The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ment Jan. 22. The Michigan class went from one of the nation's best to simply a nice early haul by losing the two top players pledged. The decommitments came for vary- ing reasons, some possibly pertaining to U-M's struggles on offense in 2013. Campbell, the country's No. 2 wide receiver, noted that he had made his commitment too early, and he wanted to take a step back and re-evaluate all his options. Harris, the top running back in the country, pulled back after Michigan fired offensive coordinator Al Borges, who had been his primary recruiter. It likely didn't help that U-M was last nationally in allowing tackles for loss (114), or that leading rusher Fitzgerald Toussaint finished with only 648 yards on the year. "I felt like I made my decision a little bit early," Harris said. "I was thinking back on it, and I decided I should wait on it and look at all my options a little bit longer. With Coach Borges being gone, he was the one that recruited me. That was kind of hard going to a school without the coach that recruited you. When that happened, I decided to reevaluate all of my options and open things back up." Hoke took action at the conclusion of the 2013 season to put the offense back on track. After firing Borges, he brought in Doug Nussmeier, one of the country's hottest coordinators. Nussmeier came from Alabama, where he helped mold Crimson Tide signal-caller A.J. McCarron from a simple game manager into the coun- try's most efficient passer in 2012, with a 175.28 rating, and followed that up with another exceptional year last fall, when McCarron finished eighth nationally in efficiency with a 167.16 rating. Meanwhile, the Tide rushing attack was No. 12 nationally in 2012 and No. 25 last year in Nuss- meier's two seasons in Tuscaloosa. Thanks in part to bringing in a solid coordinator to replace Borges, both offensive standouts who decommit- ted from Michigan still have the Wol- verines on their radar. "Coach Nussmeier came in, and I think he's a great coach," said Har- ris. "He's coached some great play- ers and won national championships with Alabama. All he told me was just to give him a chance, and I'm start- ing to build that relationship with him like I had with Coach Borges. Hopefully I can get that same type of relationship, the bond and the same feeling like I had with Coach Borges." Other schools involved with Har- ris include some of the nation's best. When he initially committed to Mich- igan July 29, he picked U-M over rival Ohio State and home-state Kentucky. Both the Buckeyes and Wildcats are still on the table — though he ad- mits that UK will have to show some serious progress this fall to remain in contention — and several more schools have come calling. It's no surprise that the nation's top back has picked up offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin since pulling back from his Michigan commitment. Harris rushed for 2,621 yards and 42 touchdowns on just 220 carries