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2020 4-star ATH Daniyel Ngata’s reasoning for including Michigan in top list: Jay Harbaugh

The fringe-top-100 player in the 2020 class has a tight bond with running backs coach Jay Harbaugh.

Alvarez Photographer

Just over the weekend, one of the most explosive play-makers in the 2020 class narrowed down his list to 11 programs, and the Michigan Wolverines wound up on that list.

Standing at 5-foot-9 and weighing 180 pounds, 4-star athlete Daniyel Ngata has the type of speed Michigan is looking for out of the backfield/slot, especially considering offensive coordinator Josh Gattis’ #SpeedInSpace mantra.

But it was another coach that gravitated Ngata to including Michigan in his top list — running backs coach Jay Harbaugh.

“Coach Jay has been in contact with me for a long time, and said a few things and he has a special plan for the next few years,” Ngata told Maize n Brew. “I think (Jay and I) are really close. He talks to me at least every week. Not even just about football — just like social life and all that.

“He said if I had came, there would be four scholarship running backs and then from there I just got to work.”

Ngata has never visited the University of Michigan, but explains it is one of the top things to do next during his recruitment.

“I’ll visit there very soon,” he said. “That’ll probably be my first visit. Probably in the next month and a half.”

The Folsom, California native is hoping to go into either sports medicine or engineering when he goes to college, so he is hoping to see the educational aspect of life at Michigan “and obviously the football part as well” when he visits U-M.

Ngata is hoping to commit sometime between the beginning of his senior season and the middle of the season, so this recruitment still has a ways to go. He is also considering Oregon, Washington, Utah, Washington State, LSU, Oregon State, Alabama, Arizona State, Nevada and San Diego State, so there is a lot of competition here.

Stick with Maize n Brew throughout the entirety of this recruitment and many others.

Follow Von Lozon on Twitter @von_lozon for more Michigan football recruiting news