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Michigan Recruits: Movin' And Shakin'

By Tim — August 5th, 2009 at 3:15 PM — 27 comments
Filed under:
  • cornelius jones
  • courtney avery
  • devin gardner
  • jerald robinson
  • jeremy jackson
  • recruiting
  • tony drake
  • antonio kinard

On Monday MGoBlog took a look at current commits unlikely to move up.

Rivals and Scout rankings are useful but imperfect, and early rankings are more imperfect still. Though Michigan freshman Taylor Lewan ended up a 4-star prospect to both major recruiting site, he entered his senior season virtually unknown. By the time final rankings had come out he was a four star well within everyone's top 150. 

The following players look to be this year's Lewan and have some upward mobility this fall. Not all will move up, of course, but look for one or two of the below players to gain a fourth star, or, in Devin Gardner's case, a fifth.

MI QB Devin Gardner

devin-gardner
  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating **** **** 150*
Ranking DT QB #2 QB #6  

Why Here? Devin has been compared to Terrelle Pryor and Vince Young, so it stands to reason that he is highly-ranked. He took his team to the state championship game (in which the Vikings lost to East Grand Rapids), and put together a solid junior campaign both on the ground and through the air.

All of the recruiting sites like Devin, but none of them love him yet. Barry Brunetti is listed ahead of him among dual-threats on Rivals, and Gardner is still chasing that elusive 5th star on Scout.

Prediction: This isn't much of a prediction. Multiple Rivals analysts have stated flat-out that Gardner will be their #1 dual threat QB and comfortably in the top 100 when they take the Elite 11 into consideration. He has shown off his athleticism—and willingness to compete—by attending various camps and combines in the summer before his senior season despite his early commitment to Michigan. He has shown potential greatness at QB, WR, and even defensive back(!); his versatility is not in question. He killed it at the Elite 11.

Unless he completely tanks this season, anything other than 5 stars will be a disappointment for Devin.

SC QB Cornelius Jones

  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating *** ** 77
Ranking DT QB #24 QB NR  

Why Here? Cornelius Jones's junior season didn't go well. He got exposure during it, playing highly-ranked teams within the state of South Carolina in every game, but his team wasn't good. The competition (like Byrnes, the home of Marcus Lattimore, Brandon Willis, et al, who Spartanburg played twice) was. Jones ended up throwing just 1 touchdown to 12 interceptions.

Michigan extended an informal offer last April and followed through with an official offer in January. He was among the first QBs that the Michigan coaching staff extended an offer to, so they think highly of him despite the inexperience. There's something there.

Prediction: Jones' polish-to-talent ratio is very low, and his learning curve may be quick. A player doesn't have offers in the summer before his junior season if he's not talented (especially when he didn't even play as a sophomore). He's done much better in summer 7-on-7 camps, leading Spartanburg to a tournament final against Byrnes amongst a crowded field of quality programs.

Even if he can't prove his worth as a QB, the recruiting services might rank him as an athlete. If he can have a decent enough year in his senior season, he could end up a fringe 4-star guy. At the very least he should pick up a third star from Scout and get bumped up a bit in the positional rankings.

One heartening item: his high school coaching staff will have a year under their belt coaching as well. Last year was their first in Spartanburg.

TX RB/Slot Tony Drake

Tony Drake
  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating *** ** 77
Ranking APB #16 RB NR  

Why Here? Drake is the sort of guy who can excel in the Rich Rodriguez offense, but isn't likely to be considered for a high ranking by the recruiting sites. He's a speedy little bastard who performs despite his diminutive stature, and probably wouldn't last long in the NFL.

Drake was productive as a receiver as a sophomore, but was relegated to a backup running back last year.

Prediction: He is at one of the right programs to have success at: Skyline routinely pumps out a talent, and is one of the most visible high school teams in the nation. The stage is set for Tony Drake to take a big leap forward.

Now he just has to perform. Being named second team all-district at WR as a sophomore proves he might have the skill to get it done. I was pretty dubious on Drake's ability to move up, but there is an the opportunity in front of him.

OH WR Jerald Robinson

  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating **** *** 77
Ranking WR #43 WR #68  

Why Here? Robinson hasn't gotten it done on the field yet. A bad QB situation may have played a role in that. He is also a multi-position player that nobody knows exactly where to place. Originally, most Michigan fans thought he would play safety. After an impressive camp performance, however, nobody knows quite where he will play. At the moment, it seems like he'll stay at wideout.

If the quarterback situation at Canton South doesn't get better, Robinson won't have a opportunity to produce. However, if it improves, he can move up with a much better year.

Prediction Sam Webb was really high on Robinson as the best wideout at Michigan's camp, which was also attended by the likes of Ricardo Miller and Jeremy Jackson. That alone indicates that Robinson is an talent deserving of 4-star status.

With impressive performances this summer—and hopefully a better season as a senior—Robinson will have a shot at getting a fourth star on Scout, too.

OH WR DJ Williamson

  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating *** *** 77
Ranking WR NR WR #106  

Why Here? DJ Williamson is unknown. Though he has a highlight film on Scouting Ohio, the recruiting services either don't know much about him or didn't deem him worthy of even a 3-star ranking until recently. Williamson committed early and has not attended any camps, so his exposure is very low. Scout and Rivals both have him at three stars (finally), but he is way, way down on each of their wideout lists.

There is upside here: Williamson has decent size at 6-1 showed elite speed by winning the 100m dash in meet after meet on his way to the Ohio state title.

Prediction: If Warren finds a quarterback to get the ball to him, Williamson's size and speed alone should boost him up to a high 3-star. Four stars is doubtful for a guy who hasn't put in the time at combines and camps.

MI WR/TE Jeremy Jackson

FBH HUR V SAL 4 OF 8 EG
  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating *** *** 150*
Ranking WR NR WR #78  

Why Here? The son of a coach, Jackson got early offers from the likes of Florida and Texas before ending his recruitment early. He is a polished player as a coach's son. He had good, but not exceptional stats as a junior.

Players who have received lots of coaching in their careers but aren't dominant in high school, usually don't have the physical talents to be elite players. And with Huron moving to a veer option offense, Jackson may not have a lot of opportunity to prove that he deserves to be ranked among the top players in the nation.

Prediction You may be taken aback at first by the fact that Jackson is listed as a WR/TE. Sam Webb has been saying on the WTKA recruiting roundup for quite some time now that Jeremy is still growing, and currently looks more like a tight end than a wide receiver. With Michigan's new focus on athletic tight ends, they might encourage a further move in that direction. Jackson may have more upside there, and if the recruiting sites make this change in position, he could move up to a 4-star prospect.

[Editor's note: I would have slotted Jackson in the other group; he's polished and slow-ish, two things that don't often result in big senior-year moves. Also: high school to run a veer. To be fair, Tim's basing his assessment on Jackson as a tight end.]

OH DE/LB Antonio Kinard

  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating *** *** 77
Ranking LB NR DE #55  

Why Here? Kinard is the third in the trifecta of tweeners Michigan has committed on defense (the other two, Ken Wilkins and Jordan Paskorz, were listed as “Stuck in Neutral”). He doesn't stand out on film more than most prospects, which leads to his 3-star ranking. And with two classmates a year older heading to Michigan, he probably got at his fair share of scouting.

But Kinard is athletic, as evidenced by his huge TD run in the game that I scouted with VB last year, and Duane Long also thinks he's got serious athletic ability.

Prediction: Kinard wasn't highly productive on a defense last year that featured current Michigan freshman Isaiah Bell roaming the secondary. You'd think that an imposing safety like Bell would give Kinard more opportunities to make plays, but he didn't. He has the athleticism, though, the potential for big time production is there.

Unlike Paskorz and Wilkins, I think Kinard is likely to stay at LB. Still, I think he'll be a low-4 or higher 3-star prospect. A big move is unlikely for a tweener.

OH CB Courtney Avery

courtney-avery-2
  Rivals Scout ESPN
Rating *** *** 73
Ranking DB NR CB #23  

Why Here? Avery, a star for Lexington High School for the last three years, is not underexposed. The problem is that he has starred as a diminutive quarterback. Avery only started playing on defense just this past year, but couldn't go full time since he was busy tearing up opposing defenses on the other side of the ball. Now that he knows where he’ll play in college, that might change.

If Avery was a couple inches taller. He could be a Troy Smith clone (not that Smith was a giant) and use his pinpoint accuracy and athleticism to direct Michigan's spread offense. Alas, he's not, so unless he's used for the occasional trick play on offense, he'll be a corner for GERG's defense.

Prediction  Avery has some of the best upside in Michigan's entire recruiting class so far. Local observer Duane Long thinks Michigan got "a steal." Avery is just one year into his new position, potentially still growing, and was deemed good enough by Michigan's coaches to receive an offer at camp after a week of personal observation. If he can take enough time off from blazing through opposing defenses, he should be able to move up in the rankings. Avery's a quintessential late mover.

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August 5th, 2009 at 4:02 PM
#2
Bleedin9Blue
Bleedin9Blue's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 1928
Just wondering

I know that this was written several days ago, I'm just wondering why it wasn't posted until now. It doesn't really matter and I don't mean this as a criticism, I'm just trying to figure out if this is just part of transitioning the VB guys to here, if you didn't want to put up two longer recruit-centric posts in one day, or if it was something else.

As for the article, it points out something that I'm really hoping for, that Jeremy Jackson will be a TE instead of a WR. I think that he could get bigger but still have a lot of his speed. Possibly more important though is that I'd be willing to bet that he knows how to use his body to block very well (since Jackson coaches RB and that's an extremely important skill for a RB, especially in the pro-style offense that Carr ran). A TE that can block well but is still fast, in RichRod's offense I can see that becoming very very deadly.

Last thing, since a fair bit of this refers to the recruits current size, it might've been helpful to list their heights and weights as currently reported by Rivals and Scout. I had to look up a few guys to see exactly what they're listed at (and then take off an inch or two). It doesn't matter much, it just would've been helpful.

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August 5th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
(Reply to #2) #3
Brian
Brian's picture
Joined: 05/26/2008
MGoPoints: 118049
"if you didn't want to put up

"if you didn't want to put up two longer recruit-centric posts in one day, or if it was something else."

That's all it was. Tuesday was a already full of recruiting stuff and I thought it was overload to post the second half of Tim's item.

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August 5th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
#4
WolvinLA
WolvinLA's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 873
I'm also pretty excited about

I'm also pretty excited about Jeremy Jackson as a TE. He'll need to put on weight, as he's listed at 194 and most TEs are around 240+. I know the 194 is probably still from his junior year, and if he redshirts (I don't see why he wouldn't, he probably won't see the field a lot) he would have about 3 years from when that weight was measured to when he would first see the field. If he can put on weight like Sam Webb insists, he could put on 40 pounds in that amount of time, Barwis willing. Like it was said above, he could be a dangerous TE in this offense where he would be more useful than at WR where the depth chart is looking quite competitive.

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August 5th, 2009 at 8:25 PM
(Reply to #4) #5
Jay
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 576
Supposedly, Jackson said he

Supposedly, Jackson said he would rather go to another school if Rich Rod and the coaching staff told him he'd have to play TE at Michigan.

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August 5th, 2009 at 8:41 PM
(Reply to #12) #6
cpt20
Joined: 11/02/2008
MGoPoints: 377
Yeah, that is what I have

Yeah, that is what I have heard too.

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August 5th, 2009 at 4:43 PM
#7
cpt20
Joined: 11/02/2008
MGoPoints: 377
I know we would like Jeremy

I know we would like Jeremy Jackson to be a TE, but I heard he would decommit if we told him we wanted him there. I guess after a couple years on the bench, he'll change his mind to play TE.

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August 5th, 2009 at 4:44 PM
#8
Blue Balls
Blue Balls's picture
Joined: 07/02/2008
MGoPoints: 216
Brian you stated you had a chance to scout-

Antonio Kinard. I was wondering if you enjoyed scouting high school football players. This has been a passion of mine for years. It's great to see how these high school players do once they enter college. Thanks for a great blog, I really do appreciate all your hard work, it's a pleasure to read.

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August 5th, 2009 at 6:24 PM
(Reply to #6) #9
zoltan the destroyer
Joined: 10/28/2008
MGoPoints: 427
Pssst

This article was written by Tim.

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August 5th, 2009 at 5:06 PM
#10
S.G. Rice
S.G. Rice's picture
Joined: 07/18/2008
MGoPoints: 1739
a new hybrid

Taller than smurfy opposing cornerbacks...
Faster than your average linebackers and dropping DEs ...
Able to truck filling safeties and grind nickelback(s) into dust...

It's Jeremy Jackson: The WR that blocks like a TE!

(hey, I can hope, can't I? There's plenty of room on my team for a big, physical WR with less than lightning speed)

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August 6th, 2009 at 9:48 AM
(Reply to #7) #11
msoccer10
Joined: 08/29/2008
MGoPoints: 1754
Yes

I think you've hit upon something important. I think last year we missed the opportunity to get long gains from the running backs and slot receivers because our wide receivers were terrible at blocking. I see Ricardo Miller and Jeremy Jackson both as good blocking wr's. Just like Rodriguez wants guards in the secondary, he wants good blocking wr's to allow long runs for touchdowns. That's why I think, even though their NFL potential is at TE, both Miller and Jackson will stay at wr despite their lack of elite speed. (I know some may disagree with that assesment of Miller's speed, but speed is what keeps him from being as highly ranked as we thought he would be. He obviously has the height and the hands)

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August 5th, 2009 at 5:13 PM
#12
mgovictors23
mgovictors23's picture
Joined: 05/03/2009
MGoPoints: 99
Jeremy Jackson

I think he would be a great fit at tight end. I mean lets be honest I don't think he is going to get much playing time at wide reciever. Even after he puts on weight he would still be a little small for a tight end but would be faster than most tight ends.

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August 5th, 2009 at 5:42 PM
#13
Todd Plate's na...
Joined: 03/27/2009
MGoPoints: 1108
Avery is burning my alma

Avery is burning my alma mater in that photo. Real nice.

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August 5th, 2009 at 5:46 PM
#14
KBLOW
KBLOW's picture
Joined: 06/30/2008
MGoPoints: 9763
I know next to nothing about

I know next to nothing about Jeremy Jackson other than what I've read here. He does have those other offers and he's obviously not some middling two star, but isn't extending a scholarship to your Asst. Coach's son a pretty much an expected courtesy?

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August 5th, 2009 at 8:13 PM
#15
UNCWolverine
UNCWolverine's picture
Joined: 10/06/2008
MGoPoints: 6205
Tim, great write-up and

Tim, great write-up and analysis.

Quick question, your prediction paragraphs tend to culminate in a player either staying at their current ratings by each respective scouting sites, rising, or falling from where they are currently ranked. For example, "If he can have a decent enough year in his senior season, he could end up a fringe 4-star guy." The rest of your write-ups I think are interesting and worth reading. However I will never understand the slightest bit of fascination regarding an already verbally "committed" player's dynamic rankings.

The only analogy that I can think of is if you are dating a girl that decides to enter a beauty pageant. Would the result of that pageant change the way that you feel about her whatsoever? The result won't directly affect her looks or how she performs in bed, her height, her family background, her intelligence, etc.

I know that I'm in the minority on this but I just don't understand why people show any concern at all for where a handful of "experts" think a player should be ranked, once they are committed. Sure these rankings are a great macro indicator of an unknown player and may help coaches decide which guys to offer and which to not. But once a player is offered, accepts, and the school recognizes that by holding a scholarship for him does it really make any difference at all what happens to his rankings?

Go Blue.

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August 6th, 2009 at 12:55 AM
(Reply to #13) #16
mejunglechop
mejunglechop's picture
Joined: 07/09/2008
MGoPoints: 6619
The rankings obviously don't

The rankings obviously don't affect the quality of a given player, but they generally do reflect how good a player is. If the rankings show that a particular player is say the 20th best player at his position where he used to be 30th best, the proper conclusion should be that the services think the player is better than they had originally thought.

Considering that everyone likes their own recruits, having an outside neutral source affirm your infatuation is at least reassuring.

Insinuating that our perceived value of the player should not change when a recruit's value is revised requires quite the intellectual slight of hand.

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August 6th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
(Reply to #22) #17
UNCWolverine
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Joined: 10/06/2008
MGoPoints: 6205
EXACTLY Mat. That is exactly

EXACTLY Mat. That is exactly my point.

I honestly believe that some people would rather win the battle that takes place on rivals and scout than the one that takes place on the field every fall.

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August 6th, 2009 at 2:40 PM
(Reply to #22) #18
mejunglechop
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Joined: 07/09/2008
MGoPoints: 6619
No. That made no sense at

No. That made no sense at all.

Point 1: "Our perceived value doesn't matter one bit."

If by matter you mean affects the quality of the player then obviously, that's what I said. If you mean that perceived talent doesn't generally reflect actual talent, sorry that's been proven wrong.

Point 2: "Sure, I'll be happier to hear about a 5-star commit than a 4-star, but once a recruit is "ours" I could not care less how his ratings change."

So if Taylor Lewan had committed to us as a 2 star DT you wouldn't have been very happy at the time and would have remained that way despite the changing rankings. However, since he committed to us as a 4 star you were probably fairly happy with his commitment. But wait! Your justification for not changing your opinion of our commits is that they're still the same person! And Taylor Lewan was the same person before and after his rating change! And yet you have different levels of excitement! Not changing your opinion on a recruit when new information comes in just because he's already committed makes no sense!

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August 6th, 2009 at 6:43 PM
(Reply to #25) #19
mejunglechop
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Joined: 07/09/2008
MGoPoints: 6619
Yes, I agree with everything

Yes, I agree with everything you wrote for point 1, recruiting rankings are irrelevant in a causal sense to actual performance on the field. I've said this from the beginning.

Onto point 2: Since you agree that you reasonably get more excited/increase your expectations when a player like hypothetical Lewan goes from 2 to 4 stars you should also accept that this same reaction is justified if DG were to shoot up the rankings.

I'm rooting for Devin Gardner to get a fifth star because it shows the services think he's that special a player and that gives me reason to slightly brighten my future outlook on Michigan football*. Since ~80% of the information on this blog relates to the future of Michigan football- there are no games going on now, you know- it baffles me that a reader would object to these hopes.

Disclaimer: I don't care if the services make Gardner the last 5* versus the first 4*- that much difference is negligible- the difference between being ranked 15th and 60th, however, is not.

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August 5th, 2009 at 10:03 PM
#20
wiscwood
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Joined: 07/24/2009
MGoPoints: 31
Ratings Game

I agree the ratings system does not matter. The players are good or they are not. Ratings tell if someone has been properly evaluated. At times people say this guy is so "awesome"! He makes a play and to the untrained eye he is good. He is just overrated. Case in point Kevin Grady was a 5 star, Mike Hart was a 3 star. Grady was tche state of Michigan record breaking high school running back. He currently, as all Michigan fan know, is third on the depth chart. Some of these guys are in the wrong system. True, ratings are nothing in reality! Sometimes, ratings tell us, in retrospect, that a player is special. The coaches are the real barometer. They know what they want to see on the field.

No one really knows what some one will do in college. There are injuries, academic issues, legal issues etc. Who knows? Anyway, fans and players collect ratings. Experts need fans to listen to them, fans need to believe in the mythical recruiting championship. I want to win The National Championship period!!! Fan don't know what coaches do. It is nice to have a hobby it is better to have a life. You can not control season outcomes by hovering over minutiae. Let Rod doing his thing.

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August 6th, 2009 at 1:18 AM
(Reply to #15) #21
mejunglechop
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Joined: 07/09/2008
MGoPoints: 6619
Meet Data- Also Matt Hinton- and Learn

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Hug-your-fri...

http://www.sundaymorningqb.com/story/2008/1/21/1614/43228

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Recruiting-s...

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August 5th, 2009 at 10:37 PM
#22
petered0518
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Joined: 08/05/2009
MGoPoints: 902
Jeremy Jackson

I actually saw a Huron game last year(vs. Pioneer)

I haven't seen enough high school games to get a good comparison, but I was impressed with Jackson.

If I had to make a comparison, his style reminds me of Mike Williams from USC (who the lions drafted 10th, don't get me started on that one)

Jeremy's biggest assest was his strength off the line to push around smaller cornerbacks. His obvious weakness is speed.

The thing I was most concerned about was attitude. When Huron got behind he seemed to give up on run plays and didn't chase down an intercepted pass.
He did have a great diving catch, though, and definitely looked like a D1 athlete.

Wow, looking back over my own post, I have started to talk like a recruiting analyst with all those cliches. Probably not a good thing but oh well.

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August 6th, 2009 at 12:18 AM
#23
wiscwood
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Joined: 07/24/2009
MGoPoints: 31
Play for the Team

Whatever happen to players not caring what position they play, as long as they get on the field? Jeremy Jackson wants to call the shots? He knows how special Michigan is. He should let the coach set him in the best place. When I played football, I wanted to be QB. I played TE. I was better at TE. When I accepted that life for me was so much better.

Case in point, I remember Lloyd Carr telling Ian Gold "You need to thank me for putting you at LB". Gold wanted to be a RB. Ian has been a Pro Bowler several times now. These players should have more trust of their. Besides what does a kid of 17 or 18 year of age know? Do what is best for the team!

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August 6th, 2009 at 8:58 AM
(Reply to #17) #24
jwfsouthpaw
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Joined: 01/14/2009
MGoPoints: 259
Perhaps

But Jeremy Jackson is only a verbal commitment. He's not on the team yet. Provided that he has other offers to play WR (which seems to be the case), then he has every right to know which position he will play at Michigan. Some players enjoy playing certain positions but not others.

The question is this: would he willingly suffer through Michigan's brutal S&C program to play TE? If the answer is "no" (and RR continually stresses that you need to "love football" to do it), then he has every right to know whether the coaches plan on keeping him at WR.

Plus, this benefits the team in the long run: a disgruntled player forced to switch to a position he does not care to play will generally (1) transfer; (2) never see the field; and/or (3) have a negative attitude that affects other players. None is these is a good thing.

If RR wants Jackson at TE, then RR should be honest about it. And if RR DOES want Jackson at TE, then Jackson has every right to choose to play WR elsewhere.

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August 9th, 2009 at 1:41 PM
#25
Tim
Joined: 07/08/2008
MGoPoints: 12887
A couple points: 1. If a

A couple points:
1. If a player is elevated to 4 stars, 5 stars, etc., it's something to be excited about (however slightly). It means Michigan is getting a better player than we originally thought. Sure, he's already committed to it doesn't really matter where somebody's ranked, but knowing a commit is good is comforting, no?

2. Top recruits want to play with other top recruits. Though most of them won't admit it, a lot of guys pay attention to which schools are putting together good classes. If I'm a 5-star RB, am I going to want to go to the school with a bunch of 2* OL, or a bunch of 4-5* OL? This also has an effect on future classes.

3. If you think people are more worried about winning the recruiting battle than the games on the field, you may be too cynical to sway. However, the recruiting battle will definitely have an effect on the games actually played, and there's nothing wrong with being excited about a good class.

4. Would it really kill you to see the program get a bit of good press? God knows we haven't seen a lot of that lately.

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