Two No-Star Recruits Were Saturday's Stars
Two of the players that were considered symbols of a disappointing 2018 recruiting class carried the Wolverines to victory on Saturday.
Haskins' career-high 125 yards rushing was the most by a Wolverine so far this season. He also has the two longest runs from scrimmage for Michigan so far in 2019. And against the Illini he showed the total package. Flashing the speed to get to the edge, bursting through the hole between the tackles, and he was looking to finish his runs with power when he could.
Then there's Bell, who has become Michigan's No.1 receiver and a model of consistency in an otherwise sputtering offense. His 71-yard catch-and-run Saturday now gives him the two longest plays from scrimmage the Wolverines have this season. His career-high 98 yards receiving is the most by a Michigan player so far in 2019.
Translation: essentially two no-star recruits from an underwhelming 2018 recruiting class carried the Wolverines to a Big Ten road win in only their second years in the program.
The 2018 class closed with a whimper, and finished only No.22 in the 247 Sports Composite team rankings. Michigan failed to sign any 5-stars in that class, and only seven of the 22 signees were 4-stars. But even in a class panned by fans, Bell and Haskins were considered reaches.
Bell was considered more of a basketball prospect coming out of the Kansas City area. His only other Power Five offer for football came from Kansas State, which only seemed interested in him after Michigan surprisingly took his commitment. He was ranked the No.1473 prospect by the 247 Composite.
Fellow Missourian Haskins was modestly rated the 70th-best running back prospect in the country two years ago. Not necessarily the kind of kid that usually gets offered by Michigan, especially at a skill position. In fact, the Wolverines were his only Power Five offer. However, based on what we saw Saturday some schools definitely missed on him.
Fans are skeptical when coaches take players so undervalued by the recruiting services. But based on these early returns, Jim Harbaugh was right to trust his evaluation over what the recruitniks thought.
