The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
FOOTBALL RECRUITING engineered a top-10 class in their first full recruiting cycle (the first class af- ter the coach's first season), with Har- baugh becoming No. 9. Out of the nine, Harbaugh's No. 4 team ranking ranked fourth, better than LSU's Les Miles, Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze and UCLA's Jim Mora, among others. Only three coaches — Alabama's Nick Saban (No. 1 team ranking), Flor- ida State's Jimbo Fisher (No. 2) and Ohio State's Urban Meyer (No. 2) — had better hauls in their first full re- cruiting cycle. The question becomes: can Har- baugh keep it going? History would say yes. With the exception of Stanford's Da- vid Shaw, who signed just 12 recruits in his second full recruiting cycle, the seven other Power Five conference coaches produced a class that ranked eighth, on average, in their second go- around. Many of these coaches have an ad- vantage over Harbaugh, living in tal- ent-rich areas like the South or Califor- nia, but Meyer proved that a Midwest program could compete with the big dogs of the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 by landing the No. 2 overall class in his first full cycle and the No. 3 overall class in his second. In his first four full recruiting cycles, Meyer has produced, on average, the fourth-best class in the country (plac- ing third this year) and is showing no signs of slowing down. Of course, it helps to have great suc- cess following that first full cycle when programs can no longer sell hope but must sell results. Miles, Saban and Meyer all won 11 or more games in their second-year campaigns, fueling excitement for their third (and second full) recruiting cycles. Each of those coaches won a national title in year three, further enhancing their recruiting appeal. Can Harbaugh follow suit? Will Michigan win 11 or more games in year two and compete for a national title in year three? It's no given, but among this elite class Harbaugh now belongs to four Top U‑M Signees Of The Rivals.com Era Rashan Gary is the top-ranked prospect in the nation, the first time since the advent of Rivals.com in 2002 that the best prep player has signed with Michi- gan (and only the second time that he's ended up in the Big Ten, joining Ohio State quarterback signee Terrelle Pryor in 2008). U-M has landed plenty of other talented prospects, though. Here's the run- down on the best they've reeled in: Paramus (N.J.) Catholic DT tackle Rashan Gary 2016 • No. 1 overall Will compete for playing time as a true freshman. Paramus (N.J.) Catholic DB Jabrill Peppers 2014 • No. 3 overall