Michigan had a Florida tradition before Rich Rodriguez arrived in 2008, signing more than 30 Floridians during its history, including all-time greats Anthony Carter, Steve Hutchinson, Steve Everitt, Rod Payne, Remy Hamilton and David Baas to name a few.
But when Rodriguez arrived, he accelerated the Wolverines' presence in the Sunshine State, signing 14 recruits in three classes (2008-10), including Denard Robinson and Jeremy Gallon.
Despite landing a few stars, Rodriguez's decision to emphasize Florida was widely criticized, largely because many felt he focused efforts there at the expense of recruiting Michigan and the Midwest. The point certainly is debatable considering he signed 12 Michiganders, 21 Ohioans and 29 total Midwest prospects in three classes.
Nonetheless, the argument was made that it was better to recruit Midwest kids that understand Big Ten traditions and Big Ten weather, and that the answer to U-M's plight could not be found by grabbing the prospects in the state of Florida that the Big 3 - Florida State, Miami and Florida - didn't want.
Fast-forward six recruiting cycles, and Jim Harbaugh is trying to make Florida work, for good this time, and at least for this moment, he doesn't appear to be catching flak for it even though his biggest prizes so far are 5.7 (Reuben Jones), 5.6 (Shelton Johnson) and 5.5 three-star recruits (Antwaine Richardson).
The fact of the matter is, Rodriguez was probably on to something, and had he won earlier in his career and more consistently, no one would have complained about his recruiting strategy.
The numbers are pretty self-evident: over the last 10 years, the state of Florida has averaged almost seven five-stars and 40 four-stars per class while the state of Michigan produces less than one five-star per year and has averaged a little more than six four-stars per class.
The argument goes that while there are some schools in Michigan like Cass Tech, Brother Rice and Catholic Central that consistently produce talent, if you have the choice between spending resources trying to uncover every other rock across the state or a staff that can show up at St. Thomas and there are 20 kids per year that are going FBS and 5-8 playing in Power 5 conferences, resource allocation would say the smart money is on spending more time in Florida than Michigan.
Harbaugh's staff, like Rodriguez's, has connections in Florida - defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was the coordinator at Florida, quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch worked at Miami and with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, and defensive line coach Greg Mattison held a long-tenured post with UF also - and those connections opened the door for the Maize and Blue.
A pair of satellite camps, one in Tampa and the other in South Florida, also created interest, and a flurry of commitments in the past week - from Richardson at Atlantic High School, two-star Rashad Weaver at Cooper City HS and two-star Josh Metellus at Flanagan HS - have buoyed the Wolverines' presence.
"Michigan is really the most active school in South Florida right now," Sun Sentinel preps writer Ryan S. Clark said. "I think the consensus when Michigan came down here in January after Jim Harbaugh was hired was very wait-and-see. A lot of schools recruit this area and try to establish a single relationship or two with a coach, someone they can lean on to help steer a recruit they like their direction, but Michigan has done things differently. It almost feels like their base of operations is located right here."
The Wolverines have, seemingly, hit a few schools harder than others - Atlantic in Delray Bech, St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, and Flanagan in Pembroke Pines, landing Richardson and Metellus, with the hope of landing the Flanagan duo of four-star linebacker Devin Bush and three-star safety Devin Gil.
Bush Sr., who runs Flanagan, is a former Florida State player yet he opened his arms to Michigan for a satellite camp under the lights, realizing he had an awesome opportunity to do right by his players.
"Not every kid that grows up in Florida wants to go to Florida, Miami or Florida State, and if you're going to send them out of state ... this is what Devin Bush recognized, he wants them to have the best chance to succeed academically, and there's nowhere better than Michigan," a source that knows Bush well conveyed.
"He also understands that Jim Harbaugh is authentic. He's seen a lot of coaches pass through his hallways, and there are a lot of car salesmen that spend two minutes trying to stroke his ego so he'll do them a favor, but he knows when he's seen the real thing, and he knows when a coach has his kids' best interest at heart.
"He doesn't think Jim Harbaugh is giving him lip-service so if he can do something on his end to give his kids a great opportunity to go to a place like Michigan, that's what he's going to do. And there are a couple other coaches just like him down there, and I think that's catching on."
In addition to Bush Jr., Gil and Metellus, Dredrick Snelson is a four-star wide receiver at Flanagan and Kate Nelson is a three-star quarterback. There are a pair of 2017s from Flanagan already ranked by Rivals.com, and there are a bevy of high-end talents at Atlantic and St. Thomas also; Michigan is eager to snatch up premier players in this 2016 class, but Harbaugh is also playing the long game, knowing efforts now to establish roots in South Florida will pay off in every subsequent class.
"Atlantic may become the new pipeline to Michigan," Clark said. "The in-state schools kind of have this 'over-my-dead-body' mentality when it comes to taking kids from the powerhouses down here, but we've already seen Gil decommit from Miami and he could end up at Michigan, and Bush lists Michigan among his four favorites with Florida State, Georgia and Auburn.
"I think this is a perfect time for Michigan to be setting up in this area, and what really is the next step is landing a big-time four-star or five-star because it will generate a ton of attention, and you could start seeing some of the elite kids in Florida pass on an in-state school to go to Michigan."
Bush could be that recruit. The four-star is ranked the No. 156 player in the country and the No. 22 player in Florida, and because of his last name, he moves the needle in South Florida.
"I don't know if it'll be Bush but I think they'll get someone big at some point in this class or the next class because there is momentum for Michigan," Clark said. "More and more coaches are looking at the relationship Flanagan and Atlantic and St. Thomas Aquinas are establishing with Michigan and they want in. The Michigan coaching staff is seemingly down here every week, and they're winning over a lot of really influential people in this area and, probably the bigger thing is, they're winning over a lot of recruits."
Rodriguez tried to plant a flag in Florida, and to some degree, he succeeded, but he ran out of time in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh wants to do more than plant a flag - he wants to build an entire house in Florida, and day by day more locals are offering their assistance. The strategy made sense back in 2008 and it makes even more sense now as the southeast continues to grow its population and the Midwest shrinks.
Harbaugh and Co., cannot abandon the Midwest, and they show no interest in doing so with seven of 16 current commits from Midwestern states, but the intent is clear that Florida is a top priority - maybe even the top priority - and those that didn't like it seven years ago must ask themselves if they're willing to buy in now. They might not have a choice.
But when Rodriguez arrived, he accelerated the Wolverines' presence in the Sunshine State, signing 14 recruits in three classes (2008-10), including Denard Robinson and Jeremy Gallon.
Despite landing a few stars, Rodriguez's decision to emphasize Florida was widely criticized, largely because many felt he focused efforts there at the expense of recruiting Michigan and the Midwest. The point certainly is debatable considering he signed 12 Michiganders, 21 Ohioans and 29 total Midwest prospects in three classes.
Nonetheless, the argument was made that it was better to recruit Midwest kids that understand Big Ten traditions and Big Ten weather, and that the answer to U-M's plight could not be found by grabbing the prospects in the state of Florida that the Big 3 - Florida State, Miami and Florida - didn't want.
Fast-forward six recruiting cycles, and Jim Harbaugh is trying to make Florida work, for good this time, and at least for this moment, he doesn't appear to be catching flak for it even though his biggest prizes so far are 5.7 (Reuben Jones), 5.6 (Shelton Johnson) and 5.5 three-star recruits (Antwaine Richardson).
The fact of the matter is, Rodriguez was probably on to something, and had he won earlier in his career and more consistently, no one would have complained about his recruiting strategy.
The numbers are pretty self-evident: over the last 10 years, the state of Florida has averaged almost seven five-stars and 40 four-stars per class while the state of Michigan produces less than one five-star per year and has averaged a little more than six four-stars per class.
The argument goes that while there are some schools in Michigan like Cass Tech, Brother Rice and Catholic Central that consistently produce talent, if you have the choice between spending resources trying to uncover every other rock across the state or a staff that can show up at St. Thomas and there are 20 kids per year that are going FBS and 5-8 playing in Power 5 conferences, resource allocation would say the smart money is on spending more time in Florida than Michigan.
Harbaugh's staff, like Rodriguez's, has connections in Florida - defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was the coordinator at Florida, quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch worked at Miami and with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, and defensive line coach Greg Mattison held a long-tenured post with UF also - and those connections opened the door for the Maize and Blue.
A pair of satellite camps, one in Tampa and the other in South Florida, also created interest, and a flurry of commitments in the past week - from Richardson at Atlantic High School, two-star Rashad Weaver at Cooper City HS and two-star Josh Metellus at Flanagan HS - have buoyed the Wolverines' presence.
"Michigan is really the most active school in South Florida right now," Sun Sentinel preps writer Ryan S. Clark said. "I think the consensus when Michigan came down here in January after Jim Harbaugh was hired was very wait-and-see. A lot of schools recruit this area and try to establish a single relationship or two with a coach, someone they can lean on to help steer a recruit they like their direction, but Michigan has done things differently. It almost feels like their base of operations is located right here."
The Wolverines have, seemingly, hit a few schools harder than others - Atlantic in Delray Bech, St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, and Flanagan in Pembroke Pines, landing Richardson and Metellus, with the hope of landing the Flanagan duo of four-star linebacker Devin Bush and three-star safety Devin Gil.
Bush Sr., who runs Flanagan, is a former Florida State player yet he opened his arms to Michigan for a satellite camp under the lights, realizing he had an awesome opportunity to do right by his players.
"Not every kid that grows up in Florida wants to go to Florida, Miami or Florida State, and if you're going to send them out of state ... this is what Devin Bush recognized, he wants them to have the best chance to succeed academically, and there's nowhere better than Michigan," a source that knows Bush well conveyed.
"He also understands that Jim Harbaugh is authentic. He's seen a lot of coaches pass through his hallways, and there are a lot of car salesmen that spend two minutes trying to stroke his ego so he'll do them a favor, but he knows when he's seen the real thing, and he knows when a coach has his kids' best interest at heart.
"He doesn't think Jim Harbaugh is giving him lip-service so if he can do something on his end to give his kids a great opportunity to go to a place like Michigan, that's what he's going to do. And there are a couple other coaches just like him down there, and I think that's catching on."
In addition to Bush Jr., Gil and Metellus, Dredrick Snelson is a four-star wide receiver at Flanagan and Kate Nelson is a three-star quarterback. There are a pair of 2017s from Flanagan already ranked by Rivals.com, and there are a bevy of high-end talents at Atlantic and St. Thomas also; Michigan is eager to snatch up premier players in this 2016 class, but Harbaugh is also playing the long game, knowing efforts now to establish roots in South Florida will pay off in every subsequent class.
"Atlantic may become the new pipeline to Michigan," Clark said. "The in-state schools kind of have this 'over-my-dead-body' mentality when it comes to taking kids from the powerhouses down here, but we've already seen Gil decommit from Miami and he could end up at Michigan, and Bush lists Michigan among his four favorites with Florida State, Georgia and Auburn.
"I think this is a perfect time for Michigan to be setting up in this area, and what really is the next step is landing a big-time four-star or five-star because it will generate a ton of attention, and you could start seeing some of the elite kids in Florida pass on an in-state school to go to Michigan."
Bush could be that recruit. The four-star is ranked the No. 156 player in the country and the No. 22 player in Florida, and because of his last name, he moves the needle in South Florida.
"I don't know if it'll be Bush but I think they'll get someone big at some point in this class or the next class because there is momentum for Michigan," Clark said. "More and more coaches are looking at the relationship Flanagan and Atlantic and St. Thomas Aquinas are establishing with Michigan and they want in. The Michigan coaching staff is seemingly down here every week, and they're winning over a lot of really influential people in this area and, probably the bigger thing is, they're winning over a lot of recruits."
Rodriguez tried to plant a flag in Florida, and to some degree, he succeeded, but he ran out of time in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh wants to do more than plant a flag - he wants to build an entire house in Florida, and day by day more locals are offering their assistance. The strategy made sense back in 2008 and it makes even more sense now as the southeast continues to grow its population and the Midwest shrinks.
Harbaugh and Co., cannot abandon the Midwest, and they show no interest in doing so with seven of 16 current commits from Midwestern states, but the intent is clear that Florida is a top priority - maybe even the top priority - and those that didn't like it seven years ago must ask themselves if they're willing to buy in now. They might not have a choice.
