Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh talked about many of his signees after December’s early signing period on former All-American Jon Jansen's In The Trenches Podcast.

Harbaugh and his staff had a busy day Wednesday, Dec. 18, the first day 2020 preps could sign Letters of Intent. They signed 22 players on a satisfying day for the coach and his staff.

The Wolverines currently rank 11th in the Rivals.com rankings after the early period.

“The feeling is it’s a culmination of going back to the first day when you evaluated a player, the first day you talked to them or they visited campus, or you visited them,” Harbaugh said. “There are so many milestones along the way. A friendship is formed. Trust is formed, and then today there’s a signing and they’re Michigan Wolverines. You feel like your family, your team has gotten stronger."

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“It’s a happy day. It’s a really neat experience, really lucky to be part of it. I feel great about this class. A bunch of guys who are go-getters … they like football, they like hitting the books. It’s a group that really wants it, too, I believe. Sometimes what separates talent out there … you can have two talented players and the one that ends up going the farthest in the game of football or school is the one that wants it the most.

“I have a feeling about this class in particular that they are motivated to take advantage of opportunities put in front of them and also very motivated to create their own opportunities.”

Here are Harbaugh’s thoughts on several of his signees:

“He’s a dedicated guy. You watch a lot of high school players and their work ethic — I can’t think of anybody with a higher level of work ethic than Blake Corum. He’s a guy that whether it’s football practice, training, he’s very diligent. I can tell you lots of stories of things he’s done, 5 a.m. workouts … every time I’ve watched him. And he’s not just a workout guy either. He’s a workout guy to be a football player because he likes football, likes playing the game.

“We’ve both seen guys that are workout warriors in the weight room, in the offseason and then that’s the highlight for them is the workouts and the training. Blake Corum really combines both. He’s a warrior on the field and in the weight room, [and in] just about everything he does. He’s a highly, highly motivated youngster.”

“There are three starters on every team as it relates to linebackers. A lot of times in the nickel pass downs, a linebacker can go to a defensive end and be a pass rusher. We definitely have need at that position.

“Every linebacker we signed came to camp; [defensive coordinator] Don Brown got to work with them in the summer camps, we watched them through pretty much their whole high school careers, guys like Cornell Wheeler from West Bloomfield, the two St. Francis linebackers, Nikhai Hill-Green and Osman Savage … we’ve seen them for a long time. They are good players at a position of need for our football team who we’ve watched and worked with at camp.

“We feel excited about that group coming in and showing what they can do.”

“It’s a really, really good, athletic group. I really feel like you saw [rookie safety] Dax Hill come in and make a good impact as a freshman. It’s going to be all four … to make the same kind of impact in our secondary. I’m very excited about that.

“The other person to mention is William Mohan, who is the type of athlete he can be a corner, safety, outside linebacker. He sounds a lot like a viper right now as a I say it. Another youngster who is so good, versatile, athletic; another youngster in this group recruited by everybody. He’s really going to be fun to watch. The way he runs and hits is special, really pops off the screen.

“Andre [Seldon] is a tough competitor. We watched him at camps, over at Belleville, watched him run track and lead his team. Those are the kind of guys you want playing in the secondary.

“Jordan Morant is a Dax Hill type of safety. Both have that special ability. I can go down the list. [R.J.] Moten is another one — big, strong athlete. He’s even got the ability to be a corner, but the strength and physicality to be a safety and cover people. It’s a really dynamic group.”

"Eamonn Dennis has the ability to be a defensive or offense [player]. He can be a corner or receiver, like another really good one in Mike Sainristil.

“Eamonn Dennis is a really good receiver and a really good defensive back. If you think Mike Sainristill, if you look at Mike Sainristil’s tape … that’s who I first thought of when I saw Eamonn Dennis play football. He can be a corner, he can be a slot receiver, can be a return player.

"William [Mohan] is a long, really athletic player that can cover. His ability to blitz off the edge is special. He can track down ball carriers. He loves to hit. Take a look at some of his highlights of special teams or defense. He’s very physical and athletic, can get them down and also make a lot of big hits. We’ll see exactly what position [he plays at U-M] … but I’m just saying this guy has the ability to play corner, safety or viper. That’s a good thing.”

“I think it’s really important. Just about everybody came to camp except maybe three of four of the 23. We’ve seen them all play live, seen them all practice, been around them a lot, too. They have high football IQs, guys that seem to want it more than the average guy. It’s not a group looking to be mediocre.”

“It means things. There are a lot of people evaluating high school football players that know what they’re doing. They’ve got a really good eye for football as well. Sometimes the thing you look at when it comes to stars is, is a player overrated or underrated for whatever star value he’s been given.

“The thing that really determines it is all the players. You’re watching them, you’re making your own evaluations of their football talent. You’re also meeting them, around them, interviewing, talking to their high school coaches. You want to meet the parents … that dynamic. You want to be gathering information, so the stars are not the things people in our program — or I think any program — is going off solely.”

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