Latest on Michigan Football’s 5-star recruiting pursuits

In our latest Michigan football recruiting roundup, we check in on the Wolverines’ pursuits of 5-star recruits Jadyn Davis and Nyckoles Harbor. 

It’s not hard to identify Michigan football’s top recruiting targets in the 2023 and 2024 classes. In 2023, it’s five-star athlete Nyckoles Harbor and in the next year, it’s five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis.

In terms of Davis, Michigan football has been thought of as the favorite. The five-star signal-caller from North Carolina took two unofficial visits over the summer and another to Ann Arbor for the Hawaii game.

Currently, the Wolverines are listed as the favorite according to the On3 prediction machine which gives them a 77-percent chance of winning his commitment. However, the longer the recruitment goes, the more uneasy Michigan football fans should feel about it.

Davis just visited Clemson over the weekend and according to EJ Holland’s latest report The Wolverine (subscription required), the Tigers really impressed him. Here’s what Davis posted on his Twitter account.

Of course, he posted similar things when he visited Michigan football and he’s said to have a really tight relationship with head coach Jim Harbaugh.

But Michigan football hasn’t been able to close yet. Clemson is one team to worry about but Georgia is the other. The Bulldogs seemed to be the favorite for another 5-star, Julian Sayin, who has now been projected to LSU. Alabama is also lurking.

If Sayin goes to LSU, should that worry Michigan fans? The answer is yes. Georgia has received a prediction for a three-star QB in 2024 but I don’t think that’s going to cool them on Davis. The Bulldogs didn’t land a QB in the 2023 class either so I wouldn’t put it past them to take two.

Davis is from Georgia originally and the Bulldogs offered him even earlier than the Wolverines did. Clemson is also close to home too, although five-star Cade Klubnik is only a freshman so the path to starting might not be as clear at Clemson as at Michigan, which should have an opening in 2024 after J.J. McCarthy leaves.

It doesn’t feel like anything has dramatically changed in this recruitment. But if Davis isn’t ready to decide by the time official visits roll around, I’ll definitely be worried about the Wolverines. We’ve seen what happens (Dante Moore) if you’re the leader but can’t close.

Michigan football can’t make that mistake again.

Track is the determining factor for Nyckoles Harbor

Michigan recently hosted Harbor for an official visit and it was the second time it has gotten him on campus. Just like with Davis, the Wolverines hold the lead according to the On3 prediction machine, yet that was the case for Dante Moore and CJ Carr at one time too.

So that doesn’t mean much. There’s no doubt that Harbor enjoyed his visit. He tweeted, “Could this be home?”

That’s the question and it seems like it will come down to track for Michigan according to EJ Holland (subscription required). The Wolverines have everything else the No. 10 recruit in 2023 could want. He’s interested in academics and the Wolverines have a big-time program.

Harbor said of Michigan “It’s an Ivy League education with power-5 athletics.” That’s all good but he’s a world-class track athlete and that still seems to be the biggest obstacle. Michigan needs to sell him on the track program and if it can, a commitment will be the reward.

Michigan also hosted five-star defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs in the 2023 class on an unofficial visit. The Wolverines are trending up there but have a long way to go and a number of big-time programs such as Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State to beat out. Still, if they can get him on campus again, you never know.