Rivals calls Michigan ‘the biggest underachiever in college football’

The Michigan Wolverines football program has taken some heat from the Rivals Network who said that Jim Harbaugh and his staff are the biggest underachievers in college football.

Rivals.com national recruiting director Mike Farrell and recruiting analyst Adam Gorney have been doing a series of articles with three Fact or Fiction question about college football.

On Monday, the topic arose of whether or not the Wolverines were the biggest underachievers in college football, and they both agreed that it was a fact. The two cited Michigan’s failure to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes, the fact that they haven’t won a Big Ten title in two decades, that they haven’t made the College Football Playoff and that they continue to struggle in bowl games. Meanwhile, the Wolverines continue to pump out NFL talent and bring in a solid recruiting class nearly every season.

For a taste, here is what Gorney had to say:

FACT. Not only is the biggest underachiever in college football but someone needs to start asking coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff where this program is headed. Clearly, the problem is Ohio State, which is far superior to every team in the Big Ten and only getting better. But Penn State isn’t going anywhere and the Wolverines seem stuck in neutral. That’s incredibly hard to believe since Michigan has produced 28 NFL Draft picks over the last four years.

Ouch.

Former Wolverines football players give thanks to Michigan

Ten Michigan Football players were drafted into the NFL over the weekend and on Monday, they took a moment to say thank you to their families, the coaches, the program, and its fans at Michigan:

Cesar Ruiz, Jon Runyan Jr., and Jordan Galsgow each took part in the video giving thanks to the people that got them to where they are today; members of NFL rosters. Ruiz was drafted in the first-round to the New Orleans Saints. Later, Jon Runyan was selected by the Green Bay Packers on Day 3 alongside Jordan Glasgow who was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round.

Juwan Howard meets with Top-10 recruit Jaden Hardy

The composite No. 6 recruit in the country, combo-guard Jaden Hardy put the Michigan basketball program in his Top-12 earlier this month. With another five-star recruit seriously considering Ann Arbor for his future, Howard has not taken his foot off the gas peddle in recruiting.

According to Jake Weingarten of stockrisers, Howard and his staff and the highly talented recruit had a zoom conference call on Friday to discuss what Michigan has to offer:

Hardy is the No. 6 overall recruit in the Class of 2021 and has several other blue blood programs still in consideration. Kentucky is the odds-on favorite to land him, but Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon, Kansas, and Michigan are still in pursuit.

Hardy has some Michigan ties as he was raised in Detroit, but now lives in the Las Vegas area in Nevada.

Michigan could have as many as seven scholarships to fill in the 2021 class as they still have an open slot for this season. If Howard plays his card right, he could find himself having one of the greatest recruiting classes of all-time with his dedicated pursuit of top talents so far.

Other Brews:

• In conjunction with the meeting with Jaden Hardy, Howard kept very busy over the weekend offering four different players from across the country. Read more here.
• Michigan offered running back Jovantae Barney on Monday. Barney is the No. 49 player in the Class of 2022 according to 247 sports and is the fifth best running back in the country according to their metrics.

National Brews:

• Disney+ announced that they will have all nine films of the Skywalker Saga on their platform starting on May 4, a week from Monday.
• The NBA will try to get players working out again in team facilities starting on May 8. This came to the chagrin of many front offices who pushed back on the leagues notice saying that they are still concerned about the health of their players and employees. The practices would be individual, and all players and personnel must remain 12 feet apart.
• In what me the strangest thing ever, Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon put out a diss track calling out Dwayne Wade for giving him a nine out of ten after he dunked over 7’7” center Tacko Fall in the 2020 Slam Dunk contest. Gordon would lose the contest to the Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. because of Wade’s decision.