Michigan Football: 5 takeaways from Early National Signing Day

Blue-chip ratio needs to improve

Jim Harbaugh called Michigan football’s 2023 recruiting class “great” and there are lots of things to be optimistic about. However, in the long run, it will be hard to stay in contention for national championships without a blue-chip ratio well above 50.

The Wolverines are currently at 39.1 percent (9/23) and the blue-chip ratio is the number of four/five-star prospects in a class. Michigan landed just nine four-stars out of 23.

The transfer portal activity will help. Ernest Hausmann is the No. 2 player in the 247 sports transfer portal rankings (Travis Hunter passed him) and he’s got three years of eligibility.

Michigan has added a total of five four-star players in the portal. So when you add in those guys to the 2023 haul, the blue-chip ratio is 46 percent.

When you add that in with some of the previous hauls which were pretty elite in 2021 and 2022, at least the high-end guys, there is enough talent to keep winning.

But Michigan can’t afford another class like this one in 2024. The Wolverines need to land a big-time quarterback (Jadyn Davis), figure out NIL and turn it into a top-10 group.

I trust Harbaugh and his staff’s ability to develop talent and find it better than the recruiting services. But you need blue-chippers too — the ones that even a person who knows little about football can point to and say “that’s one of the best players.”

Michigan football needs more guys like that in 2024 and if that happens, the program should be set up for a long-term run of success.

Classes like this can certainly win a ton of games, even Big Ten championships, but consistently competing with Georgia and company will take more and it needs to start in 2024.