247 Sports: Oral history of Najee Harris recruitment

Submitted by Magnus on January 7th, 2021 at 7:21 PM

I'm sure a bunch of you have seen this already, but 247 posted an article on Najee Harris in which Steve Lorenz and Sam Webb are quoted about his recruitment. I know some people have doubted over the years whether he was ever that serious about Michigan, and I know I've reiterated over and over again that Michigan had reason to believe he was coming.

Well, I'll let you read about it at the link, but Harris applied to the school, applied for housing, and had a roommate lined up at Michigan:

LINK

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KentuckianaWolverine

January 7th, 2021 at 7:39 PM ^

That tells me that the program, that the narrative drivers continue to say "can't recruit", can indeed recruit.  Not much more you can do, in recruiting, than getting a kid so interested that he filled out the paperwork.  The Alabama draw just ended up too much. Almost got Najee Harris, then turned around and got Rashan Gary.  ?‍♂️

Joined: 03/17/2016

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MJ14

January 7th, 2021 at 7:46 PM ^

Tosh Lupoi under investigation for paying player at Washington. USC won’t allow him to be hired. 
 

Wherever Lupoi goes, controversy follows.

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington has reported a secondary NCAA rules violation involving assistant football coach Tosh Lupoi and confirmed sanctions imposed on Lupoi by the school.

https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/alabama-assistant-coach-resigns-amid-cloud-of-recruiting-violations

Look nothing solid has ever been said about Tosh as far as payment goes. But there is a reason he left Alabama as a defensive coordinator to be just a d line coach on an NFL team. I can assure you it has a lot more to do with him doing things he shouldn’t have done while at each stop. Even USC wouldn’t hire him because of his shady stuff. I say this to say it’s no surprise that he was able to convince Najee to stick with Bama even when Najee actually wanted to come to UM. Take that for what it’s worth. You can say I’m saying Michigan just lost because one side offered money while the other didn’t. I’m not saying that, but my point is any time Tosh was involved you can assume it wasn’t ever an even recruiting battle for other sides. 

Joined: 01/09/2011

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lilpenny1316

January 7th, 2021 at 8:22 PM ^

I wonder if we get him if Dylan was his roommate that week instead of Tua.

I also wonder if we get him if JT was ruled short.

This article does not have me in a happy place.

Joined: 11/19/2009

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MGoStrength

January 7th, 2021 at 8:35 PM ^

It sure would have been nice to have him, but he made a good decision.  It would taken a lot more than Najee to save this year.  We were just fine at the RB position.  What would have been nice is Solomon, Sims, & McCaffrey sticking around and living up to their recruiting profiles, not having any opt outs, the ends of our lines staying a little healthy, and maybe even Ruiz coming back for his senior year.  The joy of "what if" being a UM fan.  That would still probably be a second place team, but more 2018 and less 2020.

Joined: 07/29/2010

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SMart WolveFan

January 7th, 2021 at 10:25 PM ^

Thanks Magnus.

Quick review:

Jay Harbaugh offered him first (not mentioned in article)

BBQ at BigHouse hanging with the other players is what put UofM solidly in his top2.

Satellite Camp at his high school was a big part of his recruitment.

Moms was impressed with the official visit.

Had tickets to three different destinations from San Antonio (All-American Bowl) one was Michigan

Hanging with Tua and bama commits at AA keep him (committed 4/18/15, 20 months earlier!)

Would have had no problem sharing carries:

FR:

SO:

But this destroys too many narratives for the haters they must "look away"

(and think to themselves, "damn I don't know shit".)

Joined: 04/20/2015

MGoPoints: 14700

lilpenny1316

January 7th, 2021 at 11:02 PM ^

Najee said one of the pitches Saban made was that he would share the load and not put as much strain on his body, knowing RB's have shorter NFL careers. He's been sharing the load until this season and his body is better for it.

That's actually a smart recruiting pitch. Share the load for a couple years, and once you're draft eligible, you'll take a lead role. I thought that was the idea with Charbonnet considering his injury history, but maybe I'm wrong.

Joined: 11/19/2009

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FrankMurphy

January 7th, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^

Eh, he made the right decision. Saban has built a well-oiled machine at 'Bama. They're the Amazon of college athletics programs (which makes Michigan... I don't know... Sears?). They churn out championships and NFL draft picks like Amazon delivers packages.

In all seriousness, I sympathize with the kid. At the end of the day, he was a 17 year old kid making a decision about where to attend college. The recruiting process, with social media and the rise of an entire industry dedicated to covering recruiting, has been turned into quite the spectacle. A lot of kids relish their time in the limelight and have fun with the process, and there's nothing wrong with that. But Najee was one of the kids who wanted no part of the spectacle, and unfortunately, there was no way and clean way for him to opt out of it and get everyone to just leave him alone.

Joined: 08/19/2008

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