On Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA, Nigel Glover, more

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is reportedly headed toward a four-game suspension for alleged NCAA violations — but is he really? And what’s the timeline for a resolution here? Also, U-M hosted Northwestern linebacker transfer Nigel Glover, and things were looking really good … until they weren’t. We tackle those subjects and more today …

Jim Harbaugh and the NCAA — the latest

News leaked last week (most believe from the NCAA side of it) that the NCAA and Jim Harbaugh were negotiating toward a four-game suspension for his role in alleged violations during the COVID year. Harbaugh apparently said he couldn’t recall buying burgers for committed recruits on an impromptu visit, at which point the NCAA reportedly accused him of not being truthful.

As we reported last week, sources from Harbaugh’s camp were a bit surprised by the leak. Opinion here — the NCAA might be working toward that, but we’re not sure Harbaugh and his attorney (Tom Mars) are. Neither can comment on the ongoing investigation, and while there was talk at yesterday’s golf outing of the four games potential being reduced to two … well, if that involved Harbaugh having to admit he “lied,” that might not be in the cards. Again, that’s our opinion. It’s possible he’s advised by folks to accept it and put it behind them, but Harbaugh seems like a guy who wouldn’t admit to something he feels he didn’t do.

Most nationally have made a mockery of the allegations, especially given the current landscape with pay for play, etc. Even ESPN’s Paul Finebuam, no Harbaugh fan, acknowledged it was ridiculous. And for those hired guns saying Harbaugh was making a “distraction” of the season, etc. — none of his players think so. They’re as focused as we’ve seen them heading into the 2023 season, and they’re using this as fuel.

We’ll see how this all plays out. But at this point, the resolution is still in doubt.

Michigan transfer recruit Nigel Glover leaning toward Ohio State?

Two days ago, we received tips to “get the story ready” for Northwestern transfer Nigel Glover and a pledge to Michigan. He’d left an OSU visit after which Ohio State insiders said there was no movement between Glover and the Buckeyes and they were likely to go their separate ways. Kentucky was still on the radar, too, but it looked good for Harbaugh and U-M.

Today, there are rumblings Glover could pledge to OSU tomorrow. What happened between Friday and today is anyone’s guess, but two things on this — 1) Ohio kids who get Ohio State offers are tough to pry from their home state. Former Dayton (Ohio) Northmont and current Michigan safety Rod Moore used his initial OSU rejection as fuel to beat the Buckeyes (Bo Schembechler used to recruit guys like him for that reason), and it’s paid off. Glover, though, appears to have put the initial “no thanks” behind him.

Or … it could be that one school has upped its NIL game, while its rival continues to dig out of an early hole. This is not a shot at the collectives — on the contrary. Champions Circle, for example, is one of the reasons there is any positive NIL momentum at all. And yesterday, a lot of money was raised at the golf event to help fund NIL, held in Ann Arbor.

Still, the Michigan donors are lagging other schools in funding, for whatever reason. Some still believe it’s because they want to make sure NIL is stable and their money is being used correctly. It’s easy to see a physical return on a scoreboard, for example … not so much in landing a 4-star recruit with “promises of marketing opportunities.” And U-M and Harbaugh continue to tout the “transformational, not transactional” as a positive, as well.

“If you come here and if you’re successful, you have a good chance of making a good amount of money,” senior running back Blake Corum said. “NIL doesn’t matter at Michigan. That’s why we’re not out here paying high school athletes. You have to come here, put in the work. You’ll reap what you sow.”

At the same time, more and more of the nation’s top recruits are getting it up front, and willing to go that route. Talent identification and development are huge, of course, and Harbaugh is elite at it. But there are only so many diamonds in the rough.

We’ll be very interested to see how this plays out over the next few years. But we do strongly believe that Michigan is losing out on kids they very likely would have gotten five years ago after back-to-back Big Ten titles.

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