A look around the Internet at what college football writers are saying about Michigan's 2019 signing class:
Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com: Michigan Football Recruiting, The 3-2-1: On The Second Signing Day
Michigan might still have landed five-star Zack Harrison out of Columbus had assistant Al Washington (and, to a lesser extent, defensive line coach Greg Mattison) both been fully committed to the cause. We know now, however, that sending these two guys in for the last visit before the December signing period was a mistake.
Both, of course, bolted for Ohio State in January.
We knew Urban Meyer was out and that Ryan Day was the coach in waiting in early December, and if we knew it … well, it would be stupid to assume Washington didn’t know. It’s also very likely he had an inkling Day would be pursuing him. They’re friends, they worked together (and again, WE knew).
To be clear, we’re not saying anything illegal happened, but the optics certainly aren’t good. U-M might not have gotten Harrison anyway given the 62-39 beatdown in Columbus, but Washington was the biggest reason Michigan ever had a shot here.
As for Mattison … he said today during an OSU press conference today that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was “great,” adding, “he knew I wanted to be a coordinator.” And as we all know, if you want to be a coordinator …
Allen Trieu, Special To The Detroit News: A closer look at Michigan’s 2019 football recruiting class
Zach Charbonnet, RB, Oaks Christian (Calif.) Westlake Village, 6-2, 215 pounds, four stars
The easy pick for impact freshman, both because of his talent and because the Wolverines have a big need at his position. Charbonnet put together an outstanding high school career and steadily rose in the recruiting rankings. His size (6-2, 215 pounds), balance, and receiving skills make him a special prospect who can be a true lead back in college. He has enrolled early.
Mazi Smith, DT, Grand Rapids East Kentwood, 6-3, 300 pounds, four stars
Another highly-ranked recruit at a position where there is a need. Smith is powerful and has explosiveness as well. He is now over 300 pounds, he is already on campus and will be physically ready to compete at this level. He chose the Wolverines over Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and several more offers.
Daxton Hill S, Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washington, 6-0, 186 pounds, five stars
The crown-jewel of this class, Hill is ranked as the No. 1 safety in the country by the 247Sports Composite. He is a blend of cover skills, intelligence, and tackling ability that makes him a complete prospect. He was clocked at 4.46 in the 40-yard dash at a Nike Opening Regional, one of the most reliable testing sites in high school football. While he was not an early enrollee, he is still expected to provide immediate competition in the back-end. He briefly flipped to Alabama, but Michigan did a good job of continuing to recruit him and flipped him back.
Michigan's class of 2019 is a well-rounded group with a few players capable of making an impact right away.
Hill is the top defensive player in the class, and if he performs well in preseason, he could be one of the candidates for playing time right away.
Offensively, the Wolverines secured a few impact signings in running back Zach Charbonnet and quarterback Cade McNamara, both of whom are part of the early enrollment group in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Having McNamara and Charbonnet already inside the program is a massive help for Harbaugh and his staff, and they will try to get the pair acclimated to the offense as quickly as they can.
Michigan also improved on the interior with the commitment of five-star defensive tackle Chris Hinton and four-star offensive linemen Trente Jones, Trevor Keegan, Nolan Rumler and Karsen Barnhart.
By reinforcing a few key positions and bringing in recruits from around the country, Michigan produced one of the top recruiting classes, and that's big for Harbaugh, who enters a crucial year in charge of the Wolverines.
Cody Williams, Fansided: Michigan Football: Grading the Wolverines 2019 recruiting class
Having said that, there remains good reason to have hope for the Wolverines moving forward. Yes, we need to see Harbaugh get in done in the biggest moments for Michigan, but he continues to bring in big-time talent. And, after having just the 22nd ranked recruiting class nationally in 2018, he has a big one heading into the 2019 season.
Daxton Hill is the star of the 2019 Wolverines recruiting class, the top safety recruit in the country and the No. 14 overall player. Hill isn’t the only 5-star player that’s coming to Ann Arbor either as defensive tackle Chris Hinton (No. 31 overall, No. 4 DT) is coming with him. Meanwhile, 4-star running back Zach Carbonnet is coming too, helping fill a backfield that could need him right away.
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