Jim Harbaugh's Best At Michigan: 1-125

More than 150 Wolverines, including 100+ scholarship athletes, have played for Jim Harbaugh at Michigan. We rank the Top 125.

Author:
Michael Spath
Publish date:
Aug 30, 2020 8:00 AM EDT

We didn't care about hype or recruiting rankings. We didn't care about raw, physical talent. We ranked Harbaugh's best with a single criteria: how did they perform in college. When Saturdays arrived, who got it done on game day. Simple as that.

1. Jourdan Lewis - With his coverage skills, he belongs in the conversation along with Ty Law and Marlin Jackson as the second-best corner ever after Charles Woodson.

2. Devin Bush

3. Maurice Hurst

4. David Long

5. Chase Winovich - His 18 sacks and 44.5 tackles for loss are the most ever in the Harbaugh era, by more than 14.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks.

6. Cesar Ruiz

7. Amara Darboh

8. Karan Higdon

9. Jabrill Peppers

10. Jake Butt

11. Ben Bredeson

12. Josh Uche - Versatile and ferocious off the edge, Uche did more in 1.5 seasons of an expanded role than most players do in a career.

13. Chris Wormley

14. Jake Rudock

15. Mason Cole

16. Shea Patterson - The debate over Patterson's value and where he belongs in the pantheon of Michigan quarterbacks will persist for many years to come, but he ranks in the Top 7 at U-M for career passing yards and TDs, and that has to count for something.

17. Jon Runyan Jr.

18. Nico Collins

19. Khaleke Hudson

20. Aidan Hutchinson - Michigan fans are hopeful the program gets one more season out of Hutchinson, who could end up the most dominant defensive lineman of the Harbaugh era.

21. Ryan Glasgow

22. Taco Charlton

23. Jalen Mayfield

24. Kwity Paye

25. Lavert Hill

26. Josh Metellus - Take out the Ohio State games from 2017-19 and he's the best safety Michigan has had since Marcus Ray. Include them (as you must) and Metellus' legacy becomes a little more muddled.

27. Rashan Gary

28. Delano Hill

29. Mike McCray

30. Jehu Chesson - It's fair to argue that no player in the Harbaugh tenure enjoyed a six-game run equal to Chesson, who averaged 95.6 yards receiving per game and scored nine touchdowns over the final six contests of 2015.

31. Michael Onwenu

32. Ambry Thomas

33. Ronnie Bell

34. Wilton Speight

35. Zach Gentry

36. Jordan Glasgow - As a contributor/starter in 2018-19, Glasgow had 117 tackles, 10 for loss, and seven sacks. He did his family name proud, and ranks among the 10 best walk-ons in the last 25 years (maybe ever).

37. Graham Glasgow

38. Cam McGrone

39. Zach Charbonnet - Only a true sophomore, Charbonnet can wait out the coronavirus, and when football returns, should challenge to become just the fifth Wolverine in school history with 1,000 yards rushing as a true sophomore.

40. Willie Henry

41. Brad Hawkins

42. Ben Gedeon

43. Chris Evans

44. Donovan Peoples-Jones

45. Khalid Hill - The "Hammering Panda" recorded a touchdown (16 total) once ever 4.4 offensive touches.

46. De’Veon Smith

47. Tyree Kinnel

48. Quinn Nordin

49. Brandon Watson - Picked on in the 2018 Ohio State game (he wasn't alone), Watson nevertheless carved out a positive narrative to his career with an overall outstanding senior season as Michigan's full-time nickel back.

50. Hassan Haskins

51. Juwan Bushell-Beatty

52. Nick Eubanks

53. Sean McKeon

54. Desmond Morgan

55. Dymonte Thomas - Michigan fans finally saw Thomas' full potential unleashed when he recorded 69 tackles and nine pass breakups in 13 games a starter as a senior in 2016.

56. Carlo Kemp

57. Josh Ross

58. Channing Stribling

59. Daxton Hill - Whenever Hill next suits up for the Maize and Blue, the expectations are sky-high for this five-star sophomore following a rookie campaign in which he displayed the physical talent of elite safeties.

60. Ben Mason

61. Jarrod Wilson

62. Michael Danna

63. Joe Bolden

64. Erik Magnuson - One of three offensive line starters from the 2012 class that Harbaugh inherited, Magnuson was the best of the bunch, and would start 26 games at right tackle in 2015-16.

65. Will Hart

66. Kenny Allen

67. Grant Perry

68. Vincent Gray

69. Ben Braden

70. Dylan McCaffrey - One of the biggest disappointments of the Big Ten 2020 season postponement is that Michigan fans have to wait to learn which of two quarterbacks - Joe Milton - will become the first Harbaugh recruited-and-developed signal-caller to start a season opener.

71. Giles Jackson

72. Grant Newsome

73. Michael Dwumfour

74. Blake O’Neill

75. Sione Houma

76. Kyle Kalis - The former five-star OL talked a big game but never backed it up with a win over Ohio State, and if his talent was five-star quality, he never backed that up either.

77. Tru Wilson

78. Brandon Peters

79. James Ross III

80. Royce Jenkins-Stone

81. Ty Isaac - A few brief glimpses here and there of his unique combination of size and speed, including back-to-back 100-yard performances to begin the 2017 season, but a costly fumble against Michigan State that same year is likely how Isaac is remembered by U-M fans.

82. Tarik Black

83. John O’Korn

84. Devin Gil

85. Ryan Hayes - Incredibly, Hayes, with his two career starts and 10 reserve appearances in 2019, is now the eldest statesman along the offensive line as Michigan has a major rebuilding project on its hands ahead of a 2021 season.

86. Jeremy Clark

87. AJ Williams

88. Noah Furbush

89. Mike Sainristil

90. Eddie McDoom

91. Matt Godin

92. Patrick Kugler

93. Mario Ojemudia - One wonders what might have been had Ojemudia not suffered a terrible blown Achilles five games into 2015. He was on pace for 16 tackles for loss and six sacks when he went down.

94. Henry Poggi

95. Chris Hinton

96. Jordan Anthony

97. Joe Milton

98. Bryan Mone - Considered the top player on the team (by a coaches' vote) heading into the 2015 season, Mone never made his mark following a campaign-ending injury that preseason, finishing the 2016-18 years with a combined 3.5 tackles for loss and 34 tackles.

99. Andrew Stueber

100. Luke Schoonmaker

101. Christian Turner

102. Oliver Martin

103. Devin Asiasi - Michigan has enjoyed five years of superb tight end play under Harbaugh and Asiasi, who had a touchdown on his first career reception in 2016, might have been the best had he not transferred to UCLA for family reasons after his rookie season.

104. J’Marick Woods

105. Michael Barrett

106. Aubrey Solomon - A five-star, the Georgia native was supposed to be the type of interior lineman freak that has made southern programs like LSU, Alabama, Clemson and Georgia so good. He transferred after two seasons having barely made a dent.

107. Stephen Spanellis

108. Kekoa Crawford

109. Drake Johnson - Has there ever been a more unlucky player? ACL tears to each knee in subsequent seasons ... unreal. We'll always have the 2014 Ohio State game, though, when he rushed for 74 yards and two TDs.

110. Cornelius Johnson

111. Ian Bunting

112. Joe Kerridge

113. Erick All

114. Jaylen Kelly-Powell

115. Brad Robbins

116. Nate Schoenle

117. Kareem Walker - The good news? At least he's not Derrick Green, who didn't even make the cut. The bad news? His career went nowhere, fast.

118. Tyrone Wheatley Jr.

119. Lawrence Marshall

120. Jared Wangler

121. Luiji Vilain - Besieged by injuries in 2017 and 2018, Vilain is finally healthy and is anxiously anticipating whenever football resumes.