The new Michigan football team has the defending champions looking for new players

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan’s new football staff has taken the initiative to recruit new players from the reigning national champions.

Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines were essentially forced to start from scratch this offseason when Jim Harbaugh and several other coaches left for the NFL.

📄 REWIND: Michigan proved everyone wrong and capped its magical 3-year run with the national title

Kirk Campbell, Ron Bellamy and Grant Newsome were promoted from last year’s team, but the rest of the group that helped lead Michigan to three consecutive Big Ten championships and a 40-3 record since 2020 has moved on for various reasons.

• Head coach Jim Harbaugh moved to the Los Angeles Chargers.

• Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter moved to the Los Angeles Chargers.

• Co-Defensive Coordinator Steve Clinkscale moved to the Los Angeles Chargers.

• Strength coach Ben Herbert moved to the Los Angeles Chargers.

• Defensive line coach Mike Elston moved to the Los Angeles Chargers.

• Running back coach Mike Hart has left for unspecified reasons.

• Safety coach Jay Harbaugh moved to the Seattle Seahawks.

• Linebackers coach Chris Partridge was fired towards the end of the 2023 season.

Harbaugh’s departure did not become official until late January, and the domino effect that followed lasted for several weeks.

Then Greg Scruggs, Moore’s first defensive line candidate, resigned in March after being arrested for drunk driving.

Therefore, the entire coaching staff only came together when he was replaced at the end of March. Here is the full timeline:

• January 29: Justin Tress named strength coach.

• February 2: Kirk Campbell is promoted to offensive coordinator (was quarterback coach).

• February 2: Grant Newsome is promoted to offensive line coach (was previously tight ends coach).

• February 2: JB Brown is promoted to special teams coordinator (was previously special teams analyst).

• February 10: Steve Casula named tight ends coach.

• February 15: Ron Bellamy remains as wide receivers coach and is promoted to pass game coordinator.

• March 8: Wink Martindale is named defensive coordinator.

• March 8: LaMar Morgan named defensive backs coach.

• March 8: Brian Jean-Mary named linebackers coach.

• March 13: Tony Alford named running backs coach.

• March 29: Lou Esposito is named defensive line coach.

Meanwhile, many mocked the Wolverines for failing to translate their on-field success into recruiting momentum. There’s no denying that Harbaugh’s annual fling with the pros made it difficult to capitalize on the recruiting circuit.

Here are the only players committed to Michigan’s class of 2025 when Moore finalized his staff (with 247 Sports Composite rankings):

• Four-star quarterback Carter Smith (No. 159).

• Four-star defensive lineman Bobby Kanka (No. 390 overall).

• Four-star tight end Eli Owens (No. 414).

Only two other players were added in April and May: four-star defensive lineman Nathaniel Marshall (No. 46) and four-star offensive tackle Avery Gach (No. 249).

But in the past month, Michigan’s class of 10 new players has signed and moved up to 11th in the country. Based on average player rating, Michigan’s class is the eighth-best.

Suddenly the group is on par with the classes that contributed to Michigan’s national championship: 22nd in 2018, 8th in 2019, 10th in 2020, 13th in 2021, 9th in 2022, 17th in 2023 and 16th in 2024.

Here’s a look at the new recruits who have committed to Michigan since a month ago:

• June 10: Four-star defensive lineman Jaylen Williams (No. 225).

• June 14: Four-star safety Kainoa Winston (No. 91).

• June 15: Four-star running back Jasper Parker (No. 302).

• June 23: Three-star offensive lineman Kaden Strayhorn (No. 445).

• June 23: Four-star running back Donovan Johnson (No. 318).

• June 24: Three-star linebacker Chase Taylor (No. 597).

• June 24: Four-star wide receiver Jacob Washington (No. 261).

• June 29: Four-star edge rusher Julius Holly (No. 300).

• July 8: Four-star safety Ivan Taylor (No. 54).

• July 8: Four-star tight end Andrew Olesh (No. 118).

Monday was the climax of that streak. Moore not only took the second-best player in Michigan’s class from rival Notre Dame, he also beat out teams like Alabama and the in-state Nittany Lions to secure a top-five tight end.

📄 MORE: Michigan establishes itself as a top-5 program in this era of college football

It will be difficult for Moore to reach the standard set by Harbaugh, who took over a program in shambles and brought it to the pinnacle. But Moore has already proven he can win big games as a coach (he went 4-0 as head coach in 2023, including wins over Penn State and Ohio State), and now he’s showing he can assemble a staff and recruit new recruits, too.

No one knows for sure if Moore will be successful at Michigan, but he is off to a very strong start.

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