Say this for Michigan football: Despite a lack of big-time success for most of this century, they remain a relevant football program.
They're not great. They don't win titles. But they remain relevant.
And if you needed proof of that, it will again come this weekend.
That's where Michigan will host an absolutely LOADED list of recruits in town for this weekend's game against Washington. In total, Jim Harbaugh and his staff are hosting an absurd seven five-stars in the classes of 2022 and 2023, and nearly a dozen more four-stars in the classes of 2022, 2023 and 2024.
That includes the No. 1 high school player in America, Walter Nolen, a defensive lineman from Tennessee.
Here is a full list of just the five stars:
2022 five star prospects:
Walter Nolen, five-star defensive lineman (class of 2022) - No. 1 ranked player nationally
Domani Jackson, five star cornerback (class of 2022) - No. 5 ranked player nationally
Will Johnson, five-star cornerback (class of 2022) - No. 13 ranked player nationally (committed to Michigan)
Josh Conerly - five-star offensive tackle (class of 2022) - No. 20 ranked player nationally
2023 five-star prospects:
Dante Moore - five-star quarterback (class of 2023) - No. 16 ranked player overall nationally
Jalen Brown - five-star wide receiver (class of 2023) - No. 24 ranked player overall nationally
Jaiden Ausberry - five-star linebacker (class of 2023) - No. 32 ranked player overall nationally
And again, that list doesn't even include a bunch of four stars from the classes of 2022, 2023 and 2024, including Austin Ausberry (a four-star corner from Louisiana), Dane Key (a four-star receiver from Kentucky) and Lander Barton (a four-star linebacker from Utah).
Now admittedly, just because you get all these kids on campus, doesn't mean they all - or even most - end up committing to the school. Sure, Will Johnson - the five-star cornerback, who is the son of a Michigan legacy - is already committed to the school. And others like Josh Conerly, the five-star offensive tackle seem to seriously be considering the place.
At the same time there are others who appear to be just along for the ride. Domani Jackson - the five-star corner that is headed to Ann Arbor this weekend - is actually committed to USC. Walter Nolen, the No. 1 player in the country, recently put out a final three that didn't include the Wolverines.
Still, there's an old saying in recruiting, that if you can just get a kid to campus you never know what will happen.
It's something Michigan is certainly banking on this weekend.
You can read the full list of Michigan's visitors here, and to get ready for a preview of this weekend's Washington-Michigan game, make sure to listen to the Aaron Torres Podcast