One of the age-old sayings in college football has consistently proven true in the CFP era: Five-star recruits win championships.

While Michigan football's title-winning squad doubtless had loads of talent in 2023, the Wolverines (on paper, at least) were something of an outlier among champions of the playoff era. Based on 247Sports’ Composite recruiting metrics, Michigan ranked 14th in total roster talent — the lowest-such ranking of any national champion since 2015.

Turns out, Michigan’s talent evaluation and player development were enough to become the best team in college football this season.

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Michigan finished with a perfect 15-0 record this season, winning all but three of its games by double digits. That includes its 34-13 win over No. 2 Washington (14-1, 9-0 Pac-12) in the College Football Playoff national championship on Monday. And the Wolverines did it with only two former five-star recruits on their roster: defensive back Will Johnson and quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

Comparatively, Alabama — whom Michigan beat 27-20 in overtime at the Rose Bowl — ranked first in 247Sports’ talent rating for the 2023 season. The Crimson Tide had 18 five-star players and 56 four-stars. For comparison, the Wolverines have 45 four-star players.

Here’s a look at where Michigan’s talent metric ranks among other national champions since the 2015-16 season, when 247Sports started tracking such information:

More: Michigan football early 2024 rankings: Where are the Wolverines picked for next season?

Recruiting rankings of each national champion

Here are each of the national champions’ talent metrics in terms of recruiting since the 2015 college football season (the first for which 247Sports kept track of a "talent metric"):

• 2023: Michigan (14th)

• 2022: Georgia (2nd)

• 2021: Georgia (2nd)

• 2020: Alabama (2nd)

• 2019: LSU (5th)

• 2018: Clemson (6th)

• 2017: Alabama (1st)

• 2016: Clemson (9th)

• 2015: Alabama (1st)

Michigan has the lowest-rated team talent score among national champions since the 2015 season, and is the only team listed with a talent rating outside of the top 10. Clemson, who won the title in the 2016 and 2018 college football seasons, had the second and third-lowest ratings at ninth and sixth, respectively.

Moreover, Michigan's 2023 title team is the first since LSU's 2019 team to rank outside the top two in terms of total talent. The Tigers' team that season was ranked fifth.

More: These 35 fabulous photos document Michigan's national title win against Huskies

Michigan recruiting class rankings under Jim Harbaugh

Here’s the list of Michigan’s recruiting class rankings (per 247Sports Composite) since Jim Harbaugh took over as coach in 2015:

• 2024: 15th

• 2023: 17th

• 2022: 9th

• 2021: 13th

• 2020: 10th

• 2019: 8th

• 2018: 22nd

• 2017: 5th

• 2016: 8th

• 2015: 37th

Harbaugh’s best recruiting class at Michigan came in 2017, when he signed five-stars Donovan Peoples-Jones and Aubrey Solomon, along with future first-round picks offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz and defensive end Kwity Paye.

The class also included four-star receiver Nico Collins, who’s now the leading receiver for the Houston Texans.

Five-star recruits under Jim Harbaugh

Since taking the Michigan job in 2015, Harbaugh has signed just seven five-star recruits, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings. Alabama, who Michigan beat in the College Football Playoff this season, had 18 on its 2023 roster alone.

Here’s the full list of five-star recruits to sign to Michigan under Harbaugh:

• DB Will Johnson (2022)

• QB J.J. McCarthy (2021)

• DB Daxton Hill (2019)

• OL Christopher Hinton (2019)

• WR Donovan Peoples-Jones (2017)

• DL Aubrey Solomon (2017)

• DL Rashan Gary (2016)

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football recruiting's 'talent metric' lowest of any CFP champion