What would missing Dante Moore mean for Jim Harbaugh, Michigan?

Five-star quarterback Dante Moore seems to be trending toward Oregon lately. What would missing him mean for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan?

A little over two weeks ago, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan missed out on five-star legacy quarterback CJ Carr, the grandson of coaching legend Lloyd Carr, to Notre Dame.

Michigan fans talked themselves into the idea that they valued five-star quarterback Dante Moore in the 2023 class even more. There’s even been talk that Carr was a secondary target compared to five-star Jadyn Davis from North Carolina in the 2024 class.

But seeing Lloyd Carr don a Notre Dame hat after his five-star grandson picked the Irish had to sting for Michigan fans and alumni everywhere.

Also, how often does a school not value a five-star legacy quarterback prospect from its own backyard? Pretty much never.

Now, Harbaugh may be feeling even more heat as his top quarterback prospect in the 2023 class, Moore, is trending elsewhere. On Thursday, Steve Wiltfong placed a crystal ball in favor of Oregon for the five-star quarterback from Detroit.

What would missing out on Moore to Oregon mean for Harbaugh and the Wolverines?

For one, it means that maybe Harbaugh is using an archaic recruiting approach in the NIL era. There’s a good chance Moore will be talking big NIL deals with schools like Oregon and Michigan has been playing the holier than thou card, stating that prospects should value the money they make after college more than making it while they’re there. That’s not going to work anymore.

The NIL era requires adjustments and Harbaugh has yet to make those.

Missing out on another five-star quarterback from his own backyard in back-to-back recruiting classes would be an absolute nightmare.

It would mean that times are changing and if Harbaugh doesn’t adjust, he’s going to be passed up and he could find himself in a similar spot to the one he was in before the 2021 season: on the hot seat with the fanbase calling for his job.