5-Star Tedarrell Slaton Breaks Down Recruitment, Talks Bond with Jim Harbaugh

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — It’s no secret that Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has made the talent-rich state of Florida a top priority in the Wolverines’ recruiting efforts.

One player he has targeted in the 2017 cycle is 5-star offensive lineman Tedarrell Slaton from American Heritage High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The 6’4 ½”, 338-pounder, who rates as the nation’s No. 6 offensive tackle and the No. 22 player overall in the 2017 class, admits that the Wolverines are the school coming after him the hardest.

“I want to say Michigan,” Slaton told Bleacher Report. “I talked to Coach Harbaugh last night on Twitter. It was good. We talked about me getting back up there to get the full experience.”

Slaton said there’s something about Harbaugh and his approach that makes him feel very comfortable with the direction the Wolverines program is headed.

“[Harbaugh is] a nice dude. I like him. His demeanor sets him apart with a lot of things. He says a lot with his body language. He’s just a fun guy to talk to,” Slaton said.

With the spring and summer months usually earmarked as times to take visits, Slaton and his teammates at American Heritage figure to have a busy schedule.

First up will be a bus tour Slaton and his teammates take to a number of different schools—although when and where they visit is still to be determined.

“We have this big college tour coming up where our offensive coordinator [at AHHS] takes most of our OL and some of our skill players and we drive and visit different colleges,” Slaton explained. I have no idea [which schools we are visiting yet].”

However, there are a handful of schools he hopes to get to before his senior season begins with the Patriots.

“I want to visit Alabama and Ole Miss. I want to go back to Michigan so that I can get the full tour compared to what I had last time. I want to go see Virginia Tech,” he said.

In-state powers Florida, Florida State and Miami also figure to be in the mix with Slaton in the coming months.

While he doesn’t have a timeline in mind for making a decision, Slaton has one clear thing he’s looking for in a program he eventually commits to. 

“I want to see how the coaching staff brings me in. I just want to see the way they process things and handle certain situations,” Slaton said. "Here, my coaches [at American Heritage], they handle things a different way. They handle each kid differently. They never do the same thing with different kids. When its game time, they stay calm. They know how to approach things in a way that relates to the entire team.

"That’s what I’m looking for at the next level.”

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand and all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.