Michigan Football Recruiting: Brady Hoke Has Wolverines Set with Excellent Class

The Michigan Wolverines' 23-20 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl was a pleasant pronouncement that the victors were back and ready to be hailed, but even that was just the beginning of even bigger things to come.

At least, if Brady Hoke's current recruiting class stands the test of time.

Scout.com has Michigan's 2012 crop rated as the third-best in the nation, with a host of high-profile high school prospects yet to declare their intentions ahead of National Signing Day on Feb. 1.

Thus far, the Maize and Blue have 24 kids ready to sign on the dotted line, 13 of whom are listed as four-star prospects and one—offensive tackle Kyle Kalis—listed as a five-star recruit.

Hoke still has his chips in on four other five-stars: offensive tackles Kyle Murphy and Jordan Diamond, offensive guard Joshua Garnett and wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

The class as currently constituted is already loaded in the trenches, with 11 commits currently slated to play on either the offensive or defensive lines.

Having that sort of depth up front is crucial to sustaining success in every college football conference, but especially in the Big Ten, where playing physical football and moving the chains the old-fashioned way tends to take precedent.

As well-positioned as the Wolverines may be, there's still little, if any, room for error in Ann Arbor. Ohio State has the fourth-ranked class in America, one boosted tremendously by the presence of Urban Meyer on the recruiting trail.

This, despite the fact that the Buckeyes won't be bowl-eligible this coming season.

Not that most kids coming into an elite program like OSU's would've had the opportunity to play right away anyway.

Still, Michigan doesn't have the luxury of resting on its laurels, even after a tremendous season to put the ramshackle Rich Rodriguez era firmly in the rear view. There's a treasure trove of latent talent in Columbus ready, willing and able to win games.

That much was made clear by the Buckeyes this past season, when they went into the Big House and almost beat a resurgent Michigan squad.

The key for the Maize and Blue is to keep the pedal to the metal while the road in the Midwest is still solely theirs, more or less.

Because once the playing field is level again, keeping the Scarlet and Gray secondary to the Maize and Blue, in The Game and otherwise, will only become a more daunting challenge for Hoke and his eminently capable coaching staff.

Follow @J0shMart1n