Even after overhauling the coaching staff in between signing days, Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines greatly improved their 2021 recruiting class. Michigan went on to add three new signees to get to a 23-member class in total and moved into the top 10 overall on the team rankings.
This class has a little bit of everything. It has its offensive stars, defensive studs, offensive line haul, high ceiling bunch, a specialist, and now, now it has the size on defense that it badly needed.
Landing not one, not two, but three defensive tackles in the month and a half between the Early Signing Period and National Signing Day. That’s impressive, especially when five new coaching staff members were brought on.
Flipping four-star DT Rayshaun Benny from Michigan State was the cherry on top of this top-10 class for Jim Harbaugh, especially after getting punked by the Spartans during the season.
My top signees included the obvious names like QB JJ McCarthy, RB Donovan Edwards, WR Xavier Worthy, LB Junior Colson, and Benny. But others that I think were great recruiting wins and talent gets were WR Cristian Dixon, FS Rod Moore, TE Louis Hansen, CB Ja’Den McBurrows and DE TJ Guy.
Most underrated signee: K/P Tommy Doman. Quality kicking is a game changer for a college team.
There were some notable misses, especially in-state but this is another high quality class that Michigan has signed in the last six years but now it’s time to take the next step. Yes, that’s obviously better talent development which will turn into better results on the field but also taking another step on the recruiting trail
Harbaugh made yet another bold move with his coaching staff, parting with the oldest members on the staff and turning to a much younger, energetic, more recruit relatable staff. It clearly already paid off on the 2021 front in a couple of weeks. Imagine what they could do in 52 weeks?
While I don’t feel like this fall will be amazing on the field (I think they’re a year away from being really good), I am definitely sipping the recruiting Kool-aid. Michigan is already sitting in really good shape with a lot of top targets across the country and though they may have lost some momentum because of the poor season, this staff should be able to clean up the mess.
Michigan just signed a top 10 class after a 2 win season during a pandemic. With just a good season, actual on-campus visits, and no big coaching changes, I believe the Wolverines will sign a top 5 class in 2022. If they exceed expectations on the field, lookout.
I’d give this class a solid B+. What grade would you give it? Let us know in the comment section below!
Photo Credit: Michigan Football
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