As Ted Ginn Sr. imagined it, Jim Harbaugh is down on the nook retailer on St. Clair Ave., a most important drag that cuts by means of one in all Cleveland’s hardscrabble pockets. The neighborhood youngsters are there to greet the well-known Michigan soccer coach and Ginn Sr. is true beside him, making introductions.

“Right here goes Jim,” Ginn Sr. stated playfully, persevering with to indulge his fantasy.

However then Ginn Sr. snapped again to actuality and mumbled, “I ain’t seen him.”

He doesn’t know why and finds it somewhat unusual that he hasn’t. However as he remembers, Harbaugh hasn’t paid a go to to Glenville Excessive Faculty, the place Ginn Sr. presides over one in all Ohio’s richest sources of soccer expertise. No program within the state has extra lively gamers within the NFL than Glenville, the place Ginn is the coach. Amongst its seven alumni enjoying on Sundays are former Michigan standouts Frank Clark and Willie Henry.

“I can bear in mind a time when coaches needed to come by means of Glenville — whether or not you wished to or not,” Ginn Sr. stated. “You needed to have it on the schedule. …You’ve bought to have Ohio gamers.”

However lately, Michigan has gone elsewhere to fill its roster. Within the Wolverines’ final signing class, which featured 23 enrollees, none of their new additions had been from Ohio. On the cusp of the early signing that begins Wednesday, solely one in all Michigan’s 21 commitments hails from Buckeye nation — three-star security Rod Moore of Clayton, a Dayton suburb.

As Harbaugh’s tenure has advanced, the composition of the Wolverines’ roster has grow to be a mirrored image of a weird recruiting technique that appears to have deemphasized the state throughout Michigan’s southeastern border. Following the current departure of offensive lineman Zach Carpenter, the group has solely 12 gamers from Ohio — 13 fewer than it had in 2014, the ultimate 12 months of Brady Hoke’s regime.

“It must be noticeable,” stated Steve Arnold, the coach of Warren G. Harding, a program on the outskirts of Youngstown. “The place are the Ohio youngsters at?”

The disbelief in his voice may be detected.

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“Should you’re within the recruiting division inside that college,” he continued, “why aren’t you paying shut consideration to that understanding what kind of soccer this state has and the way good it has been to your program?”

It’s a pointed query but in addition an inexpensive one. For years, Ohio provided the Wolverines with a few of their brightest stars. Their two most up-to-date Heisman Trophy winners, Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard, are from there. So too are a few of Michigan’s prime contributors from yesteryear, together with quarterback Elvis Grbac, receiver Mario Manningham and tight finish Jake Butt.

“In fact, I’m biased,” Butt stated. “However there are some good soccer gamers in Ohio. You take a look at a few of Michigan’s all-time greats …”

The historical past can’t be ignored, and if anybody is conscious of it, it’s Harbaugh. He was born in Toledo and performed for Bo Schembechler, who was raised exterior Akron within the small metropolis of Barberton. Schembechler cast Michigan into an influence by mining his house state. In Harbaugh’s ultimate 12 months as Michigan’s quarterback in 1986, 25 of his teammates hailed from Ohio.

“Bo would get 5 or 6 a 12 months from Ohio — primarily, northeastern Ohio due to his ties to Barberton,” stated ESPN analyst and former Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit. “And I imply that was all the time like if Michigan performed Ohio State, they might have two or three on offense that began and two or three on protection, and that simply appeared to be a factor, you understand, for a protracted, very long time. … I don’t comply with recruiting intently sufficient to know why they’re not touchdown extra Ohio guys.”

The regular and nearly inevitable rise of the Buckeyes as faculty soccer’s most dominant program within the Midwest has had an affect. For the reason that arrival of Jim Tressel in 2001 and onward by means of the teaching tenures of City Meyer and Ryan Day, Ohio State has loved 16 seasons with no less than 10 victories and gained two nationwide titles. Throughout the identical interval, Michigan hasn’t completed ranked greater than No. 6 and has suffered 4 or extra losses a dozen occasions.

That features this season, when the Wolverines have defeated solely two of the six groups they’ve performed. However even throughout this system’s gradual descent that marked Hoke’s disappointing regime, Michigan nonetheless made inroads in Ohio.

Hoke, a Dayton native, made it his mission to recruit there. As Ginn Sr. remembered it, Hoke known as him the day he was employed at Michigan in January 2011 and made a plea.

“I must get again into Ohio,” Hoke instructed him. “You’ve bought to assist me.”

Ginn Sr. was comfortable to help. Recruiting is about relationships, and he knew Hoke from his days at Ball State. This was a person Ginn Sr. felt he may belief. Shortly after their dialog, Clark landed at Michigan and Henry adopted him to Ann Arbor a 12 months later.

Even when Hoke was fired, Ginn Sr. was hopeful the connection to the Wolverines would stay sturdy. Ginn Sr.’s son, the eponymous huge receiver who starred at Ohio State within the 2000s, performed for Harbaugh with the San Francisco 49ers. So, Ginn Sr. figured they’d have a bond of some sort. The Glenville coach even known as Harbaugh when he took the Michigan job.

“I believed we’d have a reasonably good relationship,” he stated. “However some form of approach we by no means bought it established. …They’ve bought to come back in right here and restore it and are available again with that idea of what it was once. We don’t also have a risk of an Ohio child going to Michigan no extra. And that was one of many largest threats.”

About an hour’s drive southeast in Warren, Arnold doesn’t perceive why Harbaugh and the Wolverines haven’t made extra of an effort in a state that produces essentially the most expertise within the area and is inside shut proximity of their program. However primarily based on his private expertise, he claims the Wolverines have taken a passive strategy.

What has befuddled Arnold essentially the most is he has been receptive to Michigan up to now. Arnold has served at Harding in varied teaching roles even earlier than Manningham and former Wolverines linebacker Prescott Burgess roamed the halls as blue-chip prospects. Years later, when Harbaugh returned to Michigan as coach, Arnold risked alienating each his group and the Buckeyes by agreeing to host one in all Harbaugh’s satellite tv for pc camps in 2016.

However since then Harbaugh hasn’t been again, based on Arnold.

Michigan additionally hasn’t tried to reestablish a presence there, he famous. Whereas cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich, a Youngstown native, has dropped by now and again, Alford stated the outreach from Ohio State assistants Brian Hartline, Greg Mattison and Tony Alford has been extra constant. Whereas Ohio State has flooded the varsity’s mailbox with postcards and letters, Harding has obtained “not one” piece of correspondence from Michigan, Alford asserted.

“You’ll be able to take that as no matter,” Alford continued with a touch of annoyance. “I’m not saying Warren Harding is all that, however we’ve bought guys. And we now have had guys who’ve performed nicely at Michigan. I feel it’s actually unusual. I don’t know what their recruiting practices are, and I don’t know what area they’re aiming for.”

However Harbaugh insists the Wolverines haven’t uncared for Ohio. Requested Monday if Michigan nonetheless prioritizes recruiting in that state, he responded, “Sure.”

Each Ginn and Alford have arrived at a unique conclusion. They see the Buckeyes, with their relentless recruiting strategy, monopolizing the state’s prime expertise as different packages push more durable than Michigan to construct a pipeline and draw away high quality prospects. Lately, Notre Dame, Cincinnati and Kentucky have gained recruiting battles in Ohio whereas the Wolverines have stood on the sidelines.

“Now we give different folks an opportunity to infiltrate the world that ought to be dominated by Michigan and Ohio State,” Ginn Sr. stated. “It don’t make sense.”

The absence of Ohio prospects in Michigan’s two most up-to-date recruiting lessons, Herbstreit famous, was “surprising.”

Because the Wolverines have been uncovered as one of many worst groups within the Huge Ten this season, Herbstreit has theorized in several boards that their failures are tangentially associated to their dwindling provide of Ohio gamers and a misguided technique centered on courting New England’s greatest.

“I’m trying on the roster now and I’m seeing Connecticut and New Hampshire and Rhode Island, and I’m not saying they don’t play good soccer, there’s only a very totally different roster,” he stated.

“It’s what it’s,” Arnold stated. “However I feel that’s a part of their struggles.”

Ginn is aware of it wasn’t all the time this manner.

He remembers when Michigan was a consider his yard, battling Ohio State for the very best gamers and going toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes on the sector.

He turns wistful serious about it, letting the nostalgia wash over him.

“I bear in mind all the youngsters who left right here,” he stated. “These had been good years, man. These had been good occasions.”

Now, he can solely hope they return and picture what they’ll be like.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Observe him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Learn extra on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and join our Huge Ten e-newsletter.

This text initially appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan soccer’s recruiting vanishing act in Ohio is an open wound