During a Big Ten teleconference on Wednesday, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about which states are most important in terms of his recruiting territory. Contrary to the expectation of him maybe talking up the Wolverines’ home state of Michigan or other states in Big Ten country, Harbaugh took a more patriotic approach with his answer.
Jim Harbaugh’s favorite recruiting territory? The entire U.S.A., baby
MERICA.
Now, Harbaugh may actually believe this in terms of his recruiting tactics, but there is some data that shows talent consistently comes from certain states. For example, from 2000 to 2017, more top-15 players are from three states — Florida, Texas, and California — than anywhere else.
Harbaugh’s classes don’t really show a preference to certain states too much. When looking at Harbaugh’s 2017 class, eight of the 30 total signees were from the state of Michigan. Another four came from Connecticut, and three from Ohio. Iowa, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and New Mexico, and a few others were all represented, too. Harbaugh’s 2016 class also included a mixed bag of states where his signees were from.
The Wolverines head coach’s recruiting tactics in the past, specifically his series of satellite camps across the country, were met with a lot of criticism, from the NCAA, as well as the ACC and SEC. Satellite camps were banned last April before the NCAA changed its mind on the decision weeks later. Teams are also still allowed to have traveling spring break practices up until this summer. Before this deadline, Harbaugh’s giving his program one last hurrah — taking them to Rome this month over spring break for practice, as well as some sightseeing.
We’ll see if Harbaugh extends his recruiting net overseas on this trip.
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