Michigan Wolverines football: ESPN supports Jim Harbaugh’s bold prediction

This year’s Michigan Wolverines football team is loaded with talent, depth, and, perhaps most importantly, experience. Earlier this offseason, 9th-year head coach Jim Harbaugh made a bold claim, stating that he thinks his 2023 Wolverines will break the NFL Draft record for the most players picked from a single school in the same year — the record is currently 15. While ESPN is certainly not as bullish on the Maize and Blue as Harbaugh is, they agree with his optimism that this year’s Wolverines will shatter this major draft record. From stars like JJ McCarthy, Blake Corum, and more, this year’s roster could be special for many reasons.

ESPN supports bold Jim Harbaugh claim about Michigan Wolverines football and a major NFL Draft record

ESPN recently broke down their ‘Top 10 College Football Teams With The Most 2024 NFL Draft Prospects.’ While the famed network does not support Jim Harbaugh’s belief that this year’s Wolverines will have 20 or more players taken in the draft, they do think that the Maize and Blue can break the record of 15 players.

“I think we’ll have 20 guys picked (in the next NFL draft),” Harbaugh said. “I bet we break that (draft) record. (The Georgia Bulldogs) had 15 that year.”

According to this new breakdown of the top 2024 NFL Draft talent, the Michigan Wolverines football team will have 17 players picked in the 2024 draft. Notably, only one player is projected as a first-rounder (defensive tackle Kris Jenkins).

After the 2023 season, several other star players from the Michigan Wolverines football team on both sides of the ball will be able to declare for the draft. Quarterback JJ McCarthy, running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, linebacker Junior Colson, safety Rod Moore, and many others are being considered the most likely candidates to forgo the remainder of their eligibility and make the leap to the NFL.

It is still quite early to determine whether JJ McCarthy and others will choose to leave the Michigan football program after the upcoming season. However, with just 13 days until kickoff, it’s apparent that ESPN believes Jim Harbaugh could be onto something with his record-breaking claim.

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