Four-star Nathaniel Marshall of Oak Park, Illinois, was the first pledge made by Michigan football under Sherrone Moore, and he committed early last week. It took almost three months for the Michigan football program to get its first commitment from a high school talent after Moore was formally appointed head coach on January 26. The people are restless, even while it’s definitely not a sign that the sky is falling in Ann Arbor—after all, recruiting triumphs are usually easy to find after a National Championship season.
It’s important to note that Moore did experience certain unique conditions, which are not typically faced by newly appointed coaches. The gradual assimilation of previous staff members into the NFL caused a delay in Moore’s capacity to assemble a unified team going ahead. Ben Herbert made the decision on January 29 to follow Jim Harbaugh, while Jesse Minter and Mike Elston did the same on February 6. On February 13, Jay Harbaugh was hired by the Seattle Seahawks, on February 14 Steve Clinkscale left, and on March 8, Mike Hart departed the program. For a head coach who had been promoted internally, this tardy exit is unusual.
In addition, Moore faced difficulties in his hiring process when, on March 6, Greg Scruggs was brought on as defensive line coach. However, on March 21, Scruggs quit after receiving a DUI.
All of this is not intended as a criticism on Sherrone Moore’s hiring as Michigan’s head coach. The purpose of this is only to draw attention to the fact that Moore’s term began with a number of unusual situations.
It is also appropriate to give Moore credit for keeping nearly all of the 2024 recruiting class. Luckily, he didn’t need to scramble to find recruits at the last minute to complete the class. Along with bringing in Dominic Zvada (Arkansas St.) and CJ Charleston (Youngstown St.) and keeping Josh Priebe (Northwestern) and Jaishawn Barham (Maryland) committed, he also welcomed Amorion Walker (Ole Miss) back home.
In what way does Moore’s recruiting approach differ from those of his predecessors, Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh? Is it taking longer than it seems? Now let’s get started.
The Harbaugh Period
On December 30, 2014, Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh. Just six players who had committed to the Wolverines before his hiring were able to stay, however it should be noted that Brady Hoke was finding it difficult to attract recruits as a result of the 2014 team’s on-field shortcomings. On January 25, 2015, Harbaugh made his first commitment: four-star Zach Gentry from New Mexico. Reuben Jones and Nolan Ulizio also made near calls on the same day. With only five days left before signing day, five more players in the class of 2015 committed to join Harbaugh and the Wolverines.
Even though it took Harbaugh just under a month to secure a commitment, he had to act quickly to complete the freshmen class in time for the fall semester. Moore is lucky enough to simply have to worry about when the next lesson is scheduled. It will be difficult to match the first accurate apples-to-apples comparison between Moore’s class of 2025 and Harbaugh’s class of 2016.
With 29 prospects, Harbaugh’s first full recruiting class was ranked fourth in the country. A little more than three months after his hiring, on April 4, 2015, he earned his first commitment from Brandon Peters. Josh Metellus, Ben Bredeson, Devin Bush, David Long, Josh Uche, Khaleke Hudson, Lavert Hill, Josh Uche, Josh Onwenu, and #1 overall prospect Rashan Gary were among the class members.
Though it’s still extremely early in the cycle, Moore’s first full recruiting class includes three-stars Carter Smith, Bobby Kanka, and Eli Owns in addition to four-star Nathaniel Marshall.
