Rashan Gary Would Give Jim Harbaugh Much-Needed Signature Recruit at Michigan

With a top-five class all but guaranteed, Michigan has already called for a celebratory atmosphere to follow the culmination of Jim Harbaugh's first full recruiting cycle in Ann Arbor.

There will be Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, wrestling legend Ric Flair and hip-hop trio Migos among other headline-worthy acts at an unprecedented "Signing Day with the Stars" event presented by the Players' Tribune. After having spent the past year dominating the headlines on the recruiting trail, Harbaugh has done everything he can to ensure that trend won't change come signing day.

But while Michigan will undoubtedly be the center of the college football world on Wednesday, a sense of uncertainty will hang over Ann Arbor until 1 p.m. That's when the nation's No. 1 overall recruit, 5-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary, will announce where he'll be spending his college career.

Should the Paramus, New Jersey, product choose the Wolverines as 247Sports' Crystal Ball projections currently predict him to do, it wouldn't just be the cherry on top of Michigan's signing day sundae—it'd be a whole other sundae to celebrate.

But if Gary chooses his other finalist, Clemson, as reported by Scout.com's Brian Dohn, an unprecedented signing day celebration could soon turn sour with many wondering what went wrong for the Wolverines.

While the merits of Michigan's 2016 class will stand with or without the presence of Gary, the addition of the 6'5", 293-pounder would solidify Harbaugh's status as one of college football's elite recruiters. The second-year Wolverines head coach already inked his quarterback of the future and took away one of Ohio State's prized prospects, but Gary would serve as his signature signing and first 5-star addition since arriving in Ann Arbor 13 months ago.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Dating back to the recruiting rankings boom in the early 2000s, each class has possessed at least one marquee player. And it's not a coincidence that each successful head coaching tenure in the past 15 years can usually be marked by the acquisition of such a prospect.

In 2002, Mack Brown boosted his resume by inking the nation's No. 1 player, 5-star quarterback Vince Young. That same year, Ohio State's Jim Tressel jumpstarted the Buckeyes' run to the national title with the signing of Maurice Clarett.

In 2003, USC's Pete Carroll signed a 5-star running back named Reggie Bush. And a year later, Bob Stoops' stay in Norman was solidified thanks to Adrian Peterson.

Urban Meyer inked Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow to the same class at Florida in 2006, one year before Les Miles signed Terrence Toliver at LSU and two years before Nick Saban landed 5-star wideout Julio Jones in Tuscaloosa. 

The examples continued into the 2010s, be it Jimbo Fisher signing Lamarcus Joyner at Florida State in 2010 or Meyer announcing his arrival at Ohio State with the addition of 5-star defensive end Noah Spence in 2012. Even as recently as 2014, it wasn't until Mark Dantonio signed 5-star defensive end Malik McDowell or Dabo Swinney inked Deshaun Watson that Michigan State and Clemson were considered college football heavyweights on the recruiting trail.

For Harbaugh, landing Gary would do that and then some and could hand Michigan the nation's No. 1 class as it crosses the finish line that is signing day. As currently constituted, the Wolverines' 2016 haul ranks sixth nationally, providing strong cornerstones like 4-star signal-caller Brandon Peters and former Ohio State commit and 4-star running back Kareem Walker for Harbaugh to build on.

The addition of Gary, however, would take Michigan's class to the next level. The nation's top-ranked player isn't just the type of prospect capable of becoming an instant impact performer, but also the kind of player who could one day become a No. 1 overall draft pick and become a sales pitch of his own to future Wolverines targets.

"We’re going to bring the finest student-athletes and character that we can to the University of Michigan," Harbaugh said last week as he defended his recruiting practices, unable to speak publicly about unsigned prospects. "That process continues for the next three to four days."

Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

But for all the benefits that Gary, who recorded 13.5 sacks in his senior season of high school, would bring to Michigan, beating out Clemson for him could prove to be just as important for the Wolverines.

Having hired Gary's original high school coach Chris Partridge, first as director of player personnel before promoting him to linebackers coach this offseason, Harbaugh gave himself an inside track to 2016's top prospect more than a year ago. By the start of the 2015 season, Michigan was considered the favorite to land Gary over Alabama and Auburn as Partridge helped the Wolverines forge a pipeline into the Garden State.

But while a Gary pledge to Michigan seemed just like a formality a mere month ago, a late surge from Clemson has induced newfound drama into the final days of his recruitment. After taking a weekend visit to Clemson, Gary's mother, Jennifer Coney, told Dohn that her son's decision was truly up in the air.

"As it stands right now, if signing day was [Tuesday], Rashan would go on and say he hasn't decided yet," Coney said.

Pulling a move out of the Harbaugh playbook, the Tigers staff presented Coney with a birthday cake during her son's visit, which soon went viral across social media.

Should Clemson win out in the battle for Gary, it'd be hard to feel like Michigan didn't lose some momentum heading into signing day—no matter how impressive the Wolverines' 2016 class is otherwise.

But if Harbaugh comes through with his first signature prospect since arriving in Ann Arbor, the biggest signing day celebration in the country will somehow get even bigger.

Will Michigan's festivities on Wednesday feel authentic or artificial?

At this point, only Gary appears to know.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.