Michigan Football's 2023 recruiting campaign has been another emotional roller coaster ride with Coach Harbaugh with many ups and downs; the recruiting under Coach Harbaugh certainly reflected his personality. As of February 7, 2024, they have 26 signees plus 2 transfers with two preferred walk-on specialist pledges; they had 4 decommitments and were ranked 16th on 247, and 18th overall with transfers. Michigan ranked 15th on On3; Rivals had Michigan ranked 13th in recruiting, but 16th for comprehensive including the transfer portal. ESPN ranked Michigan 14th on their scorecard. The top ranked recruiting programs in the Big Ten, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Penn State have 29, 31, and 31 signees with transfers. One would think that a National Championship season would help the team with a Top 5 recruiting year; however, the push during the playoffs to win the national championship hurt recruiting as the coaches were busy coaching. Then, the Harbaugh push to leave Michigan for the NFL with interviews a week after the Wolverines won the National Championship. The Harbaugh exit further hurt recruiting, and now new Head Coach Sherrone Moore is struggling to assemble his staff, and the result of all this transition turmoil has placed the Wolverine Football Program in a vulnerable recruiting position. Former Wolverine Coach Jim Harbaugh has taken Jesse Minter, Ben Herbert, Mike Elston, Dylan Roney, Rick Minter, and Steven Clinkscale to the Los Angeles Chargers since he was named as Head Coach on January 24. Harbaugh's son, Jay, has landed as Special Teams Coach with the Seattle Seahawks, and Doug Mallory will become Defensive Backs Coach with John Harbaugh's Baltimore Ravens. Tom Gable, Director of Player Personnel, has also left to join Coach Harbaugh at Los Angeles. The Harbaugh onslaught has depleted the Wolverine Defensive Coaching Staff, and forced Moore into the corner to start his Head Coaching career at Michigan. Moore offered Notre Dame's Recruiting Director, Chad Bowden, to move to Ann Arbor, but he turned it down. Coach Harbaugh only cares about his next chapter in ego gratification: to win the Super Bow, and hasn't helped the Michigan Coaching Staff with leaving it in an impoverished condition. Don't be surprised if the "Harbaugh Effect" from January 24-February 9 results in transfers this Spring! The Big Ten has changed dramatically in 2023 with the addition of West Coach Teams; USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to make it an 18 team conference. As a result, Michigan finished 4th this season in football recruiting.

On Offense, Harbaugh and his Quarterbacks coach, Kirk Campbell, offered at least 12 quarterbacks, and Jadyn Davis signed; he was our top choice. We also had interest in C.J. Carr (Notre Dame), Isaiah Marshall (Kansas), Julian Sayin (Alabama, then Ohio State), Dominic Raiola (Ohio State/Georgia, then Nebraska), Elijah Brown (Stanford), and Cutter Boley (Kentucky). Campbell expressed interest in Dante Moore, but he transferred from UCLA to Oregon. Quarterback recruiting is in great hands as Campbell already has the pledge of Carter Smith for 2025; he is doing a great job, and has been promoted to Offensive Coordinator on January 29 almost a year after he was hired. Anthony Arnou has transferred from Fresno State on February 12.  Michigan Quarterback

At Running Back, Mike Hart offered at least 15+ prospects; he signed Jordan Marshall and Micah Kaapana. Hart pursued Taylor Tatum the hardest; he signed with Oklahoma. Hart also flirted with Darrion Dupree, Anthony Carrie, DeJuan Williams, Stacy Gage and others. Hart has done a great job as Running Back Coach, and is one of the nation's top recruiters. There are rumors that Hart may or may not stay in Ann Arbor in 2024. Michigan's Greatest Running Backs

At Wide Receiver and Tight End, Ron Bellamy and Grant Newsome offered over 60 guys; they signed Hogan Hansen, Brady Prieskorn, I'Marion Stewart, and Channing Goodwin. There were several propspects the coaches lost out on: Gatlin Bair (Oregon), Ryan Wingo (Texas), Jordan Shipp (North Carolina), Mekhai White (Maryland), Tayvion Galloway (LSU/Purdue), Chanz Wiggins (Virginia Tech), and NiTareon Tuggle (Georgia). Bellamy pursued Jahmal Banks (Nebraska) and a few others on the transfer portal including Donaven McCulley (Indiana) without luck. Newsome will now move to offensive line recruiting with the promotion of Sherrone Moore to Head Coach, and Moore is expected to hire Steve Casula from Massachusetts to coach Tight Ends in 2024. Michigan Ends (Wide Receivers, Tight Ends and Wingbacks (Slots)

On the Offensive Line, Sherrone Moore offered 60+ candidates; he signed a very solid class with Andrew Sprague, Blake Frazier, Luke Hamilton, Ben Roebuck, and Jake Guarnera. Moore also picked up Josh Priebe from Northwestern on the transfer portal; he also pursued Chase Bisontis of Texas A&M who decided to stay. Moore pursued Brandon Baker (Texas), Bennett Warren and Max Anderson (Tennessee), Michael Uini (Georgia), Devontae and Deontae Armstrong (Ohio State), and others. Michigan Offensive Line

On Defense, Jesse Minter did a great job as Defensive Coordinator, but he wasn't the greatest recruiter. Minter is off to the NFL, and the new defensive coordinator hasn't yet been named, but Don "Wink" Martindale has come to an agreement with Moore for the position on February 9.

On the Defensive Line, Mike Elston and Dylan Roney offered at least 75 prospects; he signed a very solid class with Lugard Edokpayi, Devon Baxter, Owen Wafle, and Dominic Nichols on the Edge plus Deyvid Palepale, Ted Hammond and Manuel Beigel on the Interior. Others they hotly pursued included: Marquise Lighfoot and Justin Scott (Miami-FL), Brian Robinson, Jacob and Jerod Smith (Kentucky), Darien Mayo (Clemson), Elias Rudolph (Miami-FL), Jericho Johnson (Oregon), Deshawn Warner (Kansas), Dillan Johnson (Wisconsin), etc. Elston also offered transfer Joey Slackman, but he signed with Florida. Harbaugh has taken both Elston and Roney to the Los Angeles Chargers, and this is affecting team morale with possible transfers including Mason Graham. Former Wisconsin and Cincinnati Defensive Line Coach, Greg Scruggs, has been hired to be the new Line Coach. Michigan Defensive Linemen

At Linebacker, the dismissal of George Helow and firing of Chris Partridge have taken their toll; we offered at least 30 players, and signed Jeremiah Beasley, Cole Sullivan, and Zach Ludwig. We were able to gain Jaishawn Barham from Maryland, and he is expected to start at MIKE Linebacker to replace Junior Colston. We coveted Aaron Chiles (Florida), Kristopher Jones (Georgia), and Kari Jackson (Penn State). It is still unclear who will coach linebackers in 2024. Brian-Jean Mary was hired to coach linebackers; he most currently coached at Tennessee, and coached at Michigan in 2020. Michigan Linebackers 

In the Defensive Backfield, Steve Clinkscale and Jay Harbaugh offered over 70 prospects; they signed Jo'Ziah Edmond, Jeremiah Lowe, Jacob Oden, and Mason Curtis. Others they pressed hard for a commitment included: Aaron Scott and Bryce West (Ohio State), Jameer Grimsley (Alabama), Jordan Johnson-Rubell (Texas), K.J. Bolden (Georgia), Zaquan Patterson (Miami-FL), Boo Carter (Tennessee), Terhyon Nichols (Kentucky), C.J. Heard, etc. Clinkscale hoped to secure transfers from Domani Jackson (USC), Rod Heard (Northwestern to Notre Dame, Upton Stout (Western Kentucky), etc. Clinkscale told the Wolverine players he was staying in Ann Arbor; then, Harbaugh increase the offer so Clinkscale agreed to leave although his son will walk-on this Spring. Moore offered Stephen Adegoke, former Wolverine Graduate Assistant, to coach both cornerbacks and safeties, but he decided to stay with the Houston Texans. Moore hired Lamar Morgan on February 16.  Michigan Defensive Backs

On Special Teams, Michigan, Jay Harbaugh offered Punter/Placekicker Drew Miller (Georgia); he secured the transfer of Holy Cross Snapper Dan Rosenberg, and gained Stuart Blake was a Preferred Walk-on. Moore replaced Jay Harbaugh with J.B. Brown on February 3 after he left for the Seattle Seahawks to join former Wolverine Defensive Coordinator, Mike McDonald. Michigan Placekickers/Punters/Specialists

Preferred Walk-On Offers (6+ offers-2 commitments)-Michigan has only the commitments of Cornerback E.J. Clinkscale and Placekicker Stuart Blake so far. They offered Jad Bazzi (DL-Wayne State), Drew Hickmott (WR), Jaxson McCaig (RB-Michigan State), Brady Pretzlaff (LB/TE-Minnesota, then Michigan State), Cody Raymond (LB-Wisconsin), etc. All NCAA Division I Football squads have 85 scholarships and 35 walk-ons for a roster of 120 players; there are continual offers for potential walk-on players.

In all, Michigan offered approximately 324+ scholarships in 35 states. Michigan offered the most prospects with 50 in Florida, 44 in Georgia, 31 in Texas, 25 in California, 19 in Ohio, 18 in Maryland, 14 in Pennsylvania, 13 in North Carolina, 12 in Tennessee, 10 in Michigan, 9 in Illinois and Alabama, 7 in Missouri, 6 in Connecticut, Louisiana, New Jersey, and Virginia, 5 in Arizona, 4 in Indiana, Kentucky, and Washington, 3 in the District of Columbia and Mississippi, 2 each in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Nevada, New York, Arkansas, and South Carolina, 1 each in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Idaho, Wisconsin, and Utah. Nearly 55% of our offers are in the Deep South.

Michigan has chosen to emphasize recruiting in the last decade in the Deep South which a dramatic shift from 30-40 years ago when it was the Midwest; they offered at least 95 prospects in Florida and Georgia plus 82 more prospects in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tesas, and South Carolina. The competition for those highly skilled prospects is intense; this season, Michigan gained 5 commitments from the South of the 177 offered: Jadyn Davis and Channing Goodwin from North Carolina, Mason Curtis from Tennessee, Jeremiah Lowe from Kentucky, and Blake Frazier from Texas. They gained zero commitments from either Florida or Georgia.

In Michigan, the Wolverines gained Brady Prieskorn, Jeremiah Beasley, and Jacob Oden; they were all picked in the Top 10 prospects. C.J Carr signed with Notre Dame, Andrew Dennis pledged to Michigan State, but signed with Illinois. Brandon Davis-Swain signed with Colorado. Isaiah Marshall and Jalen Todd left for Kansas. Kari Jackson signed with Penn State. Desman Stephens pledge to Boston College, but signed with USC. Dylan Mesman left for Louisville. Jamir Benjamin pledged to Northwestern, but signed with UCLA. Gabe Van Sickle signed with Ohio State. Michigan State gained Nick Marsh, Brady Pretlaff, and Jadyn Walker. Northwestern signed Idrys Cotton and Callen Campbell. Rutgers took Montele Johnson, Gabriel Winowich, and Monte Keener. Purdue took Ty Hudkins. Indiana signed Brody Kosin. Of the Top 100 prospects in Michigan, the Wolverines claimed zero walk-ons; most of the prospects signed with MAC Schools, Ferris State, Grand Valley or the miltary academies (Air Force or Army).

In the Midwest and Big Ten states, Michigan gained Jordan Marshall, Ted Hammond, Ben Roebuck, and Luke Hamilton from Ohio, When Jim Tressel took over at Ohio State in 2001; he instituted a "policy" that encouraged Ohio Football Recruits to sign with the Buckeyes or go elsewhere other than Michigan, and this policy has had a real negative effect on Michigan's ability to sign recruits in the State of Ohio. This "Tressel Effect" continues to hurt Michigan in 2023 and 2024; the Wolverines were not able to gain one commitment from talent-rich Ohio. Michigan also gained Jo'Ziah Edmond from Indiana, I'Marion Stewart from Illinois, and 3 prospects from Pennsylvania: Deyvid Palepale, Cole Sullivan, and Zach Ludwig; this gave Michigan 9 total Midwest signees. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State remain our toughest competition in recruiting Midwestern talent. Michigan's recruiting in the East in states like New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania has "dried up" since Chris Partridge and Don Brown left.

Overall, the big winners in college football recruiting continue to be the SEC Schools: Georgia, Alabama, Texas, LSU, Auburn, Oklahoma, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Missouri with 13 teams in the Top 25 this season. The Big Ten was led by Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Michigan, USC, Nebraska, and Wisconsin with 7 teams in the Top 20. Only Florida State, Miami-FL, and Clemson led the ACC with 3 teams in the Top 25. Notre Dame and Colorado rounded out the Top 25. The 3 states that produce the most NFL players continue to be Florida, Texas, and California; that is where the biggest recruiting battles continue.

90 Years of College Football Recruiting: Where the Top Prospects com from