Jim Harbaugh might be the greatest Michigan football head coach of all time.
The man delivered three consecutive wins over Ohio State, ending a 22-year losing streak in Columbus with a 22-point victory before eventually winning a national championship in the 2023 season after a perfect 15-0 record.
Michigan football was so dominant that season that it trailed in the second half of a game only once, against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines still rallied and won, thanks to the heroics of J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Mason Graham, and others.
Those were some of Harbaugh's greatest recruiting wins right there. Graham and Kenneth Grant were certainly the two who punched beyond their weight, to the point that the Wolverines wouldn't have won a national title without those two three-star commitments, at least when they committed.
It's crazy how low they were ranked. Colston Loveland, too. Harbaugh saw something in all of them. However, there were still some key misses. Michigan football fans will surely remember some of these names, but here's a look back at some of the biggest recruiting what ifs of the Harbaugh era, starting with an Ohio State quarterback, who couldn't beat the Wolverines.
C.J. Stroud
Michigan and Ohio State battled it out for Stroud late in the 2020 recruiting class. The Wolverines had a four-star commitment in JD Johnson, but he suffered a career-ending injury.
U-M turned its attention to Stroud, who was ranked 42nd overall in the 2020 class via the 247 Sports composite rankings. Stroud chose Ohio State.
Stroud put together two stellar seasons as a starter. He threw for 734 yards in two games against Michigan with four touchdown passes and two interceptions. Stroud finished his career 0-2 as a starter. He never played in a Big Ten championship game or won any sort of championship.
Aidan Hutchinson's three-sack effort also ended his Heisman Trophy efforts.
If Stroud had chosen Michigan, the Wolverines might have had a better chance of beating Georgia, with Stroud as the starter. Hell, he might have found the field in 2020 after the Joe Milton diaster.
The J.J. McCarthy era may have been delayed by a year, but if you took Stroud, and gave him Michigan's defense and running game, it could have been a dangerous combo.
Najee Harris
This is the recruiting what if of the Harbaugh era that most Michigan football fans will point to.
The top-ranked running back in the 2016 class, and the No. 2 overall prospect, strongly considered Michigan football, the first program to offer him a scholarship.
The Wolverines received a crystal ball at one point to flip Harris away from Alabama. However, the Crismon Tide won out. Harbaugh did eventually sign Harris with the Chargers, though, finally getting the 6-foot-2, 225-pound running back on his squad.
Isaiah Wilson
The 6-foot-7, 350-pound offensive tackle seemed like a lock for the Wolverines. There were seven crystal ball predictions for Michigan before Georgia won out, landing the five-star lineman, who went on to be a first-round pick.
Michigan's offensive line could have used an elite left tackle during that era. Surely, Shea Patterson would have appreciated it.
This is one that still stings, especially with all the effort Harbaugh put into this recruitment, something he didn't really do in the last few years on the job.
Xavier Worthy
The loss of future first-round pick Xaiver Worthy was one of the biggest mistakes on the recruiting trail of the Harbaugh era. It's hard to know exactly what happened, but there was some miscommunication about Worthy being able to enroll early.
When he wasn't able to enroll early, Worthy eventually re-opened his recruitment, asked out of his letter of intent, and signed with Texas, before becoming a first-round pick.
The home-run threat would have been incredible to pair with McCarthy and Michigan's elite running game. Worthy was part of the same class as McCarthy and Donovan Edwards.
Just imagine all three of those guys being on the same team, or imagine the possibility of Stroud throwing bombs to Worthy.
Dante Moore
Michigan missed the boat on NIL early in the Harbaugh era. The Wolverines were about being "transformational" not "transactional."
The Wolverines didn't really have the NIL to land the No. 5 prospect in 2023, but signing the Detroit King star would have been a game-changer.
Moore could have joined the Michigan roster in 2023. He could have sat behind McCarthy for a season. That would have given Moore the time he needed to develop, while giving the Wolverines the perfect transition plan.
Bryce Underwood might not have ended up signing with Michigan if Moore were there. Yet, it's crazy to think about how the 2024 season might have gone if Moore had taken over as the starter after one season of watching McCarthy.
There's no guarantees, but it feels like that quarterback, combined with that defense, could have lead to a College Football Playoff Appearance.
CJ Carr
The grandson of Lloyd Carr ended up in South Bend. Michigan football was one of the top contenders in his recruitment. Michigan was even projected as the leader.
However, that was back in the 2024 class, before the Wolveriners were really invested in NIL. Carr talked about his recruitment to Michigan, saying he felt like U-M didn't recruit him as hard as Notre Dame.
The Irish also ponied up a huge NIL deal, when Michigan wasn't in the business of doing that. It's basically the same reason the Wolverines missed out on Dante Moore.
Carr and Moore can say it was about other things, but if one program is offering millions and the other isn't, well, you can guess which has the advantage.
Carr was incredible for Notre Dame last season, throwing 24 touchdown passes compared to six interceptions. He played one game as a freshman compared to Bryce Underwood, who started all 13.
We'll see what Underwood's second season looks like. If he pans out, missing on Moore and Carr won't sting quite as much.
It would be easy to say Michigan should have been able to sign Moore, Carr, and Underwood in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes, but that's not reality. If Michigan signed Carr, it doesn't get Underwood. Bryce wasn't going to sit for multiple years, just like Carr wouldn't have sat and waited if Michigan had Dante Moore after McCarthy.
Looking back, the Wolverines could have probably landed Moore and Underwood. There might have been enough distance between the classes to make it work.
Missing out on Carr was and is a bummer. Yet, the fact that Moore, Carr, and Underwood are all starting for different schools this season shows how difficult it would have been for the Wolverines to land even just two out of the three, and actually keep them.
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