Michigan Football takes the lead for elite WR Gatlin Bair

One of the top targets on an official visit this weekend to Michigan football was Gatlin Bair and the Wolverines are the new leader via the On3 prediction machine. 

Michigan football fans remember the recruitment of Nyckoles Harbor very well. He was a five-star athlete with freakish speed from the 2023 class.

Ultimately, Michigan football didn’t win that recruitment. Harbor went to South Carolina. But in the 2024 class, there is a dynamic athlete just like Harbor, at least in the sense of being an Olympic-caliber sprinter and that’s Gatlin Bair.

To be accurate, Bair, who is from the state of Idaho, has been timed even faster this spring. He’s run the 100-meter dash in 10.15 seconds. He’s even run it faster than Tyreek Hill.

The top 50 recruit and No. 40 overall recruit via the On3 Industry rankings in 2024 took his visit to Ann Arbor this weekend and by all accounts, the Wolverines knocked it out of the park. Brice Marich of The Michigan Insider tweeted that “it couldn’t have gone any better.”

It’s hard to know exactly what that means, but Michigan football clearly did something well because it has already received a new expert projection to land Bair.

Michigan football is the leader for Gatlin Bair via On3

It was a low-confidence pick and it came from Sean Callahan of Husker Online. Previously, Callahan had a prediction in for Nebraska. Bair visited the Huskers during the spring and has talked about taking an official visit in the fall.

However, according to EJ Holland, the Huskers are out of it. Holland hasn’t put in a prediciton yet and he’s the top Michigan recruiting insider for On3.com. Yet, it’s clear that the Wolverines have some positive vibes with Bair.

The recruitment is far from over. Callahan’s pick is just one and none have followed. Bair is visiting in-state school Boise State next month, at the end of the month, for an unofficial visit. The four-star wideout also took a trip to Oregon in June.

Michigan is the new leader via the On3 prediction machine. It gives the Wolverines a 73-percent chance to land Bair’s commitment. Yet, Nebraska was the leader just recently, so things can change fast.

And since Bair is expected to go on a Mormon mission prior to signing to play college football — he probably won’t be on campus until 2026 — even a commitment will be hard to take to the bank.

Holland reported that a decision could come next month and if that’s true, I’d feel pretty good about Michigan’s chances, even if it’s still anyone’s game between U-M, Oregon, and Boise State.