Michigan Heads into Christmas as Hottest Team on Recruiting Trail
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
What a difference one year makes in the fortunes of some programs. When the 2014 season finished the Wolverines were 5-7 overall under Brady Hoke. Now Michigan has head coach Jim Harbaugh at the helm completing a 9-3, 6-2 Big Ten, season with a chance for a 10-win season against Florida. As Michigan preps for a shot at their first double-digit winning season since an 11-2 campaign in 2011, Brady Hoke’s first season with Big Blue, Harbaugh and company are pitching the missing ingredient to top players across the country heading into the holiday season as the hottest recruiting team in the nation.
Other programs like Ole Miss have made big moves in the month of December with the addition of 5-star offensive tackle Gregory Little (Allen HS, Allen, TX), Georgia keeping 5-star quarterback Jacob Eason (Lake Stevens HS, Lake Stevens, WA), and Clemson securing 5-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (Wake Forest HS, Wake Forest, NC) but few schools have made a run the way Michigan has over the last month landing 3-star wide receiver Nate Johnson (Independence, TN), 4-star linebacker Devin Bush (Pembroke Pines, FL), and 4-star running back Kareem Walker (Wayne, NJ).
The Wolverines now have 23 verbal commitments to their 2016 class with 11 of the players being rated as 4-star recruits. The overall haul includes recruits from 12 different states with just one, surprisingly, from the state of Michigan, 4-star offensive Cass Tech offensive lineman Michael Onwenu. The changes are what Michigan fans had hoped for when Harbaugh was signed, a far cry from the 14 players signed in the 2015 recruiting class.
Harbaugh may never be allowed back in Florida or New Jersey the way he has ransacked the talent in those respective neighborhoods. Five recruits from the Sunshine State have verbally committed to Michigan; defensive end Rashad Weaver (Cooper City), cornerback Antwaine Richardson (Atlantic), and three players from Pembroke Pines – defensive back Josh Metellus, safety Devin Gil, and Bush.
New Jersey always has a lot of talent to offer with Rutgers and Penn State normally reaching into the Garden State for most of the talent. The pendulum has swung with Michigan effectively recruiting four 4-star recruits – wide receiver Brad Hawkins Jr. (Camden), defensive end Ron Johnson (Camden), wide receiver Ahmir Mitchell (Egg Harbor), and Walker.
The class is well balanced but if recruiting rankings are a sign of the future, Michigan will be well suited for life in the Big Ten going forward with four 4-star recruits coming in on the offensive line – Ben Bredeson (Hartland, WI), Devery Hamilton (Baltimore, MD), Erik Swenson (Downers Grove, IL), and Onwenu. The Wolverines are loaded at quarterback with Avon High School’s Brandon Peters (IN) after signing 4-stars Alex Malzone (Bloomfield Hills, MI) and Zach Gentry (Albuquerque, NM) in 2015.
The Wolverines might be missing that 5-star stud that everyone is clamoring about but the class from top to bottom is as solid as any class in the nation making Michigan’s holiday season a good one quickly heading towards National Signing Day.
Photo credit: mlive.com; Jim Harbaugh instructs the Wolverines pregame.