Michigan has Jim Harbaugh's 'most talented team he's had in Ann Arbor,' fewer question marks than other contenders

For the first time in a while, Michigan Wolverines football is playing and recruiting at a championship level at the same time. Head coach Jim Harbaugh has things rolling heading into year nine, fresh off back-to-back Big Ten titles and wins over Ohio State, with a top-five recruiting class in 2024.

“I feel like there’s more buzz right now around them recruiting-wise than there has been since he’s been there,” Bruce Feldman of FOX Sports and The Athletic said on the Rich Eisen Show. “And part of that is because you’ve kicked the butts of Ohio State in back-to-back years. People saw that. The fact that he’s still there … this will be his most talented team he’s ever had in Ann Arbor.”

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Eisen asked about Harbaugh considering NFL jobs in consecutive offseasons and how it hasn’t hurt Michigan’s recruiting efforts, to which Feldman responded, “He defies logic.”

“He is so — unusual is not the nicest way to put it, but when he wins, it’s hard for people to understand,” Feldman continued. “Why was he able to do what he did at Stanford? It was one of the greatest coaching turnaround jobs that anybody has done in college football at least in my lifetime. 

“And then he went to Michigan, and he got them better, and then he kind of plateaued. All of the sudden, we’ve talked a lot about what they’ve done to hit the gas and plow up the hill, and they did. Now, it’s like they’re on a different level.”

Michigan has now become the class of the Big Ten, going 19-1 against conference foes over the last two seasons. The Wolverines have lost in the CFP semifinal each year, though, and need to get over the hump to win a national championship, which is the group’s stated goal for the 2023 season.

Michigan has a loaded team that ranks fifth nationally in ESPN.com’s returning production metric, led by Heisman Trophy contender Blake Corum at running back. Corum surprised by returning for another season, and he wasn’t alone. Other sure-fire draft picks like guards Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins chose to come back as well.

Feldman did quickly touch on Michigan losing Biff Poggi as associate head coach — he’s now the head coach at Charlotte — but believes the Wolverines have a strong chance to achieve great success again in 2023.

“I think they’re really, really interesting, because they had all these kids — Blake Corum, most notably, because we know the story about running backs and their shelf life — [come back for another year],” Feldman said. “I am fascinated to see what Michigan football looks like in 2023, because you and I were both in the building when they lost to TCU.

“The biggest challenge for Jim Harbaugh is some of the people he really leaned on to push back on him, at times in the last couple years, are not there anymore. But the talent is really, really good now.”

Michigan is the only team that finished top seven in the AP poll last season to return its starting quarterback, with a “bigger, faster, stronger” junior J.J. McCarthy with the controls of the offense. Ohio State and Penn State project to be strong, and other typical national title contenders will be there, but Michigan has less question marks than most others.

“I think the Big Ten East is going to be wild, because Ohio State, you have to replace [quarterback] C.J. [Stroud], but it’s still Ohio State, they’ve still recruited incredibly well,” Feldman said. “You have Penn State, they love their young quarterback, Drew Allar, who’s taken over. They just won [the Rose Bowl]. This should be a really scary Penn State team. Now, you have three teams who feel like they are legit playoff contenders. I think Jim Harbaugh is going to be really interesting to watch this year.”

Michigan beat out Ohio State and others for elite quarterback Jadyn Davis, the No. 26 overall player in the 2024 class, adding to the future talent on the roster and keeping the momentum going.

“Can they win a national title?” Feldman wondered aloud. “He’s shown he can be the bully of the Big Ten, and that matters. And these are the kind of kids and kind of recruiting battles you have to win if you’re going to make a run at a national title.

“Think about the teams now that have to replace key guys. Georgia is positioned well at making a run at doing something nobody has done in college football, which is win three in a row. Alabama not only has to replace its starting quarterback, Bryce [Young], they have to replace the best player, or defensive player, in the program, Will Anderson. No C.J. at Ohio State.

“There are definite question marks of all the teams that you think are like, ‘oh, yeah, but they’re there.’ If there was a year that Jim Harbaugh could win a national title at Michigan, man, this is the one that it shapes up as.”

Harbaugh believes he has the best version of Michigan football he’s seen in his eight years at the helm. It might just be the year the Wolverines go further than he’s ever gone.