Michigan Football: Wolverines make another important hire

Jim Harbaugh made another addition to Michigan football’s recruiting staff and it’s another step in the right direction.

If there is one thing everyone agrees Michigan football can do to try and catch Ohio State, and the rest of the college football elite: Recruit better.

Of course, that’s easier said than done.

In some ways, Michigan has always recruited itself. Even during the downtimes, Michigan football has been able to attract talent and at the best of times, the Wolverines would able to get players such as Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard from Ohio.

Now that feat seems nearly impossible. But maybe not for long and at the very least, Harbaugh and new director of player personnel Courtney Morgan are doing everything possible to build a top-notch recruiting operation.

And on Monday, the Wolverines announced another hire in Sydney Sims, who is taking over as the Football as Director of Strategic Communications and Branding.

It’s a fancy title but it’s one that has a real impact in modern-day recruiting. Sims held the same position at Notre Dame and here’s what she’ll bring to the U-M staff:

"“Sims is responsible for running the social media accounts for football; handling branding, education, and initiatives with the student-athletes; and recruiting communication for the program. Sims comes to Ann Arbor after 15 months at Notre Dame, where she oversaw the football social media accounts and handled student-athletes branding as a member of The Fighting Irish Media team within the athletic department.”"

Sims is also going to be bringing some more coverage to Michigan, according to the release. It talks about her experience with on-air production and it sounds like we could expect to see more football-related content on Michigan social media accounts.

"“Sims has used her skills as an on-camera reporter to provide fans of the Irish an inside look into the program, something she will also do as a member of the Wolverines’ football staff.”"

With changes coming and players able to profit off their NIL in the near future, branding and being effective on social media is going to be more important than ever.

Winning on the field is still the most important thing when it comes to recruiting. Yet, these little details mattered and for too long, Michigan just ceded an advantage to its opponents by not making it a bigger priority.

It’s good to see that change.