Harbaugh Maintaining Solid '21 Recruiting Class, Despite On-Field Struggles
Despite a horrendous season for the Michigan Wolverines' football team on the field (they currently sit at 2-4), head coach Jim Harbaugh is nevertheless set to sign one of the nation's top recruiting class come Early Signing Day on Dec. 16.
Granted, all of U-M's 2021 commits pledged before the season kicked off Oct. 24, but all have kept their word throughout the team's immense struggles. Michigan's class currently sits at No. 9 in the nation, and is the second best haul in the Big Ten (behind Ohio State).
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Though the class is nearly wrapped up, the Maize and Blue are still expected to add a few more names to the fold. If U-M lands a few of its big fish still left on the board, there is a chance the class ranking could move up.
Nevertheless, the 13 four-star prospects Michigan currently has in the fold are tied with Clemson and Georgia for the seventh most of any team in the nation.
| Team | Four-Star Commits |
|---|---|
|
T-1. LSU |
16 |
|
T-1. USC |
16 |
|
T-3. Alabama |
15 |
|
T-3. Ohio State |
15 |
|
T-5. Florida |
14 |
|
T-5. Oregon |
14 |
|
T-7. Clemson |
13 |
|
T-7. Georgia |
13 |
|
T-7. Michigan |
13 |
|
10. North Carolina |
11 |
One knock on several of U-M's recent classes is that they have lacked top-end talent (Rivals100 recruits), despite still finishing respectably in the rankings. That was the case in both 2018 and 2020, when U-M failed to sign any Rivals100 prospects in the former and just one (current freshman linebacker Kalel Mullings) in the latter.
Fortunately, that trend has been bucked in 2021, with the Wolverines possessing commitments from six Rivals100 players:
• No. 41 — Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star quarterback J.J. McCarthy
• No. 65 — Fresno (Calif.) Central four-star wide receiver Xavier Worthy
• No. 82 — Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian's Country Day four-star tight end Louis Hansen
• No. 83 — Jacksonville Sandalwood four-star linebacker Branden Jennings
• No. 90 — Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson four-star offensive tackle Giovanni El-Hadi
• No. 94 — Brentwood (Tenn.) Ravenwood four-star linebacker Junior Colson
The last time Michigan signed at least six Rivals100 prospects in a class was in 2017 when it inked seven. Heck, even the Wolverines' outstanding 2016 haul that finished No. 4 in the nation only signed four.
If the Maize and Blue wrap up their 2021 class with six Rivals100 recruits (it's an 'if' because players could still decommit, the rankings will change, etc.), it would be more than the program has reeled in in its last three recruiting classes combined (from 2018-20).
U-M also has an additional four commits outside the top 100 but inside the Rivals250 (Rivals ranks its top 250 players in the nation numerically), in Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star offensive guard Greg Crippen (No. 163), Detroit Cass Tech four-star center Raheem Anderson (No. 166), Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star wide receiver Cristian Dixon (No. 201) and Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas four-star athlete Jaydon Hood (No. 223).
If Michigan's class does indeed finish in the top 10, it will actually be just the program's fourth top 10 class in last eight years (since the 2014 haul). It appears to be all but a done deal, however, that U-M's crop will once again conclude as the second best in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin's class currently sits third in the league and No. 14 nationally, while Nebraska is fourth in the conference and No. 18 in the country. Neither the Badgers nor Cornhuskers are likely to leapfrog Michigan in the standings though.
One blue blood whose 2020 on-field struggles has impacted its recruiting is Penn State, whose class currently resides at a disappointing 31st nationally. The Nittany Lions' last four hauls have had an average national rank of 10.7, and never finished lower than 15th in the country during that span.
Assuming a No. 2 finish in the league is in the cards for Michigan, it will mark the 14th time in the last 18 years the Wolverines have concluded things with either the best or second best class in the conference.
The only four times U-M didn't wind up in the Big Ten's top two were in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2018.
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