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Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and assistant coach Greg Mattison scored a big recruiting victory on Wednesday when top-50 offensive lineman Ben Bredeson pledged his commitment to U-M.

(Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News)

ANN ARBOR -- Jim Harbaugh netted a big time catch Wednesday.

Offensive lineman Ben Bredeson, ranked as the No. 31 overall 2016 prospect in the country according to the 247Sports Composite ranking, pledged his commitment to Michigan over a number of suitors, notably Notre Dame.

Bredeson, a 6-foot-5, 293-pound lineman from Hartland, Wisconsin, is ranked as the No. 4 offensive tackle in his class in the 247 Composite.

Scout.com ranks Bredeson as the No. 1 offensive guard in the country and No. 25 overall 2016 recruit.

Bredeson, a rising senior at Arrowhead Union High School in Hartland, held reported offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Miami, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee and Wisconsin, among others.

In early May, he named his finalists as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Stanford and Alabama.

Bredeson later visited Ann Arbor on May 30.

Now, two weeks later, he's a Wolverine.

ESPN.com's Insider evaluation reads: "Bredeson is tough prospect with the ability to transition to the college level as an OT or if needed slide inside. Needs to continue to fill out his frame and may need to adjust to a slightly steeper jump in competition, but big man that will battle and get the job done. With continued progress can be a strong multi-year starter for a Power-5 O-Line."

ESPN ranks Bredeson as the No. 53 overall player and No. 4 offensive tackle in 2016.

Wednesday's commitment from Bredeson is the highlight of a recent recruiting surge by Michigan, which has seen nine players commit in June and 15 total for the 2016 class. Bredeson's pledge, in terms of rankings and prestige, is by far the biggest.

U-M assistant coach Greg Mattison was Bredeson's primary contact though the recruiting process.

Bredeson joins Cass Tech offensive guard Michael Onwenu and offensive tackle Erik Swenson, an Illinois native, as perhaps Michigan's three best recruiting pickups, making the offensive line U-M's strongest area in the 2016 class.

Jack Bredeson, Ben's brother, signed a National Letter of Intent last November to play baseball at U-M and will be a freshman next year before being joined by his younger brother in 2016.

Brendan F. Quinn covers University of Michigan basketball and football. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on Wolverines hoops. He can be contacted at bquinn@mlive.com