Michigan football: Harbaugh’s recruiting efforts should end Ohio State’s dominance
By Joel Greer
The Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry got a needed shot in the arm with the recent hiring of Jim Harbaugh as the Wolverines’ head coach.
Apr 4, 2015; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh is seen during the Spring football game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
While winning a Big Ten championship might be his chief goal, Michigan fans won’t be satisfied until the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes on a somewhat regular basis.
A huge part of the rivalry is recruiting, especially within the State of Ohio. The Buckeye State has long been known as a hotbed for high school talent. And Michigan has often butted heads with coaches Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel and most recently Urban Meyer.
After Tressel took over the Ohio State coaching job in 2001, the Buckeyes won eight of nine meetings with the Wolverines and claimed they did it by keeping Ohio’s best high school prospects at home.
“I think we might have lost one guy (in our 25-man 2002 class) to Michigan,” Tressel said of his first big-time class at OSU. “The door closed and it hasn’t been (opened again)…”
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