Michigan Football Recruiting: UM on Track to Bring in Historic Class of 2013

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke and his staff could probably stop recruiting for the next 11 months and the Wolverines would still end up with a Top 25 class in 2013.

Seriously.

Whether it's because UM got big wins this season against schools like Notre Dame and Ohio State, or because the Wolverines knocked off Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, or simply because the pageantry and long-time history is finally again out-weighing the recent past, Michigan has gotten off to an unfair start in recruiting for next season.

Whatever the reason, it's certainly a welcome sight after last year's start.

As Tim Sullivan of the Detroit Free Press points out, the Wolverines had zero commits at this point last year. "At this time last year, Michigan had zero commitments for the 2012 recruiting class," pointed out Sullivan. "The Wolverines didn’t pick up their first until March 24, when offensive linemen Caleb Stacey (who later would decommit in favor of Cincinnati) and Ben Braden pledged." 

But this year is different. Oh so different.

They don't just already have one 4-star recurit. They don't have two. Not three, not four, not five—OK, LeBron, that's enough. The Wolverines, who have 11 total recruits for 2013, already have 10 4-star recruits(!).

10.

And every single one of them is ranked in the Top 200 by Rivals. To put it in perspective, Nick Saban and Alabama have the next most commitments from the Top 200, with seven. No other school has more than four. 

The class for the Wolverines starts with De La Salle QB Shane Morris, who is ranked as the 16th-best prospect and third-best quarterback.

It includes Cass Tech teammates and friends, Jourdan Lewis and David Dawson. 

It already includes an amazing four offensive linemen. Everyday this class looks better and better, and we're only in February. We're supposed to still be talking about the 2012 class.

Overall, the Wolverines' 2013 class has a quarterback, four offensive tackles, a safety, two tight ends, a cornerback, a defensive end and an athlete. 

And if you think they've just benefited from the state of Michigan being stacked, you'd be wrong. In addition to the four verbals UM has coming in from MI, three are from Ohio, two are from Illinois and one is from Colorado. Brady Hoke is extending his pipelines, to say the least. 

This is already a special class, but Hoke has a chance to make it extraordinary (extraordinary is better than special, right?). There are still 19 recruits from the states of Michigan, Illinois and Ohio ranked in the Rivals Top 250. 

If Michigan can pull in eight top recruits in one weekend—which is what it did last weekend—then it's a little scary to think what it can do on Signing Day 2013.

Now, obviously these are all just soft verbals at this point, but Brady Hoke doesn't usually lose commitments once he has them. If he does, it doesn't appear he'll have a hard time replacing them. 

It's early, sure, but could Michigan, famous for recruiting the Fab 5 in basketball, put together one of the best football classes ever?

At this rate, all signs are pointing to yes.