In Two Full Classes, Harbaugh's Building Something Special

With Michigan’s 2017 recruiting class in the books, let’s take a look back at the hauls that Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff have signed in their first two full recruiting cycles in Ann Arbor. That includes the final player rankings and each player’s All-American status.

Check out the two year recruiting haul for Michigan between 2016-2017 (based off 247Sports Composite rankings):

Quarterback

2016 Brandon Peters
- 4 star, #61 overall, #6 Pro-QB, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Dylan McCaffrey
- 4 star, #123 overall, #5 Pro-QB, U.S. Army All-American

Position Average: 4 star, #92 overall, #6 Pro-QB

Running Back

2016 Kareem Walker
- 4 star, #101 overall, #4 RB, Under Armour All-American
2017 O’Maury Samuels
- 4 star, #278 overall, #21 RB
2016 Chris Evans
- 4 star, #335 overall, #9 RB
2016 Kingston Davis
- 3 star, #736 overall, #1 FB
2017 Kurt Taylor
- 3 star, #916 overall, #51 RB

Position Average: 3.6 star, #473 overall, #17 RB*

Wide Receiver

2017 Donovan Peoples-Jones
- 5 star, #12 overall, #1 WR, U.S. Army All-American
2016 Dylan Crawford
- 4 star, #120 overall, #19 WR, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Tarik Black
- 4 star, #122 overall, #17 WR, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Nico Collins
- 4 star, #136 overall, #23 WR
2017 Oliver Martin
- 4 star, #170 overall, #28 WR, U.S. Army All-American
2016 Eddie McDoom
- 3 star, #406 overall, #65 WR
2017 Brad Hawkins
- 3 star, #420 overall, #63 WR
2016 Nate Johnson
- 3 star, #590 overall, #95 WR

Position Average: 3.8 star, #247 overall, #39 WR

Tight End

2016 Devin Asiasi
- 4 star, #75 overall, #3 TE, U.S. Army All-American
2016 Nick Eubanks
- 4 star, #367 overall, #15 TE
2016 Sean McKeon
- 3 star, #860 overall, #45 TE

Position Average: 3.7 star, #434 overall, #21 TE

Offensive Line

2016 Ben Bredeson
- 4 star, #39 overall, #5 OT, Under Armour All-American
2017 Cesar Ruiz
- 4 star, #44 overall, #1 C, Under Armour All-American
2016 Michael Onwenu
- 4 star, #89 overall, #4 OG, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Chuck Filiaga
- 4 star, #113 overall, #14 OT, U.S. Army All-American
2017 JaRaymond Hall
- 4 star, #318 overall, #30 OT
2017 Andrew Stueber
- 3 star, #368 overall, #35 OT
2017 Joel Honigford
- 3 star, #448 overall, #47 OT
2016 Stephen Spanellis
- 3 star, #740 overall, #32 OG

Position Average: 3.6 star, #270 overall, #21 OL

Defensive Tackle

2016 Rashan Gary
- 5 star, #1 overall, #1 DT, Under Armour All-American
2017 Aubrey Solomon
- 5 star, #25 overall, #2 DT, U.S. Army All-American
2017 James Hudson
- 4 star, #220 overall, #13 DT
2017 Donovan Jeter
- 4 star, #290 overall, #13 SDE
2017 Philip Paea
- 3 star, #457 overall, #38 DT
2016 Michael Dwumfour
- 3 star, #958 overall, #58 DT

Position Average: 4 star, #325 overall, #21 DT

Defensive End

2017 Luiji Vilain
- 4 star, #56 overall, #5 WDE, Under Armour All-American
2017 Deron Irving-Bey
- 4 star, #261 overall, #10 SDE, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Corey Malone-Hatcher
- 4 star, #292 overall, #20 WDE
2016 Ron Johnson
- 4 star, #301 overall, #23 WDE
2016 Carlo Kemp
- 4 star, #309 overall, #15 SDE
2017 Kwity Paye
- 3 star, #485 overall, #29 WDE, Under Armour All-American

Position Average: 3.8 star, #284 overall, #17 DE

Linebacker

2017 Drew Singleton
- 4 star, #80 overall, #4 OLB, Under Armour All-American
2017 Jordan Anthony
- 4 star, #107 overall, #8 OLB
2017 Josh Ross
- 4 star, #214 overall, #9 ILB
2016 Devin Bush Jr
- 4 star, #322 overall, #12 ILB, Under Armour All-American
2016 Elysee Mbem-Bosse
- 3 star, #493 overall, #17 ILB
2016 Joshua Uche
- 3 star, #710 overall, #45 WDE
2017 Ben Mason
- 3 star, #813 overall, #32 ILB
2016 Devin Gil
- 3 star, #1007 overall, #65 S

Position Average: 3.5 star, #468 overall, #24 LB

Safety

2016 Jaylen Kelly-Powell
- 4 star, #266 overall, #22 S
2016 Khaleke Hudson
- 3 star, #384 overall, #23 S
2017 J’Marick Woods
- 3 star, #386 overall, #30 S
2016 Josh Metellus
- 3 star, #744 overall, #49 S

Position Average: 3.25 star, #445 overall, #31 S

Cornerback

2016 David Long
- 4 star, #65 overall, #8 CB, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Ambry Thomas
- 4 star, #94 overall, #13 CB, U.S. Army All-American
2016 Lavert Hill
- 4 star, #136 overall, #12 CB, U.S. Army All-American
2017 Benjamin St-Juste
- 4 star, #334 overall, #38 CB

Position Average: 4 star, #157 overall, #18 CB

Special Teams

2016 K Quinn Nordin
- 3 star, #1 K
2017 P Brad Robbins
- 3 star, #1 P

Position Average: 3 star, #1 overall, #1 K/P

Overall

Numbers
- Total: 56
- 26 offense, 28 defense and 2 special teams
Average Star Rating: 3.7
Average Overall Ranking: #291 overall
Average Positional Ranking: #20 position
U.S. Army All-Americans: 14
Under Armour All-Americans: 8

Positions of Strength

Quarterback
Wide Receiver
Defensive Line
Linebacker
Cornerback
Special Teams

Positional Groups to Target in 2018

Safety
Offensive Line
Running Back
Tight End

Potential Two-Deep

QB: Peters (McCaffrey)
RB: Evans (Walker)
FB: Mason (Davis)
WR: Peoples-Jones (Black)
WR: Crawford (Collins)
Slot: Martin (Hawkins)
TE: Asiasi (Eubanks)
LT: Bredeson (Hall)
LG: Onwenu (Spanellis)
C: Ruiz
RG: Stueber (Honigford)
RT: Filiaga (Hall)
DE: Vilain (Malone-Hatcher)
DT: Gary (Hudson)
DT: Solomon (Jeter)
DE: Irving-Bey (Johnson)

What do you think about Jim Harbaugh’s first two full recruiting classes while at Michigan? Are they on the right path to a National Championship? Let us know in the comment section below!

Photo Credit: Bill Rapai/MGoBlog

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Garrett Fishaw

Marketing Manager and Communications Director by day, Owner and Managing Editor of MGoFish.com by night. Detroit resident. Played soccer and graduated from Seton Hill University.

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