If there’s ever a recruiting angle in Rome, Italy, SEC coaches might need to play catch up against Michigan and Jim Harbaugh, given the fact that the Wolverines plan to travel there this spring. But as it stands now, Coach Khaki’s attempts to infiltrate the SEC footprint have hit a snag.

It came last week when the Power 5 conferences, led by the ACC and SEC, voted to close a loophole that Harbaugh exploited last spring and summer to hold practices away from campus during a vacation period. SEC coaches have worked to block Harbaugh from using the tactic for nearly a year.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said after the vote, which stemmed from a Pac-12 proposal, that he leaned on student-athletes’ opinion on the issue, which was set up to allow practice during supposed scheduled breaks.

“It’s as fundamental as that,” Sankey said, according to the Associated Press. “It wasn’t about one institution. It wasn’t about some regional protection effort. It was very simply if we’re going to sit here and talk about trying to be attentive to the time expectations and managing those appropriately for student-athletes. We have to look at that type of out of season, off-campus, take a trip practice.”

Not only did Harbaugh invade SEC territory, he took direct aim at Nick Saban and Kirby Smart in a pair of tweets.

The Wolverines, after all, landed two recruits from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., the location of Michigan’s spring break workouts last year. Michigan also has two other recruits in this class from the SEC footprint, a 3-star player from Alabama and Georgia.

The two IMG recruits are highlights in this year’s recruiting class from Michigan’s first spring break trip to IMG Academy that yielded great dividends. Harbaugh landed the nation’s top center prospect, Cesar Ruiz, and outside linebacker Jordan Anthony, the No. 9 player at his position, according to 247 Sports, both 4-stars.

The concern for SEC coaches was Ruiz and Anthony were part of a roster at IMG that featured 12 of the top 250 recruits for 2017 as ranked by the 247Sports Composite. And Harbaugh’s focus on the Southeast was because 15 of the top 50 recruits on 247 Sports’ final ranking are from Georgia or Florida.

Harbaugh has built the No. 4 class in the country, but by and large, Michigan’s recruits hail from the Rust Belt of the Upper Midwest, and the Northeast.

The SEC area influence on this class is negligible, especially compared to his 2016 class, which included eight recruits from SEC states. In Harbaugh’s first season in 2015, four of the 14 enrollees came from SEC territory, including three from Florida.

But from the moment he took the Michigan job, Harbaugh took direct aim at the SEC, most notably Alabama, which had the No. 1 recruiting class every year since 2011, according to 247Sports.

If the 2017 haul is any indication, Harbaugh has a lot more work to do to become a recruiting king in the South.

Still, the question remains, is this loophole closed for good, or is it the first of many Harbaugh will explore?