Harbaughs on-field success will shape recruiting

Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh served as the guest speaker at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge Presented by Under Armour this summer and shared a story that perfectly characterizes his brother.

After the Ravens defeated Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco 49ers, 34-31, in Super Bowl XLVII, the two brothers jogged to midfield for the obligatory postgame handshake. They're brothers and they're close, and everybody was watching to see how the ultra-competitive Harbaughs would handle that situation.

As John Harbaugh tells it, he went in for the handshake and was open to a hug when his brother grabbed his hand, forearm in the chest and whispered only, "There will be no hug."

Jim Harbaugh, the man who refused to hug his brother on the biggest stage in sports, has been tasked with one of the most daunting, yet most important jobs, in college football: Rebuilding Michigan - his alma mater - into a national powerhouse.

There probably won't be a lot of hugging in Ann Arbor as Harbaugh gets to work, especially after the Harbaugh era opened with a loss to Utah. On the ever-important recruiting trail, though, Michigan's new coach will do some glad-handing. His NFL experience will be a tremendous help but to make the Wolverines a national power again, Harbaugh has to go after the best players. That's what he's doing so far with measured success in the first few months.

Since Harbaugh's hiring in late December, eight four-star prospects have committed but none of those five-star big fish have picked the Wolverines yet. Even still, Michigan's class currently is rated No. 6.

"His expectation is to compete for the best kids in the country," TheWolverine.com recruiting editor Tim Sullivan said. "It's going to take some winning on the field for that to actually happen but that's his expectation.

"He did it with lesser-ranked guys at Stanford but if he wants to consistently compete for national championships at Michigan he needs the best guys in the country. He might get a couple this year but for the most part it's going to depend on a good showing on the field."

The focus should not be on him, Harbaugh says, but rather on the program. "Khaki cams" that follow Harbaugh's every move on the sideline - such as Fox Sports 1 in Michigan's season opener - might be a step too far.

"There is nobody above the team, no coach, no player," Harbaugh said recently on the Big Ten teleconference.

Still, if prospects are watching, the new coach's celebrity status cannot hurt.

"I'm going to Michigan no matter what happens this year," said Hartland (Wisc.) Arrowhead four-star OT Ben Bredeson, the top-rated player in Michigan's recruiting class. "I just love the school, coaching staff and atmosphere there. Coach Harbaugh is a great coach and when I saw how he was running the program now and how the players responded to him I knew it was where I wanted to be."

Harbaugh has over 300,000 followers on Twitter, and took the time to even tweet at one of today's biggest music stars in Nicki Minaj in early August.

I can't disagree ... I can only agree. Mine too @NICKIMINAJ ! pic.twitter.com/IYw8eQUHcz- Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) August 2, 2015

For former Texas coach and current ESPN commentator Mack Brown, the Harbaugh hire was important for Michigan to regain national prominence. Hiring such a talented coach with school ties, someone who carries such weight in the sport - and most likely with recruits - was the first step to turning the Wolverines into a power again.

"Jim has done everything right," Brown said on an ESPN conference call prior to Michigan's loss to Utah last week.

"As far as how quickly he can get it turned, he's already got it turned with momentum. That's something that was difficult for (former Michigan coach) Brady (Hoke) at the end. Also, talking to Brady and talking to people around, Brady did a good job recruiting. Jim has some good players on campus and the biggest question is to get that quarterback, to get the right guy to play consistently well and get the ball to the right people."

That was a prescient statement by Brown.

In the season opener, Iowa transfer Jake Rudock completed 27 of 43 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions. The new Michigan QB missed receivers deep on multiple occasions.

Anyone who watched Michigan's loss to Utah saw a Wolverines team playing incredibly hard, relentless football. They also saw an offensive line that struggled. No running back with more than one carry averaged better than three yards.

The point: Michigan has a long way back. This is not something Harbaugh could flip in a game or a season, especially in the Big Ten where Ohio State is top dog, Michigan State is a major player and other programs are traditional name brands on the recruiting trail.

But Harbaugh's advantage in recruiting, in building Michigan back to its elite status, is his numerous NFL connections.

It's something he will assuredly be selling to high-end prospects.

"For a lot of guys, his NFL experience is a major selling point," Sullivan said. "A lot of guys have mentioned not only his experience in the NFL but his connections with current NFL GMs, coaches, a lot of front-office staff to get a look that they might not otherwise get if Harbaugh didn't have those connections."

Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell is not so sure of the turnaround. There are built-in challenges from conference competitors and a tough recruiting landscape that doesn't offer many in-state studs.

So far in his first recruiting class, five of 23 commits are from the Southeast and one is from California. The Wolverines also hit Maryland, New Jersey and the Northeast but to win big - to win it all - the Southeast and Texas might need to be targeted more.

"It's nothing against Harbaugh or Michigan but I think expectations are way too high," Farrell said. "He'll be given as long as he needs to make that a successful program but I also think it's going to take a while.

"I'm not sure if they can replicate what Ohio State has done when you're talking about recruiting in the Southeast and down in Texas, where you need to go to get the players to win a national championship. I know this isn't going to be a popular sentiment among Michigan fans who expect him to win a national championship but I just don't see it happening there. If it doesn't happen under Harbaugh when does it happen? That's the big question."

Recruiting is crucial, but player development is vital as well. That is right in Harbaugh's wheelhouse, something he has done as he rebuilt Stanford and the 49ers.

Player development was one major criticism under Hoke. During the good years, he could recruit to Michigan. Hoke's 2013 class ranked fifth nationally, while 2012 was seventh. He and his staff just didn't make much of the talent.

"The first few recruiting classes that Brady Hoke had were outstanding in the rankings," Sullivan said. "They kind of tailed off toward the end along with the results on the field. The bigger problem was those guys were basically the same players they were as seniors in high school or freshmen in college.

"Two or three years later they hadn't gotten a lot better. That is something people are looking at Harbaugh to snap his fingers and fix. He probably will fix it eventually but there will be more growing pains."

Patience will be needed, as a fan base aching for national relevance again might be starting to realize after the opening week.

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