The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465847
2015 RECRUITING ISSUE sation with Harbaugh and new de- fensive coordinator D.J. Durkin in his Prattville, Ala., home. Washington's dad, "Big Keith," was also in on this exchange. "The four or us are sitting there … and I asked him how fast he was," Harbaugh recalled. "He said, 'I'm a 4.3, Coach.' I said, 'Come on! Nobody's a 4.3. Everybody thinks they're a 4.3.' "He goes, 'I'll go out in the parking lot and run it for you right now.' And he was serious. Dead serious. And I liked him even more. I knew he was a competitor. You're going to like him." Meanwhile, Kinnel stuck with a c o m m i t m e n t made nearly a year and a half earlier, to a dif- ferent coaching staff. A big part of this class in- volved keeping what was al- ready in place, and Harbaugh gave a nod to former head coach Brady Hoke, in terms of what his staff accomplished. "It was a real pleasure, just the things I learned about some of the players that were already committed under Coach Hoke and his regime," Harbaugh said. "They did a tremen- dous job." Among those previously com- mitted was Andrew David, a 5-9, 170-pound placekicker out of Mas- sillon, Ohio. The new coach demon- strated his efforts to quickly learn his additions by citing David's confirma- tion name (John) and his prep talents as a shortstop. All in all, Harbaugh noted, it's been a good month. "I'm excited about all the young- sters we've signed in this class," he said. "I'm excited about our entire football team." A VIEW FROM ELSEWHERE Rivals.com national recruiting di- rector Mike Farrell well understands the challenge Harbaugh's talent-cull- ing crew faced. According to him, the Wolverines did about as well as could be reasonably expected. "Expectations were a little higher t h a n t h e y should be, for those who don't follow this as closely as we do," Farrell said. "He just didn't h av e en ough time. He only had about two- and-a-half weeks on the road, and a few official visit weekends. "To get what they got — get the quarterback he likes, which is ex- tremely important, hold on to some of the key guys like Kinnel and Cole, Malzone and Newsome, add Wheat- ley — I think he did a good job." A head coach will rarely venture into talking about the most important recruits landed, in terms of immedi- ate impact or the future. But Farrell offered some opinions in those areas. Certainly landing Gentry marked a significant achievement, he noted. Harbaugh "We're very pleased with our class, very proud, really. I think everybody who loves Michigan is going to be very proud to call these youngsters their own."