Michigan Football: 5 reasons why Jim Harbaugh is overrated

3 of 5

ANN ARBOR, MI – OCTOBER 22: Jabrill Peppers #5 of the Michigan Wolverines waits for a play call while playing the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 22, 2016 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

3. Inheriting Heisman finalists

Being a Heisman finalist himself, Harbaugh understands what it takes to reach the prestigious ceremony at the culmination of each season. And he’s coached a couple of them, too: Toby Gerhart in 2009 (Stanford), Andrew Luck in 2010 and 2011 (Stanford) and Jabrill Peppers in 2016 (Michigan).

More: What happened to ‘Last Chance U’ star Isaiah Wright?

Gerhart finished second to Mark Ingram in one of the closest votes in Heisman history. Luck finished second the following two seasons to Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III. Peppers had an incredible season in 2016, but had no business being invited to the Heisman ceremony. Alabama’s Jonathan Allen and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey both scored more first-place votes than the Wolverine.

Cardinal stars in the NFL

Only one of those Heisman finalists was actually recruited by Harbaugh, though: Andrew Luck. The following (shortened) list of guys made the NFL playing for Harbaugh, but they weren’t handpicked – he inherited them.

David DeCastro
Zach Ertz
Coby Fleener
Cameron Fleming
Jonathan Martin
Ty Montgomery
Trent Murphy
Richard Sherman
Stepfan Taylor

Now, there are some impressive players on the above list, most notably DeCastro, Fleener, Montgomery and Sherman. But he lucked out when Sherman was granted a fifth year of eligibilty, and only coached DeCastro and Fleener for two seasons.

Wolverines stars in the NFL

All the players he just ushered into the league from Michigan weren’t his recruits either, this being only his third season as head coach. Fourteen were invited to the NFL combine, highlighted by first-round picks Jabrill Peppers and Taco Charlton.