What Did Jim Harbaugh Accomplish with Michigan's Second Satellite Camp Tour?

Jim Harbaugh's second Summer Swarm Tour came to an end with not a bang, but a whimper.

Due to concerns pertaining to the Zika virus, Michigan was forced to cancel its scheduled satellite camp appearance in American Samoa last week, per the Republican Party of American Samoa communications director John Raynar. With that brought an end to perhaps the most highly anticipated month in college football offseason history, although at this point, it'd be hard to say the Wolverines' unprecedented satellite camp tour was worth the hype.

For all the buzz that Harbaugh's monthlong worldwide journey generated from February through May, the only tangible results felt in June were the commitments of 4-star 2017 defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon, 3-star offensive tackle Andrew Stueber, 2018 4-star safety Otis Reese and unranked offensive guard Jalil Irvin. That's hardly a haul worthy of the attention Harbaugh received for his fight to keep his controversial recruiting tactic alive earlier this year, with the NCAA initially banning satellite camps in April before reneging a few weeks later.

But success on the recruiting trail—especially for Harbaugh—isn't always rooted in instant return on investment. There's more to the process than just racking up commitments, and this year's Swarm Tour may be the perfect example of why.

In fact, if you ask the second-year Wolverines head coach about the primary purpose of his near-40-camp tour, he'd tell you it wasn't even recruiting-based in the first place. Harbaugh attempted to make that clear from the start with a mini-outburst toward reporters when recruiting-minded questions dominated an interview session following an outing at New Jersey's Paramus Catholic High School in early June.

"Everybody keeps saying, 'The obvious thing is this is about recruiting' and I disagree. I've disagreed with that premise from its first inception," Harbaugh said, per the Detroit Free Press' Mark Snyder. "It's not about recruiting. If it really helped recruiting that much, people would have been doing this. Because it's been around for 10, 20, 30 years. We're just enjoying the heck out of coaching, going around the football world."

Nevertheless, the positive publicity Harbaugh's unprecedented camp tour created certainly has a place on the recruiting trail—and he's certainly aware of it.

Why else would the former Michigan quarterback pander to each town he visited, wearing the jersey of a different local sports hero at every stop? The tactic gained such traction that websites devoted trackers and Twitter feeds often filled with pictures during what is often the quietest of times on college football's offseason calendar.

"I'm just a big fan of a lot of people," Harbaugh explained of his June attire choices, per Scout's Josh Newkirk. "And I'm a jersey guy. I like jerseys." 

And while it may seem silly for so much attention to be paid to a month that ultimately led to four commitments over the course of two classes and a smattering of viral pictures, it falls in line with the brand Harbaugh has built since arriving in Ann Arbor 18 months ago.

After all, no coach in college football has been talked about more than Harbaugh has since returning to his alma mater, his Twitter feed and over-the-top personality creating a steady stream of content in today's 24/7 headline world. Whether it's his public fight to keep satellite camps active or creating a celebrity-filled signing day spectacle, Harbaugh has found a way to stay in the spotlight more consistently than any other coach in college football.

"From a marketing and publicity standpoint, he is an absolute genius," Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell told Bleacher Report.

The recruiting results have followed.

In his first full cycle at the helm of the Wolverines program, Harbaugh parlayed his initial run of satellite camps and a 10-3 season on the field into the nation's fifth-ranked recruiting class for 2016. Several of Michigan's signees in this past class either had their recruitments initiated or enhanced by satellite camps, including 4-star prospects in quarterback Brandon Peters, linebacker Devin Bush Jr. and cornerback David Long. 

The instant attention he received as well as his NFL pedigree also allowed Harbaugh to land the nation's top-ranked player in 5-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary, while also flipping former Ohio State commit and 4-star running back Kareem Walker.

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

There are still six months left until next signing day, but already Harbaugh is seeing similar success follow. The Wolverines' 2017 haul ranks fifth in the nation as well, while featuring 5-star quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, 4-star defensive end Luiji Vilain, inside linebacker Josh Ross and offensive tackle JaRaymond Hall.

As far as Michigan's second Summer Swarm Tour is concerned, outside of the aforementioned commitments of Solomon and Stueber, it appears to have had an insignificant direct effect on the class. And while connections made on the camp circuit could ultimately come back to work in the Wolverines' favor down the line, for now, Harbaugh's second satellite camp excursion appears to have possessed more sizzle than steak.

But the jerseys, the headlines, the sheer extravagance of the tour—which included a previous stop in American Samoa, as well as Australia—it's all a part of the process.

Perhaps Harbaugh was right—this wasn't all about recruiting and picking up commits on the surface.

But in the end in college football, it almost always is. And no coach in college football has proved more innovative in doing so in the past year-and-a-half than the one who just spent his June changing in and out of jerseys all across the world.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruiting and class ratings courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings.