raw material at the most important position on the field. Those players, along with fellow Rivals.com four- stars like Tyrone Wheatley Jr., a 6-6, 260-pound tight end, and Brian Cole, a 6-2, 190-pound wideout, bring with them great potential for improving Michigan's football fortunes. But the class of 2015 doesn't end with that quartet and the 10 others that join it in recognition within this issue. That's the key here. Michigan unoffi- cially pulled in a 28- man class of its own, featuring arguably its best recruit since Bo Schembechler himself rode north out of Ohio, breathing fire. That's James Joseph Harbaugh, five-star. He just happened to come as a package deal with a coaching staff that may quickly be- come known as one of the best on the college football landscape. It features offen- sive coordinator Tim Drevno, the architect of three straight San Francisco 49ers of- fensive lines that made it to the NFC Championship Game, including one that played in the Super Bowl. It includes defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin, who fashioned some of the best defenses in the college game at Florida the past couple of years. There's John Baxter, the best spe- cial teams coach in the nation, whose résumé assures that's not hyperbole. There's Jedd Fisch, Michigan's pass- ing game coordinator who comes in with more than a decade of NFL WOLVERINE WATCH JOHN BORTON New Class Could Be Among Best Ever M i c h i g a n' s c l a s s o f 2 0 1 5 i n c l u d e s n o t j u s t 1 4 n e w players, but head coach Jim Harbaugh and his coaching staff. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL