Stephen Herron Jr. 4* 2019 WDE :(
trending in the wrong direction... cb's in for Stanford from Trieu, Wiltfong and Ace.
Couldnt help but think when Sam was going on and on about how well the 2019 class was starting off that we just saw this happen in 2018 with Otis and Emil Ekiyor... not meant to be taken as a "sky is falling" tread, just as a reminder that "off to a good start" 12 months out is kind of a ridiculous statement when it comes to recruiting.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^
The title could use some work.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:03 PM ^
how else would anyone take it? why people waste time wondering where a 17 year old is going to play football is beyond me. is there any scenario where you would just stop following michigan to be a osu, alabama, clemson, georgia etc..etc.. fan?
if not then why do you care how succesfull those other teams are? maybe michigan never will get to that level, then what are you going to do?
February 19th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
i would not be an osu, bama, etc fan.
i do not care how successful they are
but i care where recruits go since its histroically highly correlated to long term success.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:31 PM ^
the question still remains. good recruiting or not, long term success or not. that wasn`t the question. if michigan goes 7-5 or 8-4 every year, and never beats msu or osu again, will you stop watching and following michigan?
February 20th, 2018 at 3:37 AM ^
I think there is a Dr. Seuss rhyme in there, striving to burst out, that could make us all smile.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
People really need to not get so invested in this stuff. The majority of kids we offer aren't going to come; that's just how it goes. To get 20 signees, you offer like 100+ guys.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
this dude was not jsut offered, he was verbally committed and for a long time.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
It's early but I'm fine with recruiting wars with Stanford.
Well run and coached outfit with continuity, consistent results every year, winning identity, with great academics.
Not going to win them all.
70 degree weather basically year round in a world wide business hub. Super pricey tuition as well.
Let's get guys on campus, develop them in and get some continuity. Not get too excited about any one recruit.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:28 PM ^
Stanford's mascot is a tree. Not even a macho tree.
February 19th, 2018 at 2:35 PM ^
And they are the cardinals. So confusing?
February 19th, 2018 at 7:34 PM ^
Not the bird. The color.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:45 PM ^
IDK Nate, a bit of preliminary research places Standford's out of state tuition at 47 k and Michigan's at 62 k for 2017.
Now, I'm a few years away from having to worry about this sort of thing, thankfully, but Michigan has costs it seems.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
According to some folks, UM has cooled on Herron. Looking to keep the trend of much bigger bodies at that position
February 19th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:30 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:40 PM ^
...and he's ranked higher.
High school stats are high school stats, so they should be taken with a grain of salt, but Herron wasn't wildly productive as a junior last fall.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:19 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
I agree - I saw it from a few different people on twitter stating that Wiltfong is saying UM cooled. Not sure if the information is behind a paywalled article or not. If so I feel like a dick but the info is out there.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:22 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:43 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
Yeah, these assholes at U of M have no idea how to coach defense.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
Yeah imagine the negative ramifications if we had "cooled" on Derrick Green for example.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
Hope you all prepared yourselves for a long offseason #BeatND
February 19th, 2018 at 1:45 PM ^
Lose big games, lose big recruits. 2018 is a huge season for Harbaugh and staff.
However, the talent was extemely young this past year. I am optimistic that all that young talent that JH and Co. has recruited over the past few seasons will develop and have a much better year in 2018....and recruiting will rebound just fine. Absolutely no sense in worrying about the '19 class almost a year before they can sign.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I believe the staff is doing the right thing by putting the emphasis back on in state recruiting for '19. Too much talent there to let go to MSU or out of state.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 1:49 PM ^
Unfinished.
February 19th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^
You've got to admit that it a'int look good, though. Zero commits among the top-10 in-staters (according to 247 composite), and we only lead (from a ballz perspective) on one of those guys. And this is one of the best in-state classes I can remember (based on recruiting rankings).
February 19th, 2018 at 3:24 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:17 PM ^
If MIchigan has the season they should have given their talent level and experience, then the recruiting will follow.
Right now Michigan is in the traditional year three malaise that has plagued RR, Hoke and Harbaugh. It's up to Harbaugh and co. to fix it.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
What is the season they "should have"? I'm not trying to be a smart-ass here, but they have one of the toughest schedules in America next year. All three rivals are on the road, and two other top-15 teams are coming to Ann Arbor. Meanwhile, our offense is ass until proven otherwise, and the defense, while possibly being elite next season, can't win big games by itself. We saw that in plain sight in every loss last season save for PSU.
Michigan could have a huge season next year if the offense finally stops getting in its own way. But if its more of the same, they could legitimately got 7-5 or even 6-6 if they drop a game they should win (Nebraska?). There's five teams on Michigan's schedule (OSU, MSU, ND, PSU, and UW) who I'd say that as of right now, are better than Michigan and would probably beat us if the game was being played today.
Got a lot of time between now and September, but I'm not really sure what kind of season this team "should have."
February 19th, 2018 at 3:07 PM ^
Michigan "should" win every game, every season.
Unforunately that damn reality keeps showing up and derailing those undefeated dreams of glory and like you I think the odds of us going 7-5 next year are a LOT higher than the odds of us going 10-2 or better largely due to the dumbest schedule in D1 football.
It will be VERY interesting to see what the over/under is for Michigan wins this season in Vegas. I'm guess 8.5 will be the number and I had to bet it, I'd prolly take the under as I'm predicting 8-4 next year again regardless of who lines up at QB. I see us losing two or three of the four difficult road games (ND, Northwestern, MSU & OSU) and one or two of the difficult home games (Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn State).
And God help us if that happens cause this place will lose its collective mind.
February 20th, 2018 at 9:21 AM ^
I just can't see this program taking the next step until I see the offense finally sack up and at least become competent. A competent offense (not even needing a juggernaut) wins you the MSU game, the OSU game, and possibly the Wisconsin game last year. I don't know about Penn State because that's one of those games where it just wasn't Michigan's night at all. But I digress.
I hope against hope that Harbaugh proves me wrong next year and the offense finally puts it all together. I want him to make me look like a fool. But I see no empirical, tangible evidence for why the offense should get any better next year other than "the guys are a year older" and "well it can't get any worse." Those aren't inspiring beliefs to go by, and for those who think it can't get any worse, it can ALWAYS get worse.
I'll believe the offense finally puts it all together when I physically see it happen. Until then, I see no reason to not expect more of the same.
February 20th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
I agree with your larger point that we are going nowhere as long as the offense continues to be a disaster.
But I do think there is reasonable hope for improvement. I'm not saying we are going to be an offensive force but I do think it wil be better.
The receivers were very young, are talented, and almost surely will be better. If Shea is eligible that is a huge upgrade at QB from last year. Even if he is not, Peters could/should be better than what we saw last year. All of the TEs are back and can only get better. The line was clearly handled very poorly, with only 1 coach and 1 scheme they could and should improve.
Will all of that happen? Probably not. But enough should for the offense to be better. How much better? That's the big open question.
And that is not even getting into the play calling. I really believe that Harbaugh knows what a disaster it was last year, and won't let that happen again. He may be crazy but he is not stupid.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
He’s probably getting his program negative-recruited into oblivion, as a lot of coaches are just going to say “he’s going back to the NFL” or “he’s completely overrated” but the bottom line is that there is no momentum or positive energy around his program right now. MSU bounced back to re-take control of the state after one down year, PSU is legitimately on the rise and isn’t going anywhere, and OSU will continue to skate circles around us until we find a way to beat them on the field.
Got to win, Harbaugh. And you’ve got to do it now. Coaches are accomplishing far more with far less.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
The only way to address verbals defecting is to improve the results on the field. The initial Harbaugh Aura has run its course and we're not going to get many top end recruits just because of him now, and especially in spite of a 7-5 season.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I know it was a disappointing season, but we were 8-5.
February 19th, 2018 at 1:42 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:24 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:38 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
If Michigan wants better recruits, I have found the perfect idea:
Perform better on the field.
You can thank me later for that unique nugget. That's why Brian pays me the big bucks.
February 19th, 2018 at 12:40 PM ^
If you perform better on the field, more important things happen than just getting recruits, you win games, you ebat rivals, you compete for championships. I could care less how many stars our guys have in rcruiting as long as we win.
February 20th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
I am going to steal this nugget Magnus!
February 19th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:42 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:45 PM ^
February 19th, 2018 at 12:54 PM ^
Ok.
#19/20 Stanford was 9-5 with a Division Championship, Pac-12 Conference Championship appearance, and wins over 5 teams with a winning record.
In comparsion, unranked Michigan with a 4th place division finish, and 1 win over a team with a winning record.
Seems pretty legit.