Michigan's Jim Harbaugh Impresses Recruits at South Florida Satellite Camp

TAMPA — There was a different level of excitement present on the practice fields at the University of South Florida for the Bulls camp on Saturday.

The buzz among the 100 or so athletes in attendance was due in part to the presence of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff.

Harbaugh and Bulls head coach Willie Taggart—who served as an assistant on Harbaugh’s staff at Stanford from 2007-08—have a long relationship dating back to Taggart’s career as a player at Western Kentucky, where he played for Jim’s father, Jack.

The early returns from the camp seem to be positive for both the Bulls and the Wolverines. 

“It was great to get to work with the coaches up close,” 2017 tight end Tre McKitty told Bleacher Report. “We got to talk to them [coaches] out there. They were energetic and were teaching. It’s good to get coached up by those guys. It was pretty fun.”

McKitty is one of a handful of recruits who are on the first leg of the fifth annual Unsigned Preps bus tour—which will have two different buses with 80 total recruits going to multiple schools over the next week.

McKitty, who already holds 10 offers from schools such as USF and Florida, Miami and Tennessee, was excited to see the Michigan staff to come down to Florida to check out athletes from the Sunshine State.

“It means a lot,” McKitty said. “It means that we have a lot of talented athletes around here in Florida. So it was cool that they came to watch us. I think everyone was excited to see them.”

In addition to McKitty, a couple of players that Harbaugh had his eye on in particular were a pair of 2017 4-star Tampa products in defensive end Zachary Carter and receiver Daquon Green.

“It felt good,” Carter said. “I learned a lot from the coaches that I can use when I start working in summer ball. I spoke with Coach Harbaugh. I really like him. He’s enthusiastic about the game.”

Green, who had a couple of highlight-reel grabs in one-on-one drills, was a player that had coaches from both schools buzzing in drills. He displayed great ball skills and the ability to get off the jam at the line of scrimmage—skills that have helped him amass more than 15 offers prior to his junior season.

“I just wanted to go out there and make sure to catch their attention so they will look at me,” Green said.

While Harbaugh has created a maelstrom of sorts with his decision to take his staff on the road for satellite camps, it’s clear that recruits were happy for an opportunity to showcase their talents for he and his staff.

For his part, Green was impressed with the way Harbaugh and his staff interacted with the players at the camp. It’s that type of energy that has recruits feeling that the Wolverines program will soon return to the nation’s elite with Harbaugh now at the controls.

“It was really cool,” Green said. “He’s been to the Super Bowl as a coach, and now he’s going to Michigan to try and win some championships there.”

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