Kinda like Signing of the Stars but none of us hung on as a bad middle infielder for way too long [photo: Bryan Fuller]

In our annual rite we pose the standard boring questions about the lately received class to our panel of writers, who by nature of being asked questions may appear like experts. One of us might even be one. The lineup:

• Brian: Not a real journalist.
• Ace: Chief enunciator, lead reporter, recruiting/basketball guy.
• Seth: Associate editor/site business guy
• BiSB, esquire. A lawyer who occasionally does lawyer work at his attorney job.
• Adam Schnepp: Press correspondent (Heiko's old job) and hockey guy.
• Dave Nasternak: J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Lead Backend Logistics Strategist and Associate Vice President of Signs Holding Up Of.

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Best recruit other than Gary?

Brian: Give me ​David Long​. Long's a legit six-foot corner ranked in the top 100 everywhere. Originally he was thought of as a wide receiver recruit but everyone flipped him to defense after he tore up camps with a combination of acceleration, size, agility, and smarts. He's handsy, he's going to excel at the press coverage Michigan will continue to use, and he is A+ off the field. If you're asking me who other than Gary is the most likely to go in the first round of the draft I'll ride with Long.

Harbaugh can pick ‘em. [Bryan Fuller]

Ace: I’ll take ​Brandon Peters​. I had the chance to watch him in two full games this past season—one in person, one on TV—and in both he excelled against high-level competition. Peters has a live, accurate arm, enough athleticism to break the pocket and make plays on the run, and an advanced understanding of how to put touch on the ball to get his receiver in the best possible position to make a big play. Given he enrolled early, I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a push for the starting job, and even if John O’Korn wins it this year (which I expect), Peters should give him a serious run in 2017 before he’s the odds-on favorite to win the job in 2018.

Seth: I'm with Ace on Peters. As long as the physical tools are good enough rating a QB is about how well he sees the game, and he sees it very very well.

Adam: I'm going with ​Ben Bredeson​. I wholeheartedly endorse his billing as Mason Cole 2.0, but versatility doesn't make you the best recruit in the class outside of one of nature's anomalies. Bredeson looks like he's zone blocking on every play because of how quickly he hits the second level; when I realized there was actually a sniveling defensive lineman across from Bredeson that he had just taken for a ride I was sold.

BiSB: Peters​. His tape is just throw after throw that isn’t just a good ball, but is also the right kind of ball. I described it at one point as the “lollipop, lollipop, MURDERDEATHLASER” approach; he is extremely adept at putting touch on the ball (which is the right play when playing with high school receivers), but can fire bullets when need be. He’s mobile, and he can move around the pocket. The only real question is how he will adapt to life under center, and as an early enrollee he can probably figure that out. I’m really, really excited to see what Harbaugh can do with him.

[After the JUMP: things we will unwrap sooner and later, and Ace and Seth turn Name of the Year into an argument because that’s how we ‘geddon around here.]

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Most important other than Gary?

Brian: After the Hamilton decommit it has to be ​Ben Bredeson​. Michigan is light on numbers on the OL and needs their guys to come through; Bredeson is the guy they need to come through most thanks to his ability. Bredeson is Mason Cole 2.0, a versatile offensive lineman who could slot in anywhere across the line.

Imagine Delano Hill’s head on Jourdan Lewis’s body except it’s 3 years younger and looks 40 years younger. [Upchurch]

Ideally, he's a guard. In Michigan's situation he might have to kick out to right tackle eventually. Either way Michigan has to throw someone new and young into the mix in 2017 and Bredeson is clearly the guy most likely to be ready by then; his importance will only grow the following year when Cole graduates.

Ace: With Mike McCray’s status still somewhat in doubt and Ben Gedeon not exactly looking like a world-beater anyway, it’d be huge if ​Devin Bush Jr. ​is good enough to lock down a starting job right away at inside linebacker. While he’s undersized, that hasn’t been a problem for Don Brown in the past, and playing behind a monster D-line he should be free to utilize his quickness and nose for the football. If Bush and Elysee Mbem-Bosse aren’t ready to play in year one, the linebacker depth chart gets scary in a hurry.

Seth: While MLB is the immediate need, both of the cornerbacks David Long and Lavert Hill are going to look like the obvious choice in 2017 when half the depth chart graduates and Peppers probably moves on too. Remember when Michigan went into 2007 figuring Chris Richards and Johnny Sears were gonna be fine? Yes, if you were alive then. Let's not go back to that. #NEVERFORGET

Adam: It's either ​David Long​ or ​Lavert Hill​. I can't justify picking one over the other because both are great in press coverage and should be the starters at field and boundary in 2017. With Jourdan Lewis, Channing Stribling, and Jeremy Clark all graduating after 2016, both will need what the skills they showed in high school to translate quickly.

BiSB: ​Bredeson,​ for the reasons Brian gave. A versatile, quality lineman in a class that badly needed such a thing.

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Best gift to unwrap in three years?

Brian: I'll stick with the offensive line here and go with ​Michael Onwenu​. Onwenu is unique prospect, and one who is right up Harbaugh's alley. He's a guard who can probably play at 330 or 340. He is unmovable even by guys like Jordan Elliott; he moves others. In a Harbaugh offense that is invaluable. Add in the possibility Onwenu moonlights as a planetoid nose tackle on short yardage--a possibility Harbaugh has broached to him--and he's the guy I'm most curious to see develop over the next few years.

Is Ahmir a receiver? Or can we teach him how to make offense unwatchable for opponents? [Fuller]

BiSB: I think ​Nick Eubanks​ follows the Skillet-Hands Protocol: a redshirt year, a year as an understudy, and then a year as a sower of death and destruction unlike that seen since the Gronk Wars. He needs to add about 30-40 pounds, but you can see the athleticism and the mean streak on film.

Ace: Josh Uche​ is currently a man without a position—he’s a DE by trade and a pass-rusher first and foremost, but he only weighs 212 pounds. If he can pack on the pounds while maintaining his considerable athleticism, however, he could turn into a special pass-rusher; he’s got that bend around the corner that’s tough to find at any level.

Seth: Ideally Ahmir Mitchell would spend 2016-'17 on a Himalayan peak under the cruel tutelage of Ben Stein in preparation for a life of smothering excitement, deterring commotion, and sowing serenity across the hashmarked plains.

Adam: I doubt you'll be able to keep him off the field for three years, but if I have to pick a guy who will at least redshirt it's ​Nick Eubanks​. He's already a red zone nightmare at 6'5" but is on the slender side; if he can bulk up enough to block while maintaining his speed and athleticism he'll be a great fit for the Harbaughfense.

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Best name (nationally)?

Brian: Bruh he's in the class. ​Eddie McDoom.

Ace: With McDoom off the board, I’ll go with Auburn OT signee ​Brodarious Hamm, whose name I instinctively say in my best Keith Jackson voice. Try it. It’s delightful.

Seth: You guys are picking names that just sound good but what about utility? Think what Harbaugh could rend with a tight end named Dakota Holtzclaw?

Artist (Patrick Vint)’s rendition based on eyewitness accounts

1. He's the size of a DAKOTA! Have you ever driven across a Dakota? I have. They're huge, and flat and miserably same for miles and miles and miles. There isn't a DE in the country who could get around a Dakota if it tries to pass block, or stop one if it blocks downfield. It's literally larger than some tectonic plates.

2. Holtz. Is it blocking? Is it going out in a pattern? What is it even saying? How is it still alive? How is Notre Dame still alive? Oh god it's like Freddy Kreuger without his moisturizer, and now it's dancing around with a cowbell! I have to cover this thing?

3. -claw. Oh you thought this foreign oil-dependency-reducing, podium-destroying nightmare was terrifying before? Well he's also running down the seam and stabbing passes out of the lithosphere with actual CLAWS on his hands. Why are you even trying to defend this? Run!

Ace: HOT TAKE: If it takes more than two sentences to explain why a name is great, it is not great. It’s even worse if you have to photoshop a FrankenHoltz. I realize this is an entirely subjective category, but Rowdy Frederick, Dicaprio Bootle, and Jango Glackin are all still on the board.

Seth: Dakota Cru Birdyshaw was also high on my list. The Dakotas are the worst most boring awful states to drive through and somebody needs to call them out on this.

Ace: ROWDY FREDERICK. I rest my case.

Adam: It is ​Jango Glackin​. If you name your kid after a Star Wars character I will pick him every time. (Looking forward to your recruitment Kylo Robertson, c/o 2034.)

BiSB: The Big Ten West did exactly one thing right this cycle: Nebraska landed Oscar nominee DiCaprio Bootle.

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Guy who got away who will haunt you forever?

Adam: It's obviously ​Vicious Vic​. How can you think about a rocket-propelled battering ram that can throw being molded by a guy born to coach rocket-propelled battering rams that can throw and not be sad?

Ace: It’s too soon to talk about ​Vicious Vic. It may never not be too soon, really.

Brian: Yes, Vic, always Vic. To have that guy escape Harbaugh's clutches is miserable fate. In the interest of saying something new, ​Devery Hamilton​ was a major loss at a position of need.

Seth: It sucks that those two are headed to the Bay, but so long as I’m happy with the quarterback and tackle play at Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoons I think I’ll be able to enjoy coming home to watch Vic and Devery tearing up the Pac after dark.

Not so Antwaine Richardson, whom the coaches really liked and Durkin pirated away to [sigh] division rival Maryland. I mentioned above that getting two corners in this class was critical, but Michigan really could have used a third quality guy—they chased Jordan Fuller to the bitter end and came up empty. With just Keith Washington, Freddy Canteen, and Brandon Watson expected to be on the roster a year from now, and CB being a spot where 3-4 guys are going to be on the field regularly, odds are high that we’ll need two 2016s who can start in 2017. Woulda liked to have a third arrow in the quiver; instead we’ll have to face it every year.

BiSB: Obvious Vic is obvious, but I think Isaac Nauta could have been something phenomenal in Harbaugh’s offense. Nauta at Georgia reminds me of Denard under Hoke: an obviously special player whose true potential we will only glimpse because of his surroundings.

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Guy you’re most irrationally enthused about?

Ace: Elysee Mbem-Bosse​ has a great name—I look forward to annoying Brian by interjecting with “BAWSE” at every possible opportunity during podcast tapings—and in addition to that he’s a huge inside linebacker that brings the wood. If he’s capable enough in pass coverage, he should be a heck of a lot of fun to watch as a run-stuffer; I’m envisioning James Ross setting the edge, but with a guy four inches taller and 20 pounds heavier.

Seth: We'd barely heard of Josh Uche before he committed, and once we watched his film I saw a guy doing responsible edge things that Bill O'Brien was cutting dudes from the Texans last summer for not doing.

And Uche just started playing a few years ago so he's picked up how to delay a zone read handoff then shoot up for a TFL in like a year. Irrational because it's hard to gain as much weight as he has to (probably 30 lbs) and keep the agility he uses now to be a highly effective 2nd level slot defender.

The Khaleke Hudson hype is real, so it doesn't count.

Brian: I should point out that I disqualified myself from talking about Khaleke Hudson in the "irrationally enthused" section because I've already made that crystal clear.

The great thing about the bottom half of this class is that it's littered with guys I am pumped about. Uche is a relentless rusher Michigan yoinked from Florida; Mbem-Bosse was snatched from Auburn; Michigan stole McDoom out from Oregon, a team that knows speed.

But my guy is ​Nate Johnson.​ Johnson is a faster, more slippery version of Grant Perry. He was outrageously productive in high school and his highlight reel is littered with tough downfield catches, often followed by jittery steps and spin moves that see him add 10, 15, 20 yards to the end of the play. His size is the only thing holding him back, and guys who have seen him in person think that's not even a thing.

Johnson promises to be the kind of downfield slot receiver who can unlock the quarters coverages damn near everyone is using. He's the guy who runs at a Michigan State safety until he panics and dies and allows Michigan to perform like Baylor and Oregon instead of... uh... Michigan.

BiSB: I know we already did the Khaleke Hudson thing, but Khaleke Hudson. I know calling someone a “poor man’s ______” is usually seen as a backhanded compliment at best, but being a poor man’s Jabrill Peppers is still a hell of a thing. Also, I’m unreasonably high on Ahmir Mitchell as a safety.

Adam: I've been ecstatic about ​Michael Onwenu​'s commitment since I watched him mercy all comers in one-on-one drills at the Sound Mind Sound Body camp. He's over 350 pounds (he couldn't be weighed at the Army Bowl because that's the highest the scale went) and I hope he doesn't lose any of that weight; he's freakishly athletic and strong. (I know I'm not supposed to pick two but hoooo boy is ​Eddie McDoom​'s route running nice.)

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Favorite thing about the class?

Ace: Jim Harbaugh didn’t preoccupy himself with trying to lock down the state or work his way from behind in probably fruitless attempts to establish a presence in Ohio for the 2016 class. Instead, he chose realistic targets—still of very high quality—and got players who fit his style of football. The inroads he’s made in California, Florida, and New Jersey will pay off for years to come, and the Midwest recruiting—especially in-state—should come around in a big way in the 2017 class, too.

Brian: The ​ridiculously strong out of region plan B late surge​. Michigan didn't go foraging for sleeper recruits except in a couple cases. When they felt Jonathan Jones was slipping from their grasp they snatched Uche and Mbem-Bosse out of Florida and Georgia, away from the SEC. When they didn't get Isaac Nauta they grabbed Nate Eubanks, again drinking Florida's milkshake, and Devin Asiasi. Asiasi is in no way a plan B guy, but Michigan was there for him and locked him down.

None of these guys are anywhere near Michigan. The staff did an incredible job to locate and acquire the meaty middle of this class late, in situations that absolutely would not have happened under previous staffs.

Seth: You didn't say other than Gary so WE GOT THE #1 PLAYER IN THE NATION BOO-YAH!

lol Rashan Gary would've done fine at the NFL Combine as a high school juniorhttps://t.co/01tbBnT9P4 pic.twitter.com/uwkkEeoipX

— BOB IN IOWA (@JasonKirkSBN) February 4, 2016

Okay, that and while they could have handled it better, they didn't hold onto anyone they didn't think could play, despite any apparent star ratings.

Adam: Versatility. There are so many guys in this class who can play multiple positions or on both sides of the ball.

BiSB: The athleticism of the wide receiver corps and the secondary.  Also the overall Gary-ness of the class.

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​Least favorite thing about the class?

Ace: The lack of a true tackle. Michigan can get away with this because ​Ben Bredeson​ is basically Mason Cole 2.0, but depth is still thin there, and that puts a lot of pressure on the coaches to land a couple blue-chip tackles in the 2017 class. They’re in good position to do just that, but it’s still something worth monitoring.

Brian: Ace is correct that the lack of a true tackle is the big downer.  Aside from that it's got to be ​not picking up the damn phone.​ Michigan didn't do anything every school does. OSU had a much much worse example just last year when Jamel Dean got medicaled and then immediately transferred to Auburn. Alabama processed a bunch of guys late. MSU yanked a scholarship from Gavin Cupp this summer.

None of those moved the needle like Erik Swenson because Michigan handled that badly. I think they got stuck in a bad situation with a willfully dense family, but the public relations hit there is nil if this happens over the summer. Similarly, the Weaver situation could have been handled better.

Harbaugh admitted they handled things badly and promised to clean it up while maintaining that you always have to work if you're going to be at Michigan, so this should be less of an issue going forward. I still want them to slow their roll on the early commitments from guys they can go get basically whenever.

BiSB: I would have liked to have seen more bodies on the offensive line and at linebacker. I like the guys they got, but quantity has a quality all its own, and this class lacks quantity.
Harbaugh?

Adam: I'm trying to find something that hasn't already been discussed and having a difficult time. Getting a free safety in this class would have been nice; the two-deep is literally two deep, with only Dymonte Thomas and Josh Metellus at the position.

Seth: PICK UP THE DAMN PHONE!

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Harbaugh?

Brian: hates recruiting.

Adam: Finished pouring the foundation at 2:00, started framing the house at 2:30.

BiSB: You know who had the most subdued reaction to Michigan landing the #1 player in the country? That would be Jim Harbaugh.

Here is the @CoachJim4UM reaction to @RashanGary33 news. Could not comment as NLI hadn't been returned. @miketirico pic.twitter.com/UD9m4ldVJE

— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) February 4, 2016

Seth: Wait'll you see him coach football.

Ace: