We already knew that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was more popular with the public than Alabama coach Nick Saban. And we now know Harbaugh is more popular than Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.
Donovan Jeter, a four-star recruit from Pennsylvania, recently backed out of his verbal commitment to the Fighting Irish and opted to go play for Harbaugh and the Wolverines. As we found out, Jeter chose Harbaugh because he liked his personality more than Kelly’s.
Here’s exactly what Jeter said, and it is so classic Harbaugh.
“(Harbaugh) doesn’t act like he’s important,” Jeter said. “He’s real down to earth and humble. He’s easy to talk to. Talking to Brian Kelly wasn’t fun. It wasn’t cool. You have to make an appointment just to go to his office. Coach Harbaugh has an open-door policy. Every one of Michigan’s coaches has an open-door policy.”
“He picked us up in a van to take us back to the hotel,” Jeter said. “What other head coach would come and pick up recruits at midnight in a van?”
As I said, this wasn’t as surprising as you thought it might be. Harbaugh has so many different ways of appealing to recruits, like bringing in Ric Flair and climbing into trees.
Aside from Harbaugh once again showing his mastery as a recruiter, it is another bad sign for Kelly. At 2-5, he is already facing heat in South Bend. If his personality starts turning off recruits, it’s hard to see Kelly making it too much longer.
