Optimistic Fan Is Fired Up Again! - Michigan Recruiting: With Harbaugh On Board, All Bets Are Off.

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A face that only a wolverine fan
will love in the near future.
By luring former 49'ers and Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh back to Michigan, Interim (and you can bet your ass soon-to-be fulltime) Athletic Director Jim Hackett pulled off what every talking head "expert" in the nation claimed was impossible just a few weeks ago. Even I, the most optimistic of Wolverine fans, had cast aside the entire idea as a near impossibility and basically gave little to no credibility to any story involving Harbaugh.

Well, I am glad I was wrong.

Hackett defied all the naysayers and critics and went out and got his man. A man who just so happens to have very few peers in the coaching world. Honestly, I am still in shock. Though, it is time for all of us, being fans, current players, recruits, and talking heads alike, to pick up our jaws and move on to the next task. 

 So now what?

For most of us our focus will definitely be on the recruiting trail for the next four weeks. As soon as his staff is assembled, it will be the number one priority for everybody involved. Personally, I find this story line to be more intriguing than any current NFL drama right now. Even if the Lions made a run deep into the playoffs my attention would still be more on what's going on in Ann Arbor. Yes, I'm a nerd, but if you're reading this then you are too.

For current players, it's time to hit the gym, hit the books, and welcome the next crop of potential teammates. Spring ball is only a few months away and if I were any of the current players I would be working hard to help this team make that transition into a new era, and doing my best to make an impression on coach Harbaugh.

With only 16 or 17 scholarships to offer new recruits there won't be an over-abundance of freshman talent to choose from come fall training camp. Oh, I have no doubt there will be some key players to emerge from this class eventually, but 2015's success will depend almost entirely on how the guys that Hoke recruited respond to Harbaugh. There is not doubt that nucleus of a good team is already there.

Despite the wild ride this year's recruiting cycle has turned out to be for us all, there is still a very good chance that the staff will end up with a formidable group of athletes to bring in as their first class, even if it is only 13 to 14 players. Yes, the clock is ticking with National Signing Day less than a month way, but never underestimate the combined star power of our shiny new head coach and the university itself. A lot of good prospects were already interested, but virtually overnight U of M has become a popular destination for prep players once again. Expect a few surprises before it's all over.

A full recruiting "dead period" report is available here: 2015 Recruiting Report

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