When the University of Michigan brought home favorite son Jim Harbaugh to take the reins of the Wolverines football program, playing catch-up on recruiting was the coach's number one order of business. It seems Harbaugh and his staff have already hit the ground running.
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There were rumors that Harbaugh was going to bring D.J. Durkin aboard as his defensive coordinator. Durkin served under Harbaugh at Stanford and was last seen on the sidelines as the Florida Gators' interim head coach during the team's Birmingham Bowl win over East Carolina.
According to MLive.com, Durkin doesn't need any break or transition period between gigs -- he's already hit the recruiting trail on Michigan's behalf.
Durkin is known as one of the best recruiting talents in the sport -- he was even named national recruiter of the year by Rivals.com in 2012, after signing five players from the Top 250.
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Durkin also has cast a wide net with his recruiting efforts. He has experience and contacts in the west coast, southeast, and midwest. This is huge for Michigan; as Ohio State head coach Urben Meyer has shown, Big Ten teams can't rely solely on the midwest anymore if they want to compete with the SEC and other top power schools.
Durkin's talents arrive for UM not a moment too soon. With national signing day less than a month away, the Wolverines have only signed six commitments and are ranked 96th nationally, according to the Detroit Free Press. Expect both Harbaugh and his assistant to canvasse the country in the hopes of raising that profile before February 4th.
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