Michigan has not recruited less under rich rod then Lloyd carr (look at team percentage of players). If you don't think that we recruit in state then I don't know what to tell you and if you think that we are always going to get every player that's also a bit absurd especially since there has never been more parity in the league. You are setting up unrealistic expectations

You forgot him.

he was a heavy State lean and even they couldn't keep him. He basically quit on Oklahoma because he couldn't beat out Bradford and it wouldn't surprise me if he transfers from State now that he hasn't beat out Cousins. Johnson didn't come here because he was recruited as a CB and wanted to play WR so take him off your list. Finally, you're never going to get every player from a State even if you dominate it like OSU does/did Ohio. Can you say Justin Turner, Mike Shaw, Charles Woodson, Desmond Howard, Elvis Grbac, and Greg Ross just to name a few.

A lot of people will give you a hard time for this but I like it, until the last paragraph. Forget any comparisons to Dantonio, RR knows what he's doing. I can't really explain why we should put an emphasis on in-state talent but we should. That's not saying we shouldn't continue to recruit out of state in FL, TX, or CA but we gotta win at home with any big recruits. Our state does produce some talent, so let's keep it here (and no not at State). I hate seeing teams like USC, LSU, or tOSU with talented Michigan players that could have been helping us.

Please tell me you've emailed Chris Singletary with this information. Or, that you've left an envelope with this post on his windshield. Or, that you've stalked him at the Ann Arbor Panera while waiting to get a panini from White Pony. Your belief that for Michigan to be elite, it needs to get elite players, is truly ground-breaking. Make sure you print out this Diary and take it with you to the Purdue game. Then, get in there an hour before the game and start yelling it at the coaching staff. Most importantly, make sure that Devin Gardner and Ricardo Miller hear you when you're yelling it.

It's hard not knowing what the coaches and recruits are/were thinking. There's a ton of intangible wrt recuiting, which is why is so difficult to evaluate in real time. Even in retrospect getting down all the details of why these guys made their decisions and what could have been is pretty subjective. Past performance on the field and gets and misses though are at least listable. This is a worthy diary. Thanks for putting it together now and going forward.

Also, the inclusion of Justin Siller in this is comical. Set aside the fact that he was an 07 recruit and was of no value to Carr and the old staff...he gets dismissed from Purdue because of academics, and you think he would've lasted at Michigan?

No - offers It's tough to know why UM didn't offer certain kids. It could be they never wanted to come here, academic issues, or UM thought they had a lock on another kid that they did want. Maybe the kid just wanted to get out of the state, away from home. Gordon/Nichol/Dell may have been MSU leans from the start and we just didn't bother.

'left the cupboard bare', its more that the cupboard was filled with a fine collection of busts and washouts. Just as an example, the 05 class was ranked #6 according to rivals. That year they land 5 star Kevin Grady rated as the #1 running back out of high school in the country by some publications.....think he's lived up to that billing? How about this list of 4 and 5 stars from that 05 class that didn't cut it, some of these guys would be 5th year Sr's this year or would have been Sr's last year.....think they'd have made a difference in our depth chart? Antonio Bass 4star Eugene Germany 4star James McKinney 4star Justin Schifano 4star Cory Zirbel 4star Marques Slocumb 4star Take a look at the 05 and 07 recruiting classes......fully HALF of those classes are gone from Michigan, HALF!!!!... and before you go all 'Rich Rod' ran them off on us. Nearly all of those that left, were injured and had to quit, were kicked off the team etc etc. were gone before Carr retired. Now look at those that remain and you will see a staggering number of guys who are JR's and Sr's who are buried on the depth chart behind Fr and Soph's and barely contributing. I cannot imagine very many Michigan recruiting classes have had as many complete busts as the 05 and 07 classes have had. Its really quite staggering the attrition that has taken place. It doesn't matter where guys are from if they end up being busts.

Nice diary entry - I'm currently working through Part 2. I do take issue with this notion that Michigan "lost" some in-state kids they should have kept. No team locks down its state completely, and there are myriad reasons why a kid picks one school over the other. Just because you were born in MI does not mean you are destined to play for UM or MSU. For example, if USC, Florida, or Miami came calling, promising warm weather, good teams, a proven tract record of landing players in the NFL, and attractive coeds, I would certainly consider them. Plus, sometimes there are system issues, preferred positions, etc. that can affect where a guy lands. UM has done a good job identifying kids in the state who want to play for UM and making sure they sign, and have also swayed a number of top-notch talent across the nation to choose UM. You are not going to get everyone, but right now I think this recruiting team is on the right track, and a winning season this year will only help.