As Jim Harbaugh puts together an all-star coaching staff at Michigan, we're profiling his targets to give our readers the inside scoop on what to expect out of the 2015 Wolverines. Today, we're looking at Vince Marrow, a star recruiter strongly linked to Michigan over the past week.
Marrow, 46, is currently the recruiting coordinator for Mark Stoops at the University of Kentucky, and his success with the Wildcats has been unprecedented. Despite a 2-10 record in 2013 and an unimpressive recent history in SEC play, Marrow helped bring in the #34 recruiting class in the nation in 2013 and the #22 group in 2014. Under Marrow, the Wildcats have managed to lock down the best recruits in their home state, but have also taken a number of three- and four-star recruits from Ohio, Marrow's home turf (seven of Kentucky's 17 2015 commits are from Ohio, along with 11 out of 28 2014 recruits).
Clearly, Marrow has some connections to Big 10 country, and the opportunity to steal top recruits from Urban Meyer's home turf has to sound pretty nice to Michigan fans. Marrow's ties to Ohio run deep - a Youngstown native, he attended Youngstown State for two years before transferring to nearby Toledo, where he played TE for the Rockets.
Marrow was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 11th round of the 1994 draft, and he spent four seasons shuffling between the Bills, Chiefs and Panthers before heading for NFL Europe in 1998. His coaching career began in Europe as well, and he was TE coach for the Berlin Thunder and Rhein Fire before returning to the American college game in 2008.
Marrow's combination of NFL experience, coaching acumen and recruiting talent got the attention of a number of coaches, among them former Nebraska HC Bo Pelini. Pelini made Marrow an assistant in 2011, and he spent two seasons in Lincoln before Stoops - an old friend from their days growing up in Youngstown together - brought him to Kentucky in 2012.
Is Marrow a lock for Michigan? While some local columnists in Kentucky aren't convinced, he got one very convincing endorsement over the weekend when former Michigan commit Chris Clark (the #1 TE in the Class of 2015) predicted to Scout.com that Marrow will end up with the Wolverines (Clark is not considering Kentucky, and will decide between Michigan and UCLA in the coming weeks).
The Wolverines have made an official offer, as of 1/4, and expect an answer by the middle of next week. Marrow would be an excellent hire, but his contributions in Kentucky have made him a very popular guy there...don't expect the Wildcats to let him go without a fight.
For more on Marrow, you can check out his official Kentucky bio, or watch this video profile from Wildcats TV (direct link for Mobile readers - click here!):
[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkMVw6XYUzo[/embed]
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5 Huge Recruits Jim Harbaugh Could Land As Michigan's Head Coach
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