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jim harbaugh troll god
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A Collegial Gesture Comment Count

Ace

Brian has already covered Jim Harbaugh's Troll God move from, uh, one perspective. Given this is now the biggest news on an otherwise quiet Friday in the college football world, I wanted to take a closer look, so here's a list of the various aspects of this that are just the best.

1. THIS IS BRILLIANT

Purely from a recruiting perspective, this is innovation at its finest. SEC coaches are publicly complaining about Michigan's cross-country tour of satellite camps, the one recruiting loophole the SEC can't exploit? Fine, make them all look petty:

There are two ways opposing coaches, SEC and otherwise, can react to this. They can sit out the camp, missing out on a recruiting opportunity and appearing afraid of competition in the process. Or they can attend, therefore contributing to Michigan's camp becoming a massive draw for recruits. This isn't a decision Nick Saban will enjoy making, and that goes doubly so for Urban Meyer and Mark Dantonio. Harbaugh essentially blackmailed the college coaching world into making his program's camp a premier event.

It's not just smoke and mirrors, either. If Michigan is able to get even a handful of well-regarded coaches to participate, it'll be hard to deny Michigan the "Exposure U" tagline they've attached to this project. Getting the program to have the reputation as the place to get noticed would be a huge boon for recruiting.

2. IT'S ALREADY WORKING

Bob Stitt is in! Somebody check on Brian!

In all seriousness, this move should attract plenty of innovative smaller-school coaches like Stitt, and it's always a positive to expose the coaches to new and different ways of doing things. Urban Meyer may not be down to discuss the finer points of running power out of the shotgun, but Stitt could give some advice about incorporating the fly sweep; recruiting doesn't have to be the only aspect of the program that benefits from this.

3. THIS COULD POTENTIALLY HAPPEN

I'll happily ante up, as well.

4. ADD TO THE HARBAUGH LEGEND

Harbaugh made a power move (the satellite camp tour), SEC coaches pushed back, and instead of making any sort of concession, Harbaugh made an even bigger power move. As evidenced by Wolken's tweet, this is going to play well in the media, and you can bet recruits will take notice, as well. In the court of public perception, this is a decisive win. Harbaugh turned a nothing Friday into a day to grab headlines.

There will be no stake-related apologies.

5. MOTION TO MAKE THIS THE SITE TAGLINE

I'll be ending all my conversations, formal and informal, in this manner from now on.

Comments

SAMgO

April 24th, 2015 at 1:31 PM ^

Laughed pretty hard just imagining the look on Dantonio's face if they opened the post-spring game presser asking if he'll go to Harbaugh's camp.

Joined: 07/15/2013

MGoPoints: 18746

Surveillance Doe

April 24th, 2015 at 1:33 PM ^

I've long felt that there's something about running an NFL program that really benefits a coach coming back to the college ranks. Whether that's exposure to a more professional setting or seeing additional strategic opportunities or something completely different, I don't know. But I think these guys come back to college with something in their pockets that a lot of their peers don't have.

Harbaugh brings that and combines it with a passion for grasping every opportunity for a competitive advantage, and I think the outcome is pretty exciting. It's stunning how different this program is already after just a couple of months of off-season.

Joined: 07/06/2008

MGoPoints: 14724

MGlobules

April 24th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^

as a link high on their front page, and in the accompanying article, reprinting the invite as a large jpg. Of course, they're not always the brightest sparks, but the fans all seem to be getting it.

What's marvelous about this is how drinking the SEC's milkshake coincides with practical purpose here. (I'd hate to be Dantonio's blood pressure when he gets wind of this!) I'd say that if Harbaugh gets one or two more coaches on board, this thing can already be chalked up as a huge success. And there's no way that a few coaches like Stitt don't see it as a way to get in on some pretty good players themselves.

If I'm a promising young player, meanwhile, I am there.

Joined: 11/17/2008

MGoPoints: 47467

evenyoubrutus

April 24th, 2015 at 3:46 PM ^

The reality is that there is a generation of Buckeye fans who think that it is completely and perfectly normal for OSU to dominate Michigan. They don't even realize that the '90's ever existed (Ramzy has even commented on this before).  I don't want to put the cart before the horse or anything, but there if what we are all expecting to happen actually happens, there is going to be quite the meltdown in Buckeye Land.

Joined: 11/04/2008

MGoPoints: 178111