Drake Harris Decommits from Michigan State: Is Michigan Now Favorite for 4-Star?

Will 4-star wide receiver Drake Harris become the latest talking point in the ever bitter rivalry between the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans?

That still remains to be seem, but the first proverbial domino has fallen.

Tom VanHaaren  of ESPN tweeted the news that Harris has decommitted from Michigan State:

This has to be looked at as an extremely disappointing and big-time recruiting loss for Mark Dantonio and the Spartans.

Harris checks in at 6'4'', 180 pounds, and he's ranked as the No. 4 wide receiver in the 2014 class, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He's also ranked as the No. 2 player from the state of Michigan, according to the 247Sports Composite, so he's an important in-state recruit for MSU to lose out on.

He would have represented a marquee recruiting win for Dantonio and his staff, and he could have added a legitimate deep-threat option to their offense right away.

For now, "could have" is the key phrase for Michigan State to focus on.

The Spartans' loss could end up being the Wolverines gain, though (and Ann Arbor rejoices), especially considering this interesting note from Kyle Meinke of MLive.com on Twitter:

It sure seems as if Harris has been keen on visiting Michigan lately, and it's no secret that the Wolverines have been making a strong push with him on the recruiting trail.

It appears as if the window of opportunity has officially opened up for Brady Hoke and his staff. One can only imagine that the Wolverines have been waiting and prepping for this moment. Their pitches to the elite in-state receiver will be important from here on out, but frankly, Michigan should almost be able to pitch itself to Harris.

Ann Arbor is a great college town, the University of Michigan provides a top-notch education and Hoke is setting the program up to be a national contender in the next few years. He's also transitioning the offense into a pro-style scheme, and Harris is the perfect wide receiver for that scheme. He has the talent to be a true "deep threat" in a pro system and could be extremely effective in the vertical passing game.

Playing with top-notch quarterback recruit Shane Morris is another great point to consider, as is the chance to benefit from the hard-nosed running of 5-star running back recruit Derrick Green.

As Meinke mentions it in his tweet, all you need to do is look at Harris' 247Sports timeline to see that Harris has indeed visited Michigan for the past three weekends. Looking at the facts, it's hard not to consider Michigan the favorite now that he has decommitted from MSU.

Is it a coincidence that Harris decommitted on the Monday after a visit to Michigan?

Coincidences rarely exist in the world of college football recruiting, and I don't see this being one of those rare cases.