As the college football world continues to change in the era of the transfer portal and NIL, Michigan is a beacon of hope for programs that aren’t able to land top high school talent each winter. A breakdown of the Wolverines’ roster puts the new era in perspective.
Now, before we go any further, it is important to note that Jim Harbaugh’s team was a significant benefactor from the blanket waiver granted to all athletes during the 2020 season. There were (maybe more than) a few fifth- and sixth-year seniors who played significant roles in the national championship run. The whole sign-stealing thing may or may not have had an impact as well, we don’t really know…
Michigan also featured 13 transfer from four-year schools, including key starters like Josiah Stewart, Ernest Hausmann, Drake Nugent, Myles Hinton, and LaDarius Henderson. All nine of the most recent offseason additions played a big role in the unbeaten run.
But that’s how things are done these days!
Gone are the days during which
As Joel Klatt pointed out again on Tuesday morning, the Wolverines had an average recruiting class ranked outside of the top-10 in each of the last four years. 247Sports ranked their ‘talent composition’ at No. 14 in the country this season.
That makes Michigan a significant outlier in recent history. Every national champion since 2015 has ranked in the top nine in terms of ‘talent composition.’
- Alabama, 2015 — 1st
- Clemson, 2016 — 9th
- Alabama, 2017 — 1st
- Clemson, 2018 — 6th
- LSU, 2019 — 5th
- Alabama, 2020 — 2nd
- Georgia, 2021 — 2nd
- Georgia, 2022 — 2nd
Of the 85 scholarship players on the roster of the 2023 college football national champions, only two of them were five-star recruits. The Wolverines had 45 four-stars and 38 three-stars.
Harbaugh and his staff built his roster in a variety of different ways. A lot of different factors, including schedule and health, went into the national title win.
But this all goes to say that in the modern era of college football — there are multiple ways to win!