Hopson hitting paydirt in Mississippi???
Interesting Sam Webb article from DetNews on Michigan's recruiting progress in Mississippi.
U-M in hot pursuit of nephew of Tigers' Thames
Here's a couple quotes from the article,
- " Hopson's efforts paid off last week when Thames flew up for the Tigers' six-game homestand. On Tuesday he and his uncle made their way to Ann Arbor for a visit and came away extremely impressed.
"It was like a dream come true," Thames said of his time at Michigan. "Everything I'm looking for in a college, Michigan had it. Education-wise, everything up there is professional. They know what they're doing. If football doesn't work, they make sure you get your education." "
- " Based on what Thames witnessed in the weight room, he believes the Wolverines know what they're doing when it comes to training, as well.
"Mike Barwis -- that's an awesome dude," he said about Michigan's new strength and conditioning coordinator. "I'd say about 25 pro football players were there. He was helping them work out. It was awesome. He took me through some drills showing me how they do it up there." "
To link this to BlueSeoul's diary entry "Should we believe the hype?" I can say that I've heard of NFL players helping other players work out. Walter Payton and Jerry Rice had noted workout regimes that were publicised and sought after by other NFL players.
But I've never heard of a College S & C guy collecting NFL players before. Hell I don't think I've ever read an article about an S & C coach before Barwis.
Considering that they're from the area, and wouldn't want to be in indianapolis or DC over the summer, that's not too big of a deal.
Plus, have you ever been to Miami ? Not too shabby in the summer, especially if you're making millions of dollars.
I'm equally skeptical about the Mississippi Strategy, but Thames is a Rivals 250 guy; he's not marginal.
Also... dude... way to harsh our Barwis buzz.
Gittleson would have half a dozen guys on campus on a good day in the offseason, not more than half of an NFL roster. You have to understand the effect seeing not just a few guys, but 25 guys in the gym at once has on a 16-18 year old kid. They're not going to see that on any other visit. Barwis is a HUGE boon to recruiting.
It's unheard of, even in Miami.
"That's a straw man. You're comparing one kid's random guess at how many pros were there to a number that you're probably making up for Gittelson and almost certainly making up for Miami."
I am not making those numbers up.
Took some sheen off the Hopson recruiting machine. Let's see how OK turns out.
Dennis Thames doesn't need Barwis because he's already country strong. \Rod Allen
From what I understand Gittleson was sort of a pioneer in his heyday. The thing is that his methods have become outdated and he was kept around too long. But it seems like you could also blame Lloyd for allowing players to coast.
Re: recruiting in the South: The article about Thames really sums it up well. It talks about how family bonds tend to be very important in Mississippi so players don't really want to leave their families. This might have something to do with the fact that Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country, right along with West Virginia. (The two states are very different, and yes, racial demographics does have a ton to do with cultural differences between the two.)
The fact that Thames' uncle plays for the Tigers seems to help a lot.
Also, this
"You're comparing one kid's random guess at how many
pros were there"
You and I have a different definition of "random guess." What you call a random guess I call an estimate, considering the fact that he did see this group of players working out.
"Jim Tressel once sucked a male stripper for oatmeal money.
I don't know where I read that at this moment. But I've read several things in the past. Go find the info yourself. I'm obviously right."
"Your inability to cite any source for an assertion you made makes me believe that you were, actually, making your number up."
I'll say it again. Sorry, I'm obviously wrong about current numbers. I know what I read, though, and I wasn't making anything up.
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