The Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan ended with a national title but there were plenty of big wins along the way. Here’s a look at Michigan’s biggest recruiting wins during Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor.
Landing a commitment from Hutchinson was a bit of a foregone conclusion, given that both of his parents went to Michigan. The in-state recruit was a star for the Wolverines and went onto become the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. As a Rivals250 prospect, Hutchinson’s potential was evident as a high school prospect, but he outplayed his ranking by becoming a Heisman finalist. Nevertheless, reeling in Hutchinson was one of the biggest recruiting wins of the Jim Harbaugh era.
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Hill made headlines in the 2019 class when he chose Michigan in September of his senior year but that didn’t last long. He flipped to Alabama in early December after the Crimson Tide continued to prioritize him even after his initial commitment to the Wolverines. In the end, he decided that his original choice was correct and flipped back to Michigan less than two weeks after he flipped to Alabama. Beating Alabama and head coach Nick Saban head-to-head was a major feather in Harbaugh’s cap. Hill went on to become a first round draft pick for the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 NFL Draft.
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People-Jones always seemed like he was going to end up at Michigan but that didn’t stop teams around the country from trying to bring him in. The five-star receiver out of Detroit had dozens of connections to the Wolverines, including coaches and players on the Michigan roster. People-Jones ended up picking Michigan over Florida State and Ohio State but the Michigan passing attack remained limited. Peoples-Jones was selected in the sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
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Gary was the top prospect in the 2016 class and lived up to that hype in college and has done so in the NFL. Going through the recruiting process Michigan was always considered one of his top contenders but he took plenty of visits around the country before eventually signing with the Wolverines over Clemson. Gary is the highest-ranked player to ever sign with Michigan and went on to become a first round draft pick by the Green Bay Packers. While at Michigan he was a two-time All-Big Ten selection.
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One of the key players in Michigan’s national title run, Graham wasn’t a heavily recruited prospect for the bulk of the 2022 recruiting cycle. His largely unceremonious commitment to Boise State in July before his senior season was short lived. Graham ended up flipping to Michigan two months later and stuck with the Wolverines despite increased from a number of Big Ten and Pac-12 programs.
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Michigan, along with Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Florida and Maryland, were Moore’s top contenders when he initially committed to Oklahoma in July of 2021. The Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy standout remained steadfast in his commitment to the Sooners until Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma to become USC’s next head coach. Moore reopened his recruitment shortly after news of Riley’s departure broke and his focus turned to Michigan and Ole Miss. The Trojans tried to get involved but Moore took official visits to Ole Miss and Michigan before ultimately deciding to sign with Michigan.
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Sabb’s recruitment initially came down to Clemson, Georgia, Michigan, Texas A&M and Penn State. The New Jersey native chose Clemson in July before his senior season and all signs pointed to him signing with the Tigers. That became less of a sure thing after Sabb took a visit to Michigan for the Ohio State game while still committed to Clemson, going against Dabo Swinney‘s strict no-visit policy for commits. Sabb reaffirmed his commitment to Clemson after the visit and appeared to shut his recruitment down but he had a change of heart when defensive coordinator Brent Venables left to become the next head coach at Oklahoma. Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Michigan swooped in shortly thereafter but the Wolverines were able to fend them off.
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Michigan was one of the leaders for Edwards throughout the recruiting cycle. His high school head coach was Michigan’s current wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy and he had a number of other connections to the Wolverines program. The extended recruiting dead period during the COVID pandemic impacted his recruitment but his recruitment boiled down to Michigan, Georgia and Oklahoma. The Wolverines didn’t let Edwards get away, even with those heavyweight contenders involved.
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After Ohio State spurned McCarthy for Kyle McCord, he was a shoe-in for Michigan. The Illinois native grew up an Ohio State fan and originally wanted to play for the Buckeyes but his fandom did a 180-degree turn after they told him “no thanks.” Making sure McCarthy ended up signing with them was definitely one of the Wolverines’ biggest wins of the Harbaugh era, even if it wasn’t one of their most difficult recruiting battles.
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The connections between St. Frances Academy and Michigan have been well-documented and Corum was being recruited right in the strongest period of that relationship. That doesn’t mean there weren’t other teams heavily recruiting Corum. Ohio State made a strong push for him and even got him on campus for an official visit. USC and LSU rounded out Corum’s top four but Michigan closed while they had him on campus for an official visit in June before his senior year.
