A few months ago, the Michigan Wolverines were flying high, beating the archrival Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time in 10 years, winning their first Big Ten Championship since 2004, and making their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.
Unfortunately for Michigan, it’s been pretty much all downhill since then. The Wolverines were blown out by the Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl and lost both coordinators to different jobs while head coach Jim Harbaugh kept Michigan on the hook for about two months as he solicited himself to several NFL teams before ultimately returning when he wasn’t offered a position.
Now, the Wolverines are having all sorts of trouble on the recruiting trail. Michigan’s 2023 recruiting class is ranked just No. 48 in the 247Sports composite team rankings, behind teams like the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the Illinois Fighting Illini and the SMU Mustangs.
Michigan doesn’t currently hold a commitment from a single player ranked in the top 200 of the 247Sports composite player rankings, and has now missed out on two elite quarterbacks from the state of Michigan.
Five-star in-state quarterback C.J. Carr – the son of legendary Michigan coach Lloyd Carr – spurned the Wolverines last month when he committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish over his father’s former team. Then on Friday, the Wolverines’ recruiting woes got even worse when Dante Moore, a five-star quarterback from Detroit, committed to the Oregon Ducks instead of Michigan.
Things are not going well for Harbaugh and the Wolverines, and the college football world has taken notice.
Losing out on both Moore and Carr is a rough look. Just is. https://t.co/gO8v0jx4uh
— Anthony Broome (@anthonytbroome) July 8, 2022
#Michigan had been after Moore for years. Jim Harbaugh offered him a scholarship as a seventh grader. https://t.co/bG37UR4sPX
— Aaron McMann | MLive.com (@AaronMcMann) July 8, 2022
When Jim Harbaugh interviewed for an NFL job on signing day, I said it would have a massive, negative, trickle-down effect on UM.
Fast-forward a few months, and two five-star QB's from Michigan, have decided to go to other schools.
Not a very good few weeks for Harbaugh https://t.co/dTCDNjox0i
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) July 8, 2022
There was one thing Michigan football *couldn't* do coming off a Big Ten championship, and that was whiff on BOTH Dante Moore and CJ Carr. Big yikes.
— Derick Hutchinson (@Derick_Hutch) July 8, 2022
Five-star Dante Moore was the only QB Michigan offered in the 2023 class. It was a bold strategy by Jim Harbaugh that didn’t work out, as Moore is now committed to Oregon.
So what do the Wolverines do now moving forward? @von_lozon has more: https://t.co/3cCrIjQitn
— Maize n Brew (@MaizenBrew) July 8, 2022
It’s official: Dante Moore chooses Oregon over #Michigan and his other offers. He’s the second 5-star QB from U-M’s backyard to commit elsewhere in the last few weeks. That’s a tough look for Matt Weiss and especially Jim Harbaugh, who had recruited Moore since middle school. https://t.co/WQulna8RAC
— Michael Cohen (@Michael_Cohen13) July 8, 2022
The Wolverines did land a commitment from four-star defensive end Collins Acheampong on Friday afternoon, but that hardly takes away the sting of missing out on Moore.
