markquese bell

Jim Harbaugh's NFL connections add to his recruiting appeal. [Bryan Fuller]

Ed-Ace: Recruitnik extraordinaire, regular podcast guest, and noted darts enthusiast Steve Lorenz of Wolverine247, aka The Artist Formerly Known As Aquaman, is back with his weekly recruiting mailbag. If you aren't subscribed to 247 and want to read more from Steve and the gang, they're running a free trial through New Year's Day.

Caesar asks: What makes Michigan under Harbaugh good at recruiting and what does it do to distinguish itself from other programs? 

There are a few noteworthy things Harbaugh has that other programs don't: 

1. He has strapped on the helmet and played at a high level for the program he is coaching at. He's come as close to the top of the mountain as anyone for Michigan has, and with that comes a natural love and desire to bring the program to the top. That's not to say that other coaches aren't super effective in how they recruit and how they pitch their programs, but there's a natural aspect to how Harbaugh specifically can recruit kids because of a love for Michigan that most (if not all) coaches can't replicate for the programs they're currently at. 

2. There isn't another coach in college football who can utilize success and connections in the NFL like Harbaugh can. Early on in Cesar Ruiz's recruitment, he mentioned that going to Michigan would give him a network to the NFL that he wouldn't find at any other program when you consider who Harbaugh knows in the league. I want to say he was on campus sometime around the time Michigan held their Pro Day, and mentioned tons of NFL teams being there despite the fact that they only had a handful of pro prospects last season. On top of that, Michigan utilizes NFL schemes both offensively and defensively so often that it helps acclimate their players to the pros while they're still in college. This stuff is truly valuable on the recruiting trail. 

3. He wins. Obviously Michigan is far from the only program winning, and they haven't done it consistently for a long time, but he's already proven he can do some big things, and that stuff resonates with kids. 

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the mailbag.]

M's Biggest Recruiting Weekend Is Here

Michigan has stacked this weekend with visits, many of the official variety, and it's shaping up to be their most important recruiting weekend of the fall. TMI's Brice Marich has a free rundown of the top visitors on campus, and 247's Steve Wiltfong has an overview of the major recruiting storylines. Here's a quick runthrough with some additional notes where applicable.

OFFICIAL VISITORS

Five-star TX OLB Baron Browning: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, and UCLA appear to be Michigan's primary competition, and while the Wovlerines have been regarded as a fringe contender for much of Browning's recruitment, 247's Steve Wiltfong said this week his summer visit put M in better position than ND and OSU. Browning's brother played for Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, which can't hurt M's chances.

FIve-star FL OT Alex Leatherwood (Alabama commit): Michigan and Florida are trying to pry Leatherwood away from Bama, but Steve Lorenz has mentioned on our podcast that this is quite a long shot unless Bama OL coach Mario Cristobal leaves the staff after the season.

Four-star KY OT Jedrick Wills: Wills looked like he'd drop to Alabama before ever making it to Ann Arbor. While that didn't occur, Bama remains the favorite.

Four-star NJ OLB Drew Singleton: There's still a lot of optimism from Michigan insiders about Singleton—who's here for his second game this season—despite the buzz surrounding Clemson.

Four-star IMG OLB Jordan Anthony: Another linebacker prospect long considered a Michigan lean.

Four-star IMG OC Cesar Ruiz: As Lorenz said in this week's recruiting mailbag, Ruiz is arguably the most important target left on the board, and with Alabama seemingly out of the picture this is a race Michigan expects to win.

[This list is long enough to JUMP mid-section. As I said, it's a huge visit weekend.]

Ed-Ace: Recruitnik extraordinaire, regular podcast guest, and noted darts enthusiast Steve Lorenz of Wolverine247, aka The Artist Formerly Known As Aquaman, is back with his weekly recruiting mailbag. If you aren't subscribed to 247 and want to read more from Steve and the gang, they're running a buy one month, get two months free promotion.

Cranky Dave asks: Who do you think is the most important recruit for Michigan to get? 

Somebody asked this in a previous mailbag and I had planned to answer it before—and the answer hasn't changed for me. 

I've argued for a while that Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy Top100 center Cesar Ruiz was Michigan's most important recruit on their board not named Donovan Peoples-Jones. A lot of the importance regarding Michigan getting Peoples-Jones is the fact that he's one of the best prospects to come out of the state in a while. He's a huge, huge talent, but this staff has done an excellent job in identifying and recruiting strong talent at the wide receiver position so far. 

With Ruiz, I've always believed it was a little bit different. There's a strong correlation between team success and strong play at the center position. Ruiz is the best center prospect in the class by far (in my opinion), and it's a position Michigan has had very high on their board for the entire cycle. He held his own against Rashan Gary when IMG Academy met Paramus Catholic in 2015, and he's another New Jersey prospect that linebackers coach Chris Partridge has known for a long time. 

In short, the drop-off from Ruiz to whoever Michigan would recruit to play center is further than the drop-off they would have at wide receiver or some other positions if they missed on their top targets. Given it's a huge position of need, I think Ruiz is up top alongside Peoples-Jones.

[Hit THE JUMP for Steve on LSU post-Miles, managing a class with so many late decisions planned, and much more.]