Two NFL players from one Columbus suburb in one weekend. [Bryan Fuller]

Inspired by recent events, we thought it'd be a fun idea to relive the cause of my carpal tunnel great recruiting weeks in recent Michigan history. While it's a little early to judge some of these, I took a stab at ranking the best commitment runs in Seth's database, which extends back to the 2002 class (but is missing commit dates for 2003—I don't think this mattered much because, as you'll see, commits didn't used to coordinate like they do now.). The rules:

1. To qualify as a run, at least five players must commit within the span of a week. (I reserve the right to fudge by a day.)
2. Players who decommitted aren't in the database and tracking down their commits dates is a ton of work for rather depressing information, so those guys don't count. It's better this way, trust me.
3. Players across multiple classes count, which got Denard onto this list, so you're welcome.
4. National Signing Day runs had to be of some note to make the list because, in the before times, commits used to drop en masse on NSD. Again, trust me, it's better to omit some of these.

We start with the one you'd expect.

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Taco (#33 in purple) and Butt (between #40 and the ref) stood out among high schoolers. [me]

1. Mid-February 2012: The Greatest Mid-February Weekend

Commits: Jourdan Lewis, Taco Charlton, Jake Butt, Patrick Kugler, Wyatt Shallman, Kyle Bosch, Chris Fox, David Dawson, Logan Tuley-Tillman, Jaron Dukes

Yeah, we have a tag for this one.

The strength is at the top with three early-round NFL draft picks, all of whom were excellent college players. Jake Butt is in the discussion for best tight end in school history; Taco Charlton was a fearsome rusher on one of the best D-lines in school history; Jourdan Lewis was the best player of the three in college. Those three take this group to the top.

While it's hard to ask for more than the above out of one recruiting weekend, the rest didn't exactly pan out as hoped. Only Patrick Kugler exhausted his eligibility at Michigan among the five O-linemen, and he was never able to seize the center position and excel as most everyone expected. Wyatt Shallman will always be beloved around these parts for his brief wallaby ownership and other wonderful off-field stuff, but injuries and positional uncertainty marked his football career in Ann Arbor before he grad-transferred to Ohio.

Still, three All-American-level players in one weekend is a heck of a haul. The benefits of landing Lewis, who's still a staple in Detroit and is close with Lavert Hill, are still showing themselves.

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the list, which includes a healthy chunk of this year's team.]

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Hudson and Long have already made major impacts. [Eric Upchurch]

2. Late January 2016: The Close Before The Close

Commits: David Long, Khaleke Hudson, Mike Dwumfour, Eddie McDoom, Nick Eubanks, Stephen Spanellis, Josh Uche, Elysee Mbem-Bosse

David Long and Khaleke Hudson could be ticketed for the NFL sooner rather than later, and if another player here joins them, the bottom of this group could be enough to eventually get them atop this list.

The depth here is key. Mike Dwumfour is the subject of difficult-to-ignore levels of practice hype as he prepares to step in for Mo Hurst. Eddie McDoom and Stephen Spanellis have already made their impact felt in niche roles; Spanellis could very well start this year. Nick Eubanks looked very promising as a downfield receiving threat at tight end before a concussion ended his redshirt freshman season early. Only one player, Elysee Mbem-Bosse, has departed the program.

This set already has a decent hit rate and it could get markedly better over the next couple years.

The Signing Day group from this class—Rashan Gary, Lavert Hill, Quinn Nordin, and (sigh) Devin Asiasi—would hold the #2 spot if they had one more member. Alas, arbitrary rules are arbitrary rules.

The one and only. [Upchurch]

3. Signing Day 2009: Denard, QWASH, and The Heroin-Laced Carrot

Commits: Denard Robinson, Quinton Washington, Adrian Witty, Je'Ron Stokes, Jerald Robinson (2010)

Sometimes it just takes one. Quinton Washington is the #2 contributor on this list for being an underrated nose tackle whose career ended on a bizarrely quiet note. The two receivers, Stokes and Robinson, didn't last long—Robinson at least provided us with a hilarious VIGILANTE PARKING JUSTICE arrest before his departure.

You could argue Adrian Witty should actually be the #2 recruit here even though he never made it to campus. Witty may have been a two-star corner with academic question marks, but he was also Denard Robinson's teammate; as Brian described it at the time, he was the "heroin-laced carrot" Michigan used to lure Denard into the fold.

Denard, meanwhile, was Denard, and that's the most important thing here.

4. June 2018: A Bit of Everything

Commits: Mazi Smith, Zach Charbonnet, George Johnson III, Erick All, DJ Turner, Joey Velazquez, Andre Seldon (2020), Kalil Branham (2020)

I can't put this most recent cadre of commits above Denard... yet. I don't expect that to be the case when it's all said and done. Zach Charbonnet looks like an elite college running back with an NFL future, and his rankings should soon reflect that. Mazi Smith has similarly massive potential at DT. DJ Turner has offers that outstrip his rankings. All, Johnson, and Velazquez are all intriguing niche prospects who fit the program well.

The young bucks shouldn't be overlooked, either. Branham is an absolute burner with a really solid frame for a potential slot weapon or outside receiver. Seldon is the next Jermain Crowell-coached corner in the Lewis/Hill mold. Their development should be fun to watch.

5. Signing Day 2008: Irish Killers

Commits: Patrick Omameh, Roy Roundtree, Martavious Odoms, Ricky Barnum, Terrence Robinson, Justin Feagin

Rich Rodriguez raided Florida for a healthy portion of his first full class. Pahokee native Tae Odoms instantly led the team in receiving as a freshman, and while he topped out there statistically, he was a valuable contributor. Ricky Barnum was expected to be a Gator before M swooped in; he'd start 16 games in Ann Arbor. Justin Feagin was a stab at a much-needed dual-threat QB; he, uh, didn't work out.

This class got a boost from some surprising sources. Patrick Omameh was a complete unknown two-star DE who donkeyed Manti Te'o on one of the legendary plays of an otherwise dark era; he now has 45 NFL starts under his belt. Roy Roundtree got snake oiled away from Purdue before also turning in one of the most notable plays in M-ND history.

Terrence Robinson had a long catch against UConn in Denard's first start. Otherwise, he didn't meet our Dream Shake expectations.

Higdon is charging towards the NFL. [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

6. Signing Day 2015: Hitting On (Some) Fliers

Commits: Karan Higdon, Grant Perry, Tyrone Wheatley Jr., Keith Washington, Shelton Johnson

Another group that could slide a spot up the list even though two of the five (Washington and Johnson) aren't with the team anymore. Karan Higdon emerged last year as a potential all-conference tailback and enters this year looking NFL-level Hulked up. When not suspended and on the receiving end of catchable passes, Grant Perry has been the team's most reliable pass-catcher and chain-mover of late. TJ Wheatley hasn't consistently lived up to this site's lofty expectations yet but still has time to put it all together.

7. Late July/Early August 2017: DoomSquirrel 2.0 and the foundation of 2019

Commits: Cameron McGrone, Sammy Faustin, Chris Hinton (2019), Nolan Rumler (2019), Stephen Herron (2019)

None of these guys have played a down yet, but I get the sense we'll remember this as a very notable haul. Cam McGrone looks capable of stepping right into Devin Bush's shoes whenever the latter takes his game to the league, Sammy Faustin is a Don Brown Guy, and the 2019 group—if it holds—contains three top-100 talents, including a five-star lineman in Chris Hinton who's likely to help Michigan's cause in landing five-star 2020 OT Myles Hinton, his younger brother.

Last. Late January 2011: Maybe Ignore This One

Commits: Matt Wile, Raymon Taylor, Keith Heitzman, Russell Bellomy, Chris Bryant, Tamani Carter, Antonio Poole

A solid punter, a decent starting corner, and... let's stop talking about it.