What our sources are saying about Michigan football’s chances to land No. 1 recruit Zach Harrison.

Michigan Football Recruiting: The Latest on Zach Harrison

Here’s what (we think) we know.

I’ve been speaking to a handful of sources over the course of the last few weeks, including my best source, close to the Michigan side of things, in regards to Zach Harrison, his official visit to Ann Arbor last month, his turn at The Opening and beyond. Here’s what I’ve learned:

I had reported back just after his visit that Michigan had seemed to had overtaken Penn State after Harrison’s official visit. Conflicting from the info I reported earlier (which was from a few sources), one source indicated that there had been some concern that Penn State may be more of a threat than was initially realized. Checking in with a few other sources closer to Harrison and the other programs, there had been minimal concern about the Nittany Lions reeling Harrison in, but given the state of his recruitment, it’s difficult to say for sure. Our primary source indicated that the pull to Ohio State for Harrison, personally, might not be as strong as many have indicated, and that Michigan seems to be his personal preference, given everything. However, there’s a strong concurrent belief that Ohio State is his parents’ preference. Hence the sentiment coming out of The Opening that he’s “confused” about where he stands. The source indicated that if it comes to a compromise, Penn State could remain in play.

Going back to his official visit, our source expounded: Harrison paired with second-year defensive ends Kwity Paye and Luiji Vilain — but, Harrison did also get to spend time with Rashan Gary, as well — big, considering that he was also a former No. 1 recruit and chose Michigan. Of course, he also got to see Gary and work with him, as Rashan was a guest coach down at The Opening. From what we’ve been told, while in Ann Arbor, he got a lot of time to bond with longtime commits Chris Hinton and Charles Thomas — both active recruiters for the class —now-commits Mazi Smith and DJ Turner — who had already decided for Michigan, but hadn’t committed yet at the time — and current target Aeneas DiCosmo, who is approaching his recruitment from the academic side of things.

As far as the visit itself went, like we reported earlier, we were told Michigan felt it went really well, but this source took it a step further and said it was an “A+” as far as how Michigan felt it went. Now, we’re in wait-and-see mode, as Harrison is expected to make a decision (quietly, to himself) any time now, with plans to commit on August 14.

Our own Evan Petzold put in a 247Sports Crystal Ball in for Michigan to land Harrison knowing the info above, with a few other factors contributing to his belief — including some optimism from some of Michigan’s current commits at landing him. I’m not ready to make such a bold declaration, and gun to my head, I’m sticking with Ohio State until proven otherwise. One source close to Harrison indicated that, regardless of his possible preference for Michigan, there’s still a strong pull to Ohio State given the family angle. Michigan has definitely put itself in stellar position as far as Harrison is concerned, and we’re just going to have to sit in wait to see where this decision takes him, if our variety of sources are correct in their assertions.