The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1518781
38 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2024 BY EJ HOLLAND M ichigan was three days removed from an epic victory over Ala- bama in the Rose Bowl when my phone went off while I was walking along the sideline at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It was a notification that three-star Alcoa (Tenn.) High tight end Eli Owens had committed to Michigan. This was one we had been expecting for a while. I already had a story drafted and ready for TheWolverine.com and told our Zach Libby to hit the publish button as I continued to watch 2024 Michigan signees Andrew Sprague and Jo'Ziah Edmond go through practice for the All-American Bowl. At that time, it felt like Michigan had a chance to really build some momentum on the recruiting trail. Still, the uncer- tainty around U-M head coach Jim Har- baugh hung overhead like a dark cloud. A big reason I was back in my home state of Texas was not only to cover Sprague and Edmond but to also get the latest on On3 top-100 wide receiver Gatlin Bair. Michigan, of course, would go on to win the national title less than a week later. But the Wolverines never received any kind of natty bump on the recruit- ing trail. Bair, who was considered a Michi- gan lean as we prepared to enter the late signing period, eventually signed with Oregon in February as Harbaugh returned to the NFL two weeks after the Wolverines dominated Washington in the College Football Playoff champion- ship game. Wi t h H a rba u g h go n e , M i c h i ga n quickly promoted offensive coordi- nator Sherrone Moore to head coach. Moore's appointment was supposed to keep most of the staff together. It just didn't work out that way. Several assistants departed, includ- ing the entire defensive staff all heading to the NFL. As of early April, Michigan has actually had more defensive line coaches in place than commitments this calendar year. That's right, there have been zero verbal pledges since Owens pulled the trigger Jan. 4. Simply put, this offseason has been a chaotic one in Ann Arbor, and, unfortunately, all potential momentum from the national championship has been lost. Yes, that stinks. Having a three- month commitment drought follow- ing the best season since the 1990s is less than ideal. But it's not all doom and gloom for Michigan. Moore promised to be more aggres- sive on the recruiting trail, and he's stayed true to his word. The first-year head coach personally traveled across the country during the contact period, making stops in the Midwest, talent- rich Texas and the Great Plains. Moore also assembled a staff full of energetic recruiters. Guys like defen- sive pass game coordinator/defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan and tight ends coach Steve Casula are young and hungry. The same could be said about the newly promoted duo of offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell and offen- sive line coach Grant Newsome — both were, of course, part of the champion- ship staff last season. Then you have veterans of the game like linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary and run game coordinator/running backs coach Tony Alford, who is already proving to be a big recruiting upgrade over former position coach Mike Hart. If you want to be a part of Moore's staff, you better get your rear end to work on the recruiting trail. Even elder states- man Wink Martindale, the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college foot- ball, has been in constant communica- tion with top targets. Moore didn't stop with the coaching staff. He also played a key role in re- structuring the recruiting department. Albert Karschnia is out as director of recruiting and now in a role that better suits his yeoman skill set as director of player personnel. Sam Popper has taken over his position and is already steering the ship in a better direction. ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING 2025 Class Starts Slowly, Still Plenty Of Room For Optimism First-year head coach Sherrone Moore and his new staff have hit the ground hard in recruiting, but as of early April Michigan had only three commits in the 2025 class. PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF