Michigan Football Recruiting: National Signing Day Wish List a Month Out

Following Michigan's last-minute 33-32 loss to Florida State in the Orange Bowl, Jim Harbaugh and the coaching staff turned their full attention to closing out the 2017 recruiting cycle strong.

The Wolverines currently sit at No. 3 in the national recruiting rankings, with a 26-member class that's headlined by 5-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and anchored by a number of blue-chip linemen on both sides of the ball.

But with so many seniors and early defections to the NFL, Michigan has plenty of room for its top remaining targets. Here's how the Wolverines hope things shake out with national signing day a month away.

5-Star Running Back Najee Harris

Credit: Scout

Harbaugh and the Wolverines are trying to do something that hasn't been done since Pete Carroll was dominating college football in the early 2000s: sign the No. 1 overall player in the country in consecutive years.

Michigan got the nation's top player last year when it signed Rashan Gary, a 5-star defensive tackle out of Paramus, New Jersey. It's gunning to do the same this year by stretching across the country for running back Najee Harris, an Antioch, California, product who's currently committed to Alabama.

Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide rarely lose top-level prospects like this, but the Wolverines have built a ton of momentum down the stretch. Harris, who plans to enroll early to take part in spring practice, will announce his final decision between Alabama and Michigan on Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

If Michigan earns Harris' commitment, it'll pair the country's top running back with Peoples-Jones in an offense that will be hard to stop over the next three to four years.

5-Star Defensive Tackle Aubrey Solomon or 4-Star Defensive Tackle Jay Tufele

Credit: Scout

Michigan's defensive front is set to take a big hit with the defections of senior starters Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley.

That's why the Wolverines put a premium on defensive line recruiting in 2017, which yielded huge results, as they have six defensive ends committed alongside a pair of defensive tackles in low 4-star James Hudson and 3-star Phil Paea.

Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown would love to sign a top-flight defensive tackle to slot alongside Rashan Gary, which is why the Wolverines are still recruiting 5-star Aubrey Solomon and 4-star Jay Tufele.

Solomon is the more polished prospect, rated the No. 2 defensive tackle and the No. 20 prospect overall. Tufele isn't far behind, rated No. 3 at his position and No. 37 nationally, and landing him might be sweeter for the Wolverines, as he's one of Ohio State's top remaining targets as well.

4-Star Offensive Tackle Chuck Filiaga

Credit: Scout

Offensive line is arguably Michigan's biggest need in this year's recruiting cycle, and while it already has three offensive tackles in the fold, it's still going hard after 4-star Chuck Filiaga.

The Wolverines had a hard time running the ball this past season, especially in close games, as they averaged a hair under 93 rushing yards in their three losses to Iowa, Ohio State and Florida State. 

A guy such as Filiaga, who checks in at 6'6" and 335 pounds, is the kind of offensive anchor a team can run behind. 

A commitment from the Aledo, Texas, product is pivotal for the Michigan staff after missing out on offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson, a top-50 overall prospect who was long considered a Michigan lean before committing to Georgia in December and stunning the Wolverines. 

4-Star Wide Receiver Nico Collins

Credit: Scout

Michigan is losing its top three pass-catchers this year in Amara Darboh, Jehu Chesson and Jake Butt, who combined to account for 69.2 percent of the Wolverines' receiving yards in 2016.

Help is on the way with Peoples-Jones, 4-star Tarik Black and 3-star Brad Hawkins already offering their verbal commitment, but the Wolverines are looking for one more elite wideout.

That's where Nico Collins comes in.

The 6'5", 195-pound playmaker is a nightmare matchup for opposing defenses in the red zone. He can use his length to out-leap just about any cornerback he'll face at the collegiate level, and with 4.5 speed and polished route-running ability, he's the kind of talent who can make an immediate impact.

Collins is entertaining offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and LSU alongside Michigan.

Beat Ohio State

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The Wolverines are in a historic slide against Ohio State on the field, winning just one of the last 13 matchups against their chief rival.

But that futility has stretched to the recruiting front as well, as Michigan finished behind Ohio State in eight of the last nine recruiting cycles, including each of the five years Urban Meyer's been in Columbus.

It'll be hard to shift the momentum in this rivalry without doing the same on the recruiting front, and this could be the year Michigan does that.

Ohio State's 17-member class is loaded with six 5-star prospects, which is the highest total of any team in the country, and it has designs on adding at least two more 5-stars to the mix. But with 43 true or redshirt freshmen on the current roster, the Buckeyes are limited in the number of scholarships they can offer, meaning they only have a handful of spots left in this class.

The Wolverines, meanwhile, have plenty of room to take on more prospects, and they could overwhelm the Buckeyes in the rankings just via sheer numbers. Michigan is currently two spots ahead of Ohio State in the rankings, and with a strong finish, it could stay there.

Recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com.