Visitors vs. Northwestern
I put together a visitors' list for this weekend when Michigan takes on Northwestern (LINK). The list includes Jai Eugene, Jr., the son of former Michigan target Jai Eugene who somewhat famously spurned Michigan to stay home at LSU since he was becoming a teenage dad and having a kid...named Jai Eugene, Jr.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:29 AM ^
Jai Eugene was a senior in 2010. Damn, we're old.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:36 AM ^
I think those exact same words every time I look at my old Woodstock ticket (there was no one to collect it so I kept it and framed it).
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^
You’re just well seasoned my man. Got any crazy stories?
October 22nd, 2021 at 8:42 PM ^
Yep, I surely do. The party was only getting started when someone in a Corvair ran over my foot while first walking a looong way to the farm; pain meds were required the entire weekend, lol.
The offending driver is now my "junior" partner in a nice little business venture. As the song goes, it's been a long, strange trip. Very, lol.
October 22nd, 2021 at 1:17 PM ^
I felt old when someone on Twitter called the Rolling Stones nothing more than a "jukebox band" and no different from KISS, and when I asked him whose music from today would be as popular in 50 years as the Stones' music is today, he said Lady Gaga and then claimed that Gaga is more prolific than the Stones. WTAF, young people? And also, fu** Paul McCartney for saying that the Stones are just a Blues cover band in a recent interview in New Yorker magazine. WTAF Sir Paul?
I'm now getting off my soapbox, which is sitting squarely on my lawn.
October 22nd, 2021 at 6:02 PM ^
Greatest RnR band ever!
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
To be clear, Jai Eugene graduated from HIGH SCHOOL in 2006. Jblaze is talking about Eugene's senior year at LSU.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:48 AM ^
Thanks for clarifying that. My math was making that an even crazier early fatherhood story
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:28 PM ^
Lol, I was definitely thinking HS. I was thinking, "wow, this guy f+@ks!"
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:35 AM ^
Hakuna matata
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
This seems like an epic troll job by the Eugene family.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:41 AM ^
If they pull this stunt again, maybe we'll learn from it and not go after JE3 in 2038.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
The dude stayed closer so he could be a better dad to his son. He wanted to go to Michigan but he put his son first.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:50 AM ^
According to Ron English, he went to the highest bidder. LSU got his dad a job & his mom a house and apparently Bo was MAD. Could infer that this was the reason Les Miles was never offered a job at Michigan.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:09 AM ^
Coach, they came to the birthday party on Sunday… and you know my daddy just got out of jail and they got him a job, and they got my momma a house, and they said they were going to take care of my baby. I gotta go to LSU. I said, ‘Jai, you do. You gotta go to LSU.’ And he goes to LSU.
I became a dad at 19 and I can't disagree with his decision to go to LSU. Also what English said when he was told that LSU promised to take care of his son deserves a ton of respect. However, "He (Bo) made some statements that came true… let me just put it like that." that really does sound like it has to do with Miles. Now, maybe his son can follow the same dream of playing at Michigan.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Seems to me that he would've gone to Michigan otherwise, and probably played a role in talking up M to his son.
I certainly don't blame or fault him for taking care of his family. I wonder in today's NIL world, if there was a way he would've stayed blue.
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:56 PM ^
Well with Coach O not coming back, we might stand a chance of landing Jr., unless they hire Mel Tucker, then all bets are off.
/s
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
If only Bo got so mad when other happenings within the athletic department were told to him.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
I mean, I'm sure money was involved. He also probably was getting some promises from UM as well and then with his son involved it made sense for him to stay local.
And not to start yet another argument, Bo didn't have the moral high ground to throw stones. And yes, Bo defenders on this board feel free to downvote this comment.
October 22nd, 2021 at 1:55 PM ^
I'm well on record of being sick of the sanctimonious BS surrounding the legend of Bo. He had little moral high ground BEFORE the recent news came out.
In one of the samctioned books about him there is the story of the Rick Leach recruitment. It's told as a "good ol Bo" story but it reads like the actions of a psychopath. The guy wasn't dropping bags but he did just about everything else before and after a kid got on campus.
Also, speaking of Les Miles, I shared a 1st hand account about him on here years ago (under an old name I last used around 2007). It's...not good. Nobody around back then can pretend to not know who Les Miles was as a man by the time he was a coach here. Bo didn't dislike him then.
I just really can't stand this "holier than thou" mentality Michigan adopted (and adopted more and more the worse and worse they became). I used to say that we'd look back in 20 years and think those NOT paying kids were the bad ones but we can already kinda do that today. That time is now. If you ask them to risk what they risk with the lone compensation being a degree many don't want in the first place, you're fn evil.
October 23rd, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
'I used to say that we'd look back in 20 years and think those NOT paying kids were the bad ones but we can already kinda do that today. That time is now. If you ask them to risk what they risk with the lone compensation being a degree many don't want in the first place, you're fn evil.'
--A-fucking-men
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
Don't make the mistake of reading those associated articles. The DeSean Jackson one sucked. To employ a coach who says "LaTerryal Savoy > DeSean Jackson" is unfortunate. I don't have the stones to read about DeMarco Murray.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:16 AM ^
I don't blame him at all for staying closer to his son. Not one bit.
Ron English has a somewhat different take of this event that involves cash money. But $$$ and being closer to a newborn son are not mutually exclusive and are valid reasons to choose LSU over Michigan, even if the $$$ were against the rules.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:43 AM ^
If Bruce is a chip off the old block........let's put some weight on him and get him in the fold. He has championships in his blood.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:19 AM ^
Bruce didn't start playing football until 9th grade but he just oozes with talent. He has been a huge part of the Huron turnaround.
This is a team that won 2 games in like 5 years and they are one of the top teams in the Ann Arbor area - and I think they could make a deep playoff run.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:48 AM ^
If DT Josh Williams ('95-'99) has been living in A2 all this time, he's been keeping a low profile.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
Yes, he was my trainer. He is currently the strength coach at AA Huron. I would say that Josh was one of the most impactful players on the 1997 Nat Champ team that hardly anyone talk about. He made the key play in the 4th quarter against Ohio State that saved the season.
Btw/ His son is a stud DL for Huron and criminally underrated - I hope Michigan offers him for 2023.
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
He was a starter on the National champs who had the best defense in the country. He was and is talked about plenty lol.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
By the way, Josh is such a humble and good guy that he naturally keeps a low profile.
His daughter may also pop up on the women's basketball recruiting scene in a couple of years.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:35 AM ^
Maybe I've missed it, but I'd have expected Josh to make regular appearances on the morning and afternoon shows on WTKA and/or be a guest at the WTKA tent outside the stadium during home games.
I agree with your assessment of his importance to the '97 team. Of the four starting DLs, three played in the NFL (Williams, Steele, and Hall) and the fourth, NT Renes was an All-American two years later. That's a solid defensive line, to put it mildly.
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:01 PM ^
There was NFL talent all over the field that year, more than there was on the (cough) Nebraska team.
October 22nd, 2021 at 12:40 PM ^
I miss recruiters like Mo.
October 22nd, 2021 at 2:15 PM ^
100% agree - let's make it happen!
He is also the D-Line coach for Huron and a big part of the turnaround.
October 22nd, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
Josh lived in Indy burbs post career with the Colts for a while. House was down the street from mine. Nice guy. Coached some youth programs. Believe he relocated to AA I want to say 6-7 years ago, 2014-ish? So he's been back a little while.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:54 AM ^
I remember thinking Jai Eugene was coming to Michigan. Have I been following recruiting that long? Also I want Jr. just because we never got dad. Still stings
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:38 AM ^
My days of following recruiting go all the way back to Doug Karsch interviewing Bill Kurelic on WTKA back in the mid-90s—before the internet as we know it existed.
October 22nd, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
Used to follow Tom Lemming. My dad used to get all his newsletters and pamphlets. Pretty thorough in ways. As I got older I realized he was pretty full of it, and that no one could possibly reasonably see that many prospects on their own.
He was also notorious for the "star bump" especially to ND recruits.
October 22nd, 2021 at 3:01 PM ^
I followed Tom Lemming when I was on Twitter. He's well past his heyday, but he still travels non-stop and posts photos of prospects and their coaches seemingly every day. I don't know how many he sees play, but he meets a lot of them in person.
October 22nd, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
How ironic... to get the guy who was the reason Jai Sr didn't play here.
October 22nd, 2021 at 1:20 PM ^
Get Jr. in and make Sr. an honorary captain for Jr.'s first start.
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:06 AM ^
Jimmy Rolder is a big visitor. Dude has really shot up in the rankings and is a sideline to sideline thumper
October 22nd, 2021 at 11:23 AM ^
I'm old enough to remember the Eugene situation and I'm happy that it appeared to work out for him and his son and that he clearly still has fond feelings toward UM. I also feel incredibly old, but that's another situation.
October 23rd, 2021 at 12:55 AM ^
Actually, your opening sentence suggests to me you’re not really that old at all. Mid aughts?! Pishaw.
All those who had classes or were on campus with current head coaches out there AD please raise your hand.
?
We got a good mix of “seasoned” and recent vintages of alums/fans here. Just another part of what makes the comments great.
October 22nd, 2021 at 1:10 PM ^
Ron English told the story of his recruitment on WTKA with Sam a couple of years ago.
It was one of the best recruiting stories I've ever heard. I was surprised at the details he revealed
but I think he thought he was out of football so it didn't matter.
The bottom line was that English assumed the Michigan commitment was a done deal until he was
told the serious money players had yet to be heard from.
October 22nd, 2021 at 2:49 PM ^
Ok how is Jai Eugene Jr. old enough to be recruited.
October 23rd, 2021 at 2:05 AM ^
He had some birthday parties and stuff, and POOF. Here he is.