October 17th, 2017 at 6:21 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 7:44 PM ^
NFL track record means shit to elite recruits.
They've likely been told (& its the truth) that they're headed to the NFL no matter what.
Would your draft stock be higher coming from a conference champion/playoff team or 3rd place in the B1G East division. . .?
These kids think they are nfl bound anyway and want to win championships. There are easily 2 dozen other programs that have had more success than Michigan in their lifetimes.
October 18th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
They should fire Partridge if he can't do better than being named the best recruiter in the country.
October 18th, 2017 at 1:59 AM ^
isn't delegated by position, but rather region. I would assume that Jay Harbaugh probably recruits the west coast, Don Brown the New England area, Partridge is definitely the Georga/Southeast guy, and I would guess New Jersey is his if there's a strong enough connection. Zordich may have Pennsylvania and other areas, because of his connections. Normally the position coaches and sometimes coordinators will spend a majority of the time building the relationships and recruiting, and the head coaches will be used as a closer, while spending a majority of their time focusing on the top notch prospects on their board. I am at wits end with jayBaugh, but blaming him for something that's not on him isn't fair.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:10 PM ^
think the issue may be one of perception. Our perception of ourselves v. everybody elses perception of us (us being the Michigan program, not "us" personally). To the Michigan fanbase, certain things that have happened since Harbaugh arrived have just been "bumps in the road," part of something we saw as a bigger process. But those moments have added up a little bit, and there have been some opportunities missed that are probably having an impact on our recruiting. The ending to the Michigan State game in 2015 was not optimal, and the way the season ended last year, while not necessarily catastrophic, certainly hurt pretty bad. Two weeks ago did not help matters either.
The last two classes have been pretty damn good though. It may be that players are seeing less of a chance to play here soon as our roster fills up.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:23 PM ^
"The last two classes have been pretty damn good though. It may be that players are seeing less of a chance to play here soon as our roster fills up."
Do you see that hurting Alabama or Ohio State's recruiting any? Cause I sure as hell do not see it hurting Alabama or Ohio State's recruiting any and you cant swing a dead cat around those programs without hitting a five star waiting his turn on the sidelines for another five star to get drafted.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:31 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^
I think it's pretty simple really. Most RB recruits don't want to be part of a rotating platoon that is play by play. It's one thing to platoon but here our guys are going in for a play at a time and sharing time with 3 others. A lot of other schools do it by drive or in some cases, not at all.
This isn't the NFL. Recruits can pick between many options for playing time.
As much as it sucks to say, if I was a RB recruit I would be heading elsewhere. Hopefully that changes as we keep getting good classes in and improve but I would not count on it as long as 4 backs are in the mix.
October 17th, 2017 at 5:21 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:36 PM ^
It is much easier to sit and wait your turn if you are getting paid to do so.Just a thought.
October 17th, 2017 at 5:16 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:09 PM ^
The last Michigan RB to break 1000+ rushing yards was Fitzgerald Toussaint in 2011, an undrafted free agent who is currently on the Steelers' practice squad.
The last Michigan RB drafted was Mike Hart in 2008 in the 6th round (#202 overall).
So a lot of the 2018 recruits were 8 years old the last time they might have potentially saw a "successful" Michigan RB.
October 18th, 2017 at 3:40 AM ^
probably has a lot to do with it.
An elite RB recruit is going to want to go somewhere that has had success running the ball and/or a line that makes that a high likelihood in the near future.
M has not been good at running the ball for a looong time and could easily be seen as a place were highly rated backs go to die a slow, quiet death. Grady, Green, Rawls...
Michigan's offensive line projects to be more than mediocre in ? amount of time.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:12 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:28 PM ^
Do you think Wheatley is a career position coach or will he eventually move up to be an OC or even HC eventually (depending on his future success)?
October 17th, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 5:42 PM ^
Sam Webb had mentioned in the past that he aspired to be a head coach some day.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:29 PM ^
He missed BIG on the trail past 2 seasons. Also other than in Detroit he had very few connections and was underwhelming in the development. Not saying Jay is the answer, but Turner has a great relationship with Jay and we are still in on Noah Cain and others. Coach Wheatley like I've said on here before is my favorite Michigan player of all-time, however he has one mission right now and that is to become a head coach. He was not going to stay long regardless, so getting a coach who wants to be here and is great at building relationships with prospects is better for us in the long run. Good luck coach Wheat and good luck coach Jay.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:40 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:51 PM ^
Najee, Sanders, Mccall, & Akers all 4 of them he was lead recruiter on. I also understand everyone recruited these kids; however Dillon and Samuels were not some great get after months of hard work. We were both of their BEST offers and I don't think you can dispute that. Walker was a gift. After OSU getting soft on him and his senior season going in the tank I feel like it was more we had to take/offer/keep him. OSU thought Evans was a DB, coach Wheat saw something different. (we will see on that one). Coach Wheatley recruits Detroit well. Stop. Does he know the position well, does he have energy that is likeable, YES. He didn't have enough juice to flip Kelly, and was in love with the Drake and Deveon. I think Michigan has everything plus some to offer these kids, and i do not think all of the top running backs in the country are getting paid. Style IMO has more to do with it, and ability to get the kids to the league. Other than Mike Hart and Fitz cup of coffee in the league it's been a min.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:58 PM ^
I wish we would have been able to retain Wheatley for a couple more years because it's unfair to criticize him without seeing how his players developed over the course of an entire cycle.
Sometimes coaches see a prospect for their true potential and can get mold them into something special. Michigan saw Melvin Gordon as a safety and Kareem Hunt's best offer was Toledo, and now they are both top five RBs in the NFL this year.
October 17th, 2017 at 6:44 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:52 PM ^
I completely agree with you here but I am also confident that once we are completely 'Stanfordized' that our offensive scheme will be very appealing to elite-level RB recruits.
October 17th, 2017 at 6:42 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:40 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 6:09 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 6:39 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 9:38 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 9:40 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 11:21 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:34 PM ^
Why should we be in on top recruits? The state of Michigan is relatively mediocre recruiting grounds, the only midwest state with consisten talent has ohio state picking off the top kids and for high schoolers out of the region the last decade of Michigan football has been one long pile of shit. Sure Harbaugh brings excitement but he was never really known as an elite recruiter, good recruiter yes but he wasn't bringing in top 50 guys to stanford he was turning low 4 stars into great players.
October 17th, 2017 at 6:32 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^
I've wondered if there is a cultural fit obstacle for some. Harbaugh and UM expect our student athletes to be students and athletes, and generally model citizens to boot. I don't get the sense that UM is designing majors and fluff no-show courses for athletes to sleep through before practice. UM's type of culture really appeals to a recruit like Rashan Gary, it seems. But maybe not everyone.
Also, Ann Arbor can get cooooollld in ways that Bama never will. That actually matters to some.
When your other choice is to go to an SEC school, sit the bench for a while, party all week without much scrutiny, pass all your nonexistent survey classes, and get a $100 handshake every so often that you then give back to the campus police officer who busts you with an escort in a car, and momma's rent paid for 4 years.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:52 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 5:34 PM ^
2018
Higdon > Evans > Walker > Samuels
3rd cow out of the barn usually gets 2-6 carries a game, not sure how he is going to be a "factor". Here is to hoping you're right and he turns into Bo Scarabough. Nonetheless, he was in Wheatley dog house, and coach didn't recruit him. He was a gift, and one we had to accept. Not sure how any of this proves your point about our RB recruitment and how bad we are missing coach Wheatley.
October 17th, 2017 at 4:54 PM ^
You're basically saying all of these kids are lazy and have no ethical standards which is absurd. A lot of these kids are go-getters with a lot of ambition.
October 17th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 5:09 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 6:03 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 6:29 PM ^
October 18th, 2017 at 1:12 AM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 5:01 PM ^
Eh, just give it a couple decades and it will be just as warm in Ann Arbor.
October 17th, 2017 at 6:24 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 5:34 PM ^
October 18th, 2017 at 12:21 AM ^
October 18th, 2017 at 6:52 AM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^
I feel like thats just how this cycle has been going
October 17th, 2017 at 3:49 PM ^
October 17th, 2017 at 6:03 PM ^