2012 QB Recruiting
As it seems that Devin is injured and it's looking more and more likely that Shane will start in the BWW Bowl, it got me to think about how the staff didn't recruit a QB in the 2012 class.
If I remember correctly, even though we put out a couple of offers, the only QBs that it seemed that we were really heavily pursuing were Zeke Pike and Gunnar Kiel. We finished second for Pike (which seems like a good thing now) and Kiel seemed to cool on Michigan after Shane committed. I don't remember us going after anyone else or being close to signing anyone else. Am I missing anything? Did the staff just stop looking in that class after Shane committed?
It seemed like a bad decision then and is worse now given that Shane had to burn his RS and that our BWW QB lineup is a true FR backed up by a walk-on (Cleary) backed up by either another walk-on (Swieca) or a guy that just started practicing (Bellomy).
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:02 PM ^
I'm glad we didn't end up with Gunner Kiel.
December 23rd, 2013 at 11:01 PM ^
Wasn't Gunnar Kiel the golfer in Happy Gilmore? ....oh wait, that was Shooter McGavin.
December 23rd, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^
You are thinking of Gunnar Stahl of Team Iceland from Mighty Ducks 2.
December 24th, 2013 at 7:53 AM ^
December 24th, 2013 at 10:54 AM ^
Wolf Stansson: Gunnar... you lost it for me.
Gunnar Stahl: [in disgust] You lost it for yourself!
[turning to his teammates]
Gunnar Stahl: Let's shake their hands!
[benches clear... Gunnar approaches Charlie]
Gunnar Stahl: Good work, Captain Duck!
Charlie: Thanks, Gunnar!
Talk about a guy with great character (pun intended)... If he's not a Michigan man, I don't know who is.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:06 PM ^
Kiel has bounced around to a lot of teams and Pike is/was a trouble maker. Michigan wasn't really in on any other guys that I remember and probably didn't want to take another guy like Bellomy just to take a guy. I'm sure they decided that other needs were higher and that they couldn't get the right guy. Looking back, I don't see any guy that it seems like wanted to go to Michigan and the coaches just didn't show interest
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:10 PM ^
Did Kiel end up at Notre Dame?
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:16 PM ^
In fact, I don't think he even showed up to campus.
Edit: I remembered that wrong...he did show up there, but transferred to Cincy.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:07 PM ^
Who cares. If the youngster has to play so be it. You're looking at a RS Freshman getting his first start vs. a true Freshman getting his first start.
Yes, it was a mistake not taking a QB in 2012. But it is in the past. Let's move on. Our QB depth chart looks fine moving forward. Can't we just focus on that?
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:10 PM ^
Why just let it go? There's a reason we had to depend on a true freshman quarterback as our back up and potential starter if anything happened to Devin. Should not have come to that. We should have taken a quarterback in the 2012 class, even if it was a guy with MAC/lower Big Ten offers.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:17 PM ^
Chad Henne (a true freshman) got thrown to the wolves when Gutierrez got the shoulder injury. Why didn't we have someone else then?
If Bellomy doesn't tear his ACL in the spring, we don't have this issue. Or if RichRod doesn't burn Denard's RS, we don't have this issue.
This isn't an issue that only Brady Hoke runs into. I have no issue with a True Freshman QB being the 3rd QB on the Depth Chart. Injuries happen. But I am sure there is no way in 2011/12, Brady Hoke is worried about having a RS Freshman as the 3rd QB in 2013, rather than a True Freshman. Not with the other glaring holes on this team.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:29 PM ^
You wouldn't rather have a guy who's been through the program for a year over a guy who just got here in the summer as the back up quarterback? And as coaches it's their job to prepare for anything, including injuries.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:41 PM ^
There are a finite number of scholarships available on the team. I would rather have someone who contributes than have 5 QB's on the roster, 4 of whom ride the pine 90% of the time and one of whom gets some garbage snaps.
Should Hoke have recruited another QB? Maybe. Is it going to be the end of the world? Probably not. Michigan's backup suffered a season ending injury. They have a former walk-on who was supposed to be pretty decent and a lot of people were happy when he committed.
What do you want him to say?
OMG!11!!111!!!!11!!! BurN The hOkE aT ThE sTaKe FOR all tHe StUPid DeciSiOnZZ tO noT TaKe moRE QBZ EverY YEaR!1!!11111!!1!!!
As he noted, injuries happen.
Deal with it.
December 23rd, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^
I'd say you hit that one out. +1
December 23rd, 2013 at 10:53 PM ^
December 24th, 2013 at 8:28 AM ^
Our last two recruits of 2012 were Willie Henry and Dennis Norfleet. Which one should we have passed on (to get another QB who would only be a back-up in this game because two other QB's are hurt?
December 24th, 2013 at 8:43 AM ^
you and the rest of us have a different definition of "normal attrition." Losing the starter and the back-up to an early season injury I don't qualify as "normal."
December 24th, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^
Why are there not 5 fifth year senior former 5 star qbs on the roster. Fucking mismanagement is unforgivable. I don't care he's only been there for 3 years. Fucking third string qb being a five star true freshman. Asshole.
December 23rd, 2013 at 7:41 PM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 7:52 PM ^
$5 240 000 reasons to play baseball for Clayton Richard last season.
Also, got to wear these uniforms....
December 23rd, 2013 at 8:13 PM ^
If he knew about those Padre uniformz back then, he'd probably have stuck with football.
December 23rd, 2013 at 7:57 PM ^
And he was not tackled for a loss, sacked, or suffer a concussion while he was pitching.
December 23rd, 2013 at 10:37 PM ^
Didn't have a bunch of fans blogging about how he "regressed" while playing hurt either.
December 24th, 2013 at 12:03 AM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:24 PM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^
December 24th, 2013 at 12:18 AM ^
December 24th, 2013 at 1:40 AM ^
December 24th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
Please spend the rest of your life in an attempt to correct this error. Never let go, never! We need you.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:08 PM ^
Gunner Kiel, Zach Kline, Tanner Magnum, Chad Voytik, Jake Rodrigues, Tyler Matthews, Wes Lunt, Nathan Peterman, Patrick Towles, Connor Brewer.
Those are the Top 10 pro-style QBs in the 2012 class. Actually. The only one out of the top 20 to do much this year is Maty Mauk.
So I know hindsight is 20/20.. but I don't see any QB in that list that Michigan could have landed that I'd be more comfortable with than Morris.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:11 PM ^
I forgot about Maty Mauk, didn't Michigan offer him and have some sincere interest?
December 23rd, 2013 at 6:21 PM ^
He's looked pretty good for Missouri filling in for James Franklin.
December 23rd, 2013 at 5:25 PM ^
I remember Zach Kline saying he was recruited by Michigan more than any other in either December or January. Also, he was beat out by a true freshman this year at Cal so maybe Shane is starting the bowl game anyway.
December 23rd, 2013 at 5:29 PM ^
Wes Lunt started as a Freshman at Oklahoma State before his injury and subsequent transfer to Illinois. For most of this season, the Oklahoma area pundits think OSU would have been much better off with Lunt starting than anyone else on the roster.
December 23rd, 2013 at 6:16 PM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 7:15 PM ^
His last name is Mangum, not Magnum. He's a Mormon guy who committed to BYU, then went on a Mormon mission. He was impressive on the camp circuit.
December 23rd, 2013 at 8:00 PM ^
This guy could help.
These would be delicious.
This used to belong to TP at Ohio.
So did this.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:10 PM ^
If memory serves me right, they recruited a couple of guys but (I think) they thought Bellomy could be a serviceable QB while Morris was in the wings. Plus, Gardner still was a strong option at QB. Considering some of the other holes Hoke inheritted, I'm fine with them not wasting a scholarship on a sub-optimal QB after missing out on Pike and Kiel (which as we noted, probably was a bullet missed).
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:13 PM ^
IF Shane ends up starting the Copper Bowl against Kansas State. I still think Gardner is in pads just in case. I can only imagine how painful it would be to play with turf toe, but he clearly played with the pain at some point.
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:18 PM ^
A depth chart of Gardner, Bellomy and Morris would have been fine this year so it doesn't seem like that big of a deal to not take a QB in 2012. It's just bad luck that injuries occured.
December 23rd, 2013 at 10:58 PM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^
would have had the toe amputated if he would have had turf toe...
December 23rd, 2013 at 5:37 PM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
December 23rd, 2013 at 4:53 PM ^
I don't feel like the recruiting has been that terrible for the amount of time Hoke's been at Michigan yet and I feel like the roster is in better shape than it was when he arrived.
December 23rd, 2013 at 11:08 PM ^
December 24th, 2013 at 4:42 PM ^
Our recruiting classes were ranked as following according to 247Sports the three years prior to Hoke's arrival:
2008: 10th
2009: 11th
2010: 16th
Yes, the 2012 and 2013 recruiting classes were good, and better than the 2008-10 period, but it is not as if we went from the 40s to the top ten. Recruiting is not a panacea that cures poor coaching.
There is a reason why Auburn under Loeffler last year did not win a single SEC game, and is in the championship game this year under a new staff. At some point, the finger-pointing at the RR era will not simply be overplayed, but will not hold any water at all. (To look at it another way, has the cupboard been bare at every place Borges has coached? Why has he not lasted at any major job in the past 15 years? In what program that he coached has the offense gotten better over time?)
*Edit: One last note. Oregon over this period (2008-present) has never had a top 10 recruiting class. Stanford had one (2012, which preceded a 51st ranking for a small class in 2013). Other than 2011 (the "Process" year with Dave Brandon), Michigan has consistently had more highly ranked recruiting classes than Oregon or Stanford. A team does not need multiple top 10 recruiting classes to field a competent offense.
December 23rd, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^
...who should they have recruited?
We've already talked about Maty Mauk, who who in that class was a legitmate option?
December 23rd, 2013 at 5:31 PM ^
Tyler O'Conner looked promising - never got a Michigan offer - now at MSU.