Torres' Take: Oregon the New Favorite for Star Wide Receiver Gatlin Bair?
Believe it or not, yet another major head coach is on the move.
On Wednesday Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh opted to leave Ann Arbor and make his return to the NFL ranks as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers.
As is the case with nearly any coaching move, there are often implications on the recruiting trail.
For Oregon, there is one recruit in particular that this affects, and that's 2024 Burley (ID) wide receiver Gatlin Bair. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Adidas All-American is set to sign with either Michigan or Oregon within the next two weeks.
So what can we make of this development and how could it affect Bair?
For starters, I spoke with Bair about his Michigan interest in San Antonio earlier this month and he was well aware of the possibility that Harbaugh could make this very move.
"A lot of it will come down to what Coach Harbaugh does before I can make an accurate decision. You have to all the information before and then at that point, if nothing happens there then I'll kind of just continue to--I have a great relationship with everyone, so it just kind of comes down to what it is that I feel like will be best for my future."
The widespread thought is that offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore is the lead candidate to be named the next head coach, but there could be even more coaching movement with Michigan depending on who Harbaugh decides to take with him to Los Angeles.
For Oregon, I think they are in a great spot here for a couple of reasons. They've made it a priority to get out to Burley for multiple visits recently, whether that's been Junior Adams, Will Stein, Joe Lorig or even Dan Lanning himself. They're certainly checking the effort box.
Junior Adams also continues to solidify himself as one of the best developers at the position and Troy Franklin heading to the NFL will only give him more ammunition as a recruiter.
Lastly, Oregon looks like they have something to use in their recruiting pitch that they haven't consistently had in recent years: stability. Dan Lanning has once again reaffirmed his long-term commitment to be the head coach in Eugene and Bair can be confident that Lanning will still be in Eugene when he returns from his two-year mission trip. Meanwhile there's uncertainty in Ann Arbor.
I don't think that's the only factor at play here in a recruitment as big as this one, but maybe it ends up being what puts the Ducks over the top.
I'll need to do some digging and see what intel I can find here, but I think Oregon has made up ground on Michigan and I'd give them the slight edge over the Wolverines right now. We'll see what happens between now and his decision, which I'm thinking should be set for Wednesday February 7.
