Meet Michael Barrett, Michigan’s secret weapon

The 2018 Michigan recruiting class featured a highly intriguing player out of the state of Georgia, Michael Barrett.

The 5-11 215 pound high school quarterback rushed for 2,647 yards and 38 touchdowns in his career, while throwing for over 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns. Barrett was the Georgia 7-A Player of the Year.

Barrett will be used as far more than a quarterback at Michigan. According to Jim Harbaugh, the athlete will be used at running back and wide receiver as well. While Barrett may have been deemed a three star recruit, his talent exceeds his ranking.

Harbaugh’s comments about Barrett:

“Envision him getting the ball in his hands. Wide receiver, slot receiver, running back: those two areas primarily for him. Spent some time with Anquan Boldin, who was also a high school quarterback. Played some quarterback in college, and eventually wide receiver. Somebody that can get the ball and make yards after the catch or yards after contact. A receiver who can run like a running back and, also, I think he’ll have the ability to be a running back. So, different areas that Michael could get the football, including quarterback.”

That’s a whole lot of ways to get the ball into the hands of Barrett. That type of usage would be reminiscent of how Christian McCaffrey and Percy Harvin were used in college.

In theory, Barrett could be a very dangerous weapon for Michigan. The element of having a running back that can motion into the slot, that leaves a defense guessing as to where he’ll line up once he breaks the huddle, that can do everything from run to catch to pass on a given play is a big asset for a team to have if the player can do each task well.

Barrett can run a 4.43 40 yard dash, has the ability to be elusive and truck defenders, can throw a good football, and may even be a savvy route runner and pass catcher. Oh, and he may be a kick returner for Michigan as well. This is the type of recruit, that in retrospect, could really make a recruiting class much better. We’ll see, but the potential is promising.

Former Michigan quarterback and scrambler extraodinairre Denard Robinson was a fan of the news that Barrett will be a Wolverine.

Michigan could use a guy in the Robinson mold, and maybe Barrett can be Denard-like for U-M.