Michigan Recruiting: Top-100 WR Target Worried on Jim Harbaugh-NFL

Getty Jim Harbaugh is hoping for good Michigan recruiting news on Gatlin Bair

Throughout the 2023 season, Michigan recruiting news has been tempered by two factors. One, of course, is the overblown sign-stealing scandal that resulted in the suspension of Jim Harbaugh. The other is the future of Jim Harbaugh himself—whether he will stay in Ann Arbor long-term or head to the NFL. Despite that, Michigan has the No. 16-ranked class in the nation per ESPN and still has a chance to move up: The Wolverines are one of two schools, with Oregon, in the running for star receiver Gatlin Bair.

Bair is one of only two recruits in ESPN’s Top 80 that have yet to sign with a program (receiver Aaron Butler, who decommitted from Colorado, is the other). Hailing from Burley, Idaho, Bair had committed to Boise State but pulled back in the summer after coach Andy Avalos was fired.

“He decommitted from Boise State. They’re no longer any part of his consideration, and he’s focused on Oregon and Michigan,” his high school coach, Cameron Andersen, told The Athletic. “He wants to gather as much information as possible. There’s a lot of things that go into play, that it’s smart just to be patient and watch.”

Gatlin Bair Could Boost Michigan Recruiting News

Adding Gatlin Bair would be a big boost for Michigan recruiting news. As it stands, there are only two receivers in the 2024 group, I’marion Stewart from Chicago and Channing Goodwin of North Carolina. Neither ranks among the Top 300 recruits in the nation.

Bair, though, is a star in the making—and not just in football. He is also the son of two track and field athletes who himself has become a track and field star. Bair has set state records in the 100-meter dash and, at 10.15 seconds, ran the second-fastest prep 100-meter dash in the country this year.

As 24/7 Sports wrote of Bair: “The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Gatlin Bair possesses excellent on-field context along with a layered athletic profile, which includes scorching 100-meter and 200-meter times with excellent jumping numbers. Bair also gained reps in the return game. His athleticism and experience certainly fit at receiver, but he also possesses immense upside as a defensive projection as well.”

Jim Harbaugh Future Worrying Bair?

One issue for Bair, though, is that though he is in the Class of 2024, he is not quite expected to be part of the Class of 2024. Certainly, he won’t help the Wolverines much next year. He is a Mormon and plans to perform a two-year mission before he begins his career. That means he could be making Michigan recruiting news right up to when he enrolls in school in January 2026.

That would make Bair, though, a 20-year-old freshman. If he stuck around a few years, he’d potentially be a blazing fast 23-year-old facing off against wide-eyed teenagers.

Andersen told The Athletic that Bair did ask Harbaugh about potentially leaving for the NFL. Harbaugh answer was refreshingly honest for Bair, but probably not great Michigan football news.

“We had a very fluid conversation about that, and I think coach Harbaugh has been honest with everyone,” Andersen said. “There’s nowhere else in college he’s gonna go. He doesn’t really want to be anywhere else. But there’s always the intrigue and thought of the NFL if it’s the right situation — the one that is built completely for what he needs, that he couldn’t turn down.”