Ohio State Football: Jim Harbaugh recruiting ‘Ole Miss’ to catch Urban?
Jim Harbaugh pulls out all the stops to defeat Urban Meyer and Ohio State.
In three years as Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh has yet to defeat Ohio State on the football field or Urban Meyer on the recruiting trail. It appears he has now changed tactics in an attempt to do both.
He is recruiting Oxford, Mississippi hard. Not for high school recruits but “Ole Miss” Rebels.
That won’t put his recruiting class ahead of Urban’s, but he could possibly bring in more impact players next season. With graduate transfers, and players who may be granted waivers to play right away because of NCAA sanctions handed down to the University of Mississippi, it could be quite a haul for coach Harbaugh.
And if just one of them transfers to Michigan, it could make ‘The Game’ in Columbus next year very interesting.
That player would be Shea Patterson, the No. 1 ranked Pro Style quarterback in the 2016 recruiting class. He was having a nice season in 2017 before he was injured. Patterson threw for 2,259 yards for 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in only 7 games.
Last season the Wolverine offense was held back because of inconsistent quarterback play. Could Patterson be the guy to fix that problem next year if he’s eligible to play?
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Another “Ole Miss” player who could also help the Michigan passing game is Van Jefferson. The wide receiver has caught 91 passes for 999 yards and 4 touchdowns the last two seasons. Don’t you think Jefferson and Donovan Peoples-Jones would make a good pair of wide receivers for any quarterback to throw to?
According to MLive, Patterson, Jefferson and Deontay Anderson, an outstanding safety, are visiting Michigan this weekend. That’s not a coincidence as it was widely reported coach Harbaugh recently flew to Oxford to meet with “Ole Miss” players. From things I have read, there may be even more Rebels considering moving to that state up north as well.
It’s hard to say if all of the players will be cleared to play in 2018. If not, they will still be very good additions to the Wolverine football program. If they will be eligible, Michigan will certainly be a contender in the Big Ten East Division, and could possibly give Jim Harbaugh his first win over Ohio State.
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The Wolverine head coach has used different tactics to bring players into his program to catch Urban Meyer, the satellite camp world tour, climbing trees etc. Could his new approach be the solution to the problem? Recruit a few college players as well.