Michigan Football: Recruiting coordinator Mike Elston deserves praise

After a tumultuous spring saw head coach Jim Harbaugh flirt with the NFL and both coordinators depart for other opportunities, Michigan football’s recruiting lost all momentum. But, as evidenced by the recent visits and scheduled ones as well, DL coach and recruiting coordinator Mike Elston have revived the excitement for the Wolverines. 

When head coach Jim Harbaugh left Ann Arbor to interview to with the Minnesota Vikings, it was widely expected that the Big Ten championship winning head coach would not be returning. In fact, On3’s Chris Balas even went so far as to report that Harbaugh was planning to sign with the Vikings to become their new head coach.

However, the offer never manifested itself, as midway through the interview/visit, it was announced that Harbaugh called up Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and told him he would be returning to Ann Arbor as the Wolverines head coach.

However, damage had been done. Not only had Michigan football lost its star defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald to Baltimore, but now a feeling of underappreciation caused Michigan offensive coordinator and Broyles Award winner Josh Gattis to depart for a lesser job at Miami. Michigan’s coaching staff needed new faces at multiple spots, and as you can imagine, recruiting had taken a nose dive with prospects concerned about Harbaugh’s flirtation with the NFL.

What had started out as a once promising class had seemingly turned to disaster, with Michigan’s momentum from an exceptional 11-2 campaign drying up within the span of a month.

However, one of the new faces that Michigan football brought in this offseason was Mike Elston, a Michigan alum and former defensive line coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. With the Wolverines losing star pass rushers like Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, they needed a big time coach like Elston to work with a promising but unproven group of defensive linemen, led this fall by defensive tackle Mazi Smith.

Mike Elston’s impact on Michigan football recruiting

However, that was not all Elston’s hire brought to the program, as he also was hired on as “recruiting coordinator”, in charge of organizing the staff’s efforts off-field in recruiting.

Currently, Michigan is enjoying a very promising month of June as far as recruiting goes. While the dreams of a top-5 class are likely out the door at this point, Elston and co. have rebounded quite nicely, with the Wolverines making significant progress with a host of recruits visiting this past weekend, and a significant portion of their top targets set to take official visits in the next two following weekends as well.

While Michigan did not pull any commitments out of last weekend, they set themselves up nicely to capitalize on a slew of announcements coming in July. Prospects like four-star EDGE Collins Archeampong and three-star guard Paul Mubenga are highly coveted by the staff and now have anticipated July commitments along with a handful of insider predictions (whether 247’s Crystal Balls or On3’s FutureCasts) that project them to Michigan.

Additionally, many other prospects on hand now have Michigan in much higher standing than previously, and especially along the defensive line, Elston’s position specifically. Players like four-star nose tackle John Walker, and four-star defensive tackle Kayden McDonald both came away with glowing reviews of their time in Ann Arbor.

Add in upcoming defensive linemen such as top-100 edge rushers in Jason Moore (MD) and Jaxon Howard (MN), along with a player many expect could commit to Michigan in four-star EDGE Enow Etta (TX) and three-star EDGE Tyler Thompson (NC) as well, and it’s clear that Elston has made significant headway with the DL recruiting.

While things certainly could have gone better for the Wolverines, one thing that’s true is that Mike Elston is doing a great job all things considered.

Between the aforementioned momentum he’s developed with a handful of highly-regarded defensive line prospects to leading the charge for the staff as recruiting coordinator to rebound from a tough spring and rebuild momentum for the class as whole, Elston is certainly putting in excellent work for his alma mater. A homerun hire at the time, it is clear that Elston’s efforts are paying off for Michigan in a major way.