Reports out of Albuquerque, New Mexico are that Jim Harbaugh, newly minted as the head coach for the Michigan Wolverines, was recently at El Dorado High School to visit Zach Gentry.

The visit paid off, as news broke on Thursday morning that Gentry will take an official visit to Ann Arbor, according to a report from Rivals, putting his commitment to the Texas Longhorns in serious jeopardy.

Gentry, a four-star recruit who has been a commitment since May, had been steadfast in his decision to be a Texas Longhorn, not only because of Charlie Strong, but because of the bond he and assistant head coach for the offense/quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson have formed over the last year or so. Strong and his staff have been all in on Gentry since before he came to Austin, recruiting the 6'7 quarterback at Louisville.

The allure of playing for a coach like Jim Harbaugh is undeniable. Despite their recent struggles, Michigan is arguably the most recognized college football program after Texas. Harbaugh has a proven track record of quarterback development, from grooming Andrew Luck at Stanford to turning Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick into servicable quarterbacks in the NFL.

The question remains as to why Harbaugh wants Gentry. Michigan already has a four-star recruit at quarterback who has signed a letter of intent in Alex Malzone. However, Harbaugh has never been afraid to bring in his very own hand-picked quarterback who fits his style of play, as he did in San Fransisco. Malzone was the quarterback of the future for Brady Hoke and Doug Nussmeier, neither of whom is still with the program.

Gentry is a similar player to Malzone. Both are classified as "pro-style" quarterbacks according to Rivals.com, with Gentry holding an edge in positional rankings at No. 4 (Malzone comes in at No. 11). Gentry, however, has an added element in his game – the ability to run the football.

Harbaugh has always valued quarterbacks who can take off and run the ball when the pocket collapses. Gentry ran the ball 125 times for 904 yards and 19 touchdowns. Compare that to Malzone, who ran the ball 74 times for a paltry 52 yards (a 0.7 ypc average) and 2 touchdowns, and you may see one reason why Harbaugh is going after the Longhorns commit.

Another element? Gentry has one of the strongest arms of any quarterback in the 2015 class, in part because of the .leverage that his height provides. The much smaller Malzone, on the other hand, is considered a prospect who needs to add strength to increase his velocity.

Moreover, Harbaugh has a history of taking two quarterbacks in every class whenever possible, with Andrew Luck's year a notable exception. Like the Texas coaches, the new Michigan head man is trying to ensure as much competition as possible as quickly as possible.

Gentry is one recruit the Longhorns would be heartbroken to lose. Sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes regressed immensely in the last two games of last year, and Jerrod Heard is still an unproved talent on this roster. Gentry would add some competition to the mix and add some much needed diversity to the position, as both Swoopes and Heard are considered dual-threat quarterbacks.

Five-star Allen quarterback Kyler Murray was on campus Wednesday for an unofficial visit. Could the interest in the Texas A&M pledge have helped push Gentry to visit Michigan? It's a risk the coaches were apparently willing to take and one that could come back to burn them if Murray doesn't flip and Gentry does.

Earlier on Thursday morning, Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman noted that Gentry had removed the line in his Twitter bio about being committed to Texas. And Gentry and his family haven't re-affirmed his commitment to Texas. Neither of those things add up to anything positive for the Horns.

Gentry chose Charlie Strong and the Longhorns over Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide during his recruiting process. Can Strong and this staff fend off the advances coming in from the Big House? Stay tuned.