Michigan football made a splash on Early National Signing Day and here are five final takeaways for the Wolverines and the 2023 recruiting class.
Early National Signing Day is in the books for Michigan football and it wound up being a really successful day for the Wolverines.
Not only did Michigan football sign all of its 21 known commitments going into the day, but the Wolverines added two four-star prospects in Jyaire Hill and Karmello English.
It was impressive. English had been on the radar for a while but I didn’t think Michigan had a great shot to get him out of SEC country until the day before Signing Day when the crystal balls came in.
That was a huge win and so was Jyaire Hill. The class might not be ranked where we all wanted it to be at the start of the cycle, but here are five takeaways on Signing Day for Michigan football.
The Wolverines can still close
Michigan football isn’t for everybody. If recruits want a guaranteed NIL deal as part of their commitment then the Wolverines probably aren’t for them.
Still, the Wolverines have to find a way to win the NIL realm and this week was maybe a sign of starting to do that. English surely had bigger NIL opportunities and Hill too. But Michigan football was able to win out with two top-200 commitments.
The Wolverines needed to add a cornerback like Hill who is 6-foot-2 and someone that could see the field as early as next season.
English is in the same boat. He’s going to have some other receivers ahead of him after a really good haul in 2022, but these are both top-four recruits in Michigan’s class and the Wolverines got them on Signing Day.
That makes it three years in a row that Michigan closed strong with a big addition or two on signing day. This year was as exciting as last year but it was a productive day.
Best players at key positions
Michigan football had to take more chances this year on lower-rated prospects. The staff has been really great at evaluations, so I trust their process and think this group will grade out better than its current ranking of 17th in the 2023 team rankings.
But when you talk about some of the most important positions — the Wolverines still landed some blue-chip talent.
Cole Cobana is a guy that doesn’t get talked about enough but he’s ranked in the top 200 and he’s going to be an impact player for this program right away.
I expect him to be part of the running back rotation next season and he can also catch the ball really well too. Some have expressed concern about Mike Hart not landing an elite back but Cobana is going to be a big-time player.
Enow Etta is the top-ranked commitment via the 247 sports composite rankings and he’s a 6-foot-6 EDGE who should eventually be an early-round pick. You always need good cornerbacks and the future tandem of Will Johnson and Hill is scary for opposing offenses.
English adds another really talented playmaker to the wide receiver room. Obviously, there wasn’t a highly-ranked quarterback and that’s the most important position of all, but the Wolverines added big-time talents at the skill positions and EDGE so that’s something to remember.
A really good O-line haul
The foundation of Michigan football’s success over the past two seasons has been winning the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Michigan football has won the Joe Moore Award two years running and has boasted one of the most talented/productive defensive lines over the past two seasons.
Michigan’s offensive line haul wound up being one of the best of any group. Evan Link is going to be a really solid player and so is Amir Herring. He is probably going to be a guard long-term but he’s going to be a multi-year starter. My bet is that Link will be too.
Nathan Efobi is really interesting because he’s ranked as a top-200 prospect by some recruiting services and as a three-star by others. He’s got a big upside and Sherrone Moore continues to prove that he’s one of the best recruiters on staff with another good O-line haul.
Upside on defense
Michigan football didn’t land as many four-star prospects on defense and is taking more chances on guys based on evaluations and athletic profiles.
Only four defensive players finished the 2023 rankings in the top 500 of the 247 sports composite rankings. Yet, that doesn’t mean those players won’t be successful, it’s just going to take some time.
Aymeric Koumba is a prime example of this. The three-star recruit who is from France has similar traits to David Ojabo and I feel like, in a few years, he is going to be an NFL draft pick.
But he’s not going to be ready to play next season. The same can probably be said for Etta, Jason Hewlett, Breeon Ishmail and Roderick Pierce, who all signed as EDGE players, D-line or athletes.
Hewlett is one of my favorite players in the entire class. He’s a four-star via 247 sports own rankings and part of it is because he’s still growing into his body. He could be a linebacker/safety or could grow into a true EDGE.
Either way, it’s going to be fun to see what staff gets out of guys like Koumba, Hewlett, Pierce, and Ishmail (and others) who have the potential to play like top-200 recruits down the road.
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.