Michigan Football: Jim Harbaugh's Staff Is Built to Maximize Recruiting

Jim Harbaugh said that he would hire “the best” assistants to “…carry forward the excellence of the University of Michigan football program.” He has assembled a staff who can not only develop talent but who also have strong ties to the hotbeds of national recruiting.

With a only a few days left before national signing day, incidents like the miscommunication with recruit DaiShon Neal have been rare as his coaches have blanketed the nation to fill Harbaugh's first Michigan recruiting class.

They have been welcomed because in most cases they are already well known to the players they are visiting.

Name	Position	Region of Experience	Level
Jim Harbaugh	Head Coach	California, Midwest	College, Pro
D.J. Durkin	Defensive Coordinator	Florida, Southeast	College
Tim Drevno	Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line	California	College, Pro
Mike Zordich	Defensive Secondary	Midwest	College, Pro
Greg Jackson	Defensive Secondary	California, Southwest	College, Pro
Jay Harbaugh	Offense TE & Special Teams	Northwest, Mid-Atlantic	College, Pro
Tyrone Wheatley	Running Backs	Midwest	College, Pro
Jedd Fisch	Passing Game Coordinator- QBs & Receivers	Florida, Mid-Atlantic	College, Pro
John Baxter	Special Teams	California, Southwest	College
Greg Mattison	Defensive Line	Midwest, Mid-Atlantic	College, Pro

The impact of these relationships will reap dividends in the future.

Compare the geographic recruiting reach of Michigan's coaches with states that have produced the most NFL draft picks over the past three seasons, according to Scout.com.

Rank	State	Number
1	Florida	104
2	California	86
3	Texas	82
4	Georgia	51
5	Ohio	38
6	South Carolina	27
7	Louisiana	25
7	North Carolina	25
9	Alabama	23
10	Virginia	21
11	Pennsylvania	19
12	Illinois	18
12	New Jersey	18
14	Michigan	16
14	Missouri	16

With the exception of Texas, Harbaugh or a member of his staff have strong ties to 10 of 11 of the top states.

At first glance it appeared that Harbaugh simply followed the “friends and family” model used by most coaches, hiring assistants from his previous staffs and filling gaps based on reputation and expertise. For Harbaugh, family included members of the Michigan family (Tyrone Wheatley and Greg Mattison) and his son Jay.

But his staff contains a mix of coaches who have experience at both the collegiate and professional levels, which allows them to evaluate recruits for success at Michigan and beyond.

This is an important factor for recruits. Many coaches can say they have helped develop NFL draft picks, but Harbaugh and his staff have experience on both sides of the NFL pipeline. They can speak firsthand about how NFL coaches evaluate talent.

Michigan's top recruiter is Harbaugh himself. He is credited with taking San Francisco to three consecutive conference championships and one Super Bowl after making Stanford into a national power. His experience as a former college and pro quarterback also gives him a unique perspective when talking to recruits.

In a few short weeks on the recruiting trail, Harbaugh and his assistants have already made a big impression with a number of top recruits.

"

Coach and I #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/6TG5hEpSSi

— Roquan Smith (@RoquanSmith1) January 18, 2015"

"

My dude @JayHarbaugh helping me out at school  he's the best pic.twitter.com/guaegtMdsP

— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) January 22, 2015"

With less than a week to go before national signing day, Harbaugh is making a strong case to his top recruiting targets.

Having already flipped recruits from Texas and Nebraska, he now has his sights set on players who can help him compete for a Big Ten championship. 

Phil Callihan is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations obtained firsthand

Follow @PCallihan