5* DL Justin Scott Commits to OSU
Hard to argue with you. Our CB recruiting is scary at best
I would say, don’t worry because we can fill any recruiting misses with talent from the transfer portal, but apparently we can only get them if they are grad transfers or coming from an elite academic university. We’ve been fortunate to find guys from Stanford or Virginia.
That sparty tactic is unsustainable.
There's no other way to spin it, the last little stretch has been disappointing. Chiles, Boo, Scott, etc. It's not been a very fun stretch recently.
Why are we struggling recruiting CB’s? We are stinking it up at that position.
CB’s visit - love it according to reports - “ Clinks my guy “ is the response when recapping their visit and then it’s “Michigan?” “ No I’m not going there”.
Our recruiting machine has run out of gas it seems.
Something all of a sudden smells fishy in A2
No idea what is up with corner recruiting but that is certainly our weakest area by far. It’s going to come back and bite us pretty soon I’m afraid.
Yes it’s easier to cover a weak DLineman than a problem corner.
Nah. Not with transfer portal.
Beat OSU...
Worthless comment
It was a harmless comment. It adds more value than yours.
We can always count on you to be an obnoxious ass.
This is the type of shit that I could see turning Harbaugh off and taking any NFL job tbh. To be leading for a player and then losing him out of no where to the "bag"
JH has already shown NFL interest the past couple years, but the idea of building a dynasty/legacy could have kept him around for the long haul.
If recruiting just becomes a total bag game, even moreso than before, and UM isn't willing to compete with Bama, UGA and OSU in paying the 5*'s, the situation become untenable for the coaching staff to consistently compete with the elite.
After all the effort and work in building relationships, it must be incredibly frustrating to lose recruits on a weekend visit (Chiles, Scott) due to the bag.
Totally agree...
Coaching big time CFB right now w NIL and the portal...and the absence of rules and structure has to be hell. The expectations of fans is higher than ever but the over environment is toxic.
The NFL is no walk in the park but things just make more sense...rules, transparency, contracts its a business period...not a business trying to pretend it's something else.
But JH is not a stars guy. Right now, I trust him and his staff with talent ID and development. Got the advantage over Day in this key area.
JH doesn't need to be a stars guy. UM was pursuing this kid. They were pursuing Chiles. They are pursuing a bunch and 4 and 5 star guys that are now apparently out of reach due to the NIL/bag.
They are great at talent identification, but it must drive an ultra-competitive guy like JH crazy to feel like he is forced to play by a different set of rules. It would be like playing OSU but being told that we need 15 yards to get a first down, but it is still 10 for them. We still might beat them, but the margin for error is far less than it would be on a level playing field.
Gotta say I was never wowed by his highlights. He’s. Massive athlete and you take him but I wasn’t hoping or counting on his commit. We have 3*s I’m way more excited about (even if he committed). Seems to be going fine to me.
Definitely didn’t see that coming. We still 55, Jenkins, Benny and Kenneth Grant.
There are lots of 5* guys on that roster that have lost 2 years in a row to Michigan
Yet another prospect slips through the Maize butterfingers. Missing one or two here or there isn't too alarming - development can fix that. This is becoming a pattern and a disturbing one at that.
Looking at the bright side Underwood can be a generational game changer that negates other weaknesses a la Clemson.
I still don't know why our NIL program cannot compete with the elite teams. My guess it came down to money, to why he did not sign with us. Even if we win a NC this year, it does not necessarily mean we will become an elite recruiting school. We need to show 5 stars the money, but I'm not sure our NIL will match that of Alabama, Georgia, OSU or even Clemson.
Maybe they showed him the money but OSU showed him more money. Who really knows outside of his family.
People act like just offering money is all it takes...
It's all it takes until the recruit shows your offer to the next program and they add a dollar...
It's not the money, it's the amount.
I think it's reasonable to suspect that OSU recruits (and recruits at other schools) are getting NIL deals at the time they commit, and probably some immediate cash is part of that. I also suspect that a lot of the NIL deals offered at other places don't require any corresponding work by the recruit.
On top of that, it's always been clear that Michigan expects players to go to class and maintain a minimum level of academic standing. I believe that many other programs have more relaxed standards for what constitutes minimum academic standing.
Plus U-M doesn't automatically enroll a recruit who wants to major in something other than general LSA degree programs. If a recruit wants to major in business or engineering or architecture, he has to apply to and be accepted by that program.
Recruiting services seek clicks. Who knows where Justin Scott was really favoring. It’s evident now. Michigan will be fine. We need to step it up on the recruiting trail and find plan B type guys especially for the CB, LB and DL slots. Signing day is a long ways off. Enjoy the day everyone and Go Blue!!
i don’t follow recruiting as closely as many here…but wasn’t this guy kinda considered a long shot all along?
from the 6/2/2023 roundup:
Beyond that, Michigan is not throwing in the towel on Chicago 5* Justin Scott, but it has never seemed like that one was happening (Miami holds the predictions right now).
from april:
The board here is expanding since Michigan seems to be #8/8 for Justin Scott, though Michigan often underplays their involvement in these battles.
i mean, yeah, i get the disappointment, but come on, people.
No kidding. Thanks for posting that.
I believe those comments were made prior to his visit to Michigan. The visit apparently blew him away to the point where Michigan was rumored to strongly lead for him, of course until he took his OSU visit.
Yeah, for me, I’d like to crush OSU both in games and recruiting. We are getting a lot of high 4 stars, but it sure is hell is nice to get a Will Johnson, Dax Hill, and a Donovan Edwards in a class to play alongside the Sainristils and Hutches.
The serious OSU fans were nervous about recruitment—fun to see them panic—but now they’re getting their gloat back on picking up a bunch of blue chips.
Keep winning, get in the NC final at minimum, and the shifting of 5-stars will start going our way.
Agreed 💯
Fact of the matter is that Georgia, Alabama and OSU are pretty much always going to be in a position where they can pick and choose their recruiting classes. This is no different.
Doesn't make this suck any less, but the fact that OSU swoops in seemingly out of nowhere to secure the commitment of a highly touted guy that most everyone thought was a UM/ND battle? I can’t really say I’m surprised.
Hopefully he’ll get to take part in the next great OSU tradition of getting mowed the fuck over by Michigan offensive lines.
On the Round Table from last week, they were talking about if our win streak over OSU is sustainable and how right now we have an advantage in the "meta" game. I think we are currently seeing OSU's response:
1) Putting emphasis on Michigan v OSU recruiting battles. The Michigan Recruiting Insider guys have implied that Michigan OL recruiting has forced OSU's hand in OL recruiting, specifically in Ohio. They seemed to imply that OSU offering the Armstrong twins and offering Marc Nave was a direct result of Michigan scooping up some guys that OSU was hoping to come back to later in the cycle. OSU only offered the Armstrong twins when they did because Michigan was making progress with them and Nave was never going to get an offer until Roebuck and Hamilton came off the board. Then also putting in more money and resources into other head to head battles like Bryce West and Aaron Scott in order to try to regain momentum in the rivalry
2) Revamping the the DL. It clearly seems like OSU in utilizing NIL big time on the DL. Larry Johnson has been on the downtrend for years and the DL needs help to stop Michigan's dominance in the trenches
But LJ had the Bosa Bros, Chas Young, Davon Hamilton, Dremont Jones,and more all in the NFL. Some young guys this year with Hall, Kanu, Jackson, Moore...all high 4 stars. I don't buy this downtrend. OSU's defensive staff has been through a transitioning period and the results have been horrible. Michigans staff offers more continuity even though Elston is fairly new. IMO recruitng classes take years to build and we seemed to have dropped the ball...especially when Jimmy was probing the NFL. OSU seems to have a well oiled machine and they're creating relationships years in advance.
Michigan has the #4 class. How did they “drop the ball”?
In context...I meant as far as capitalizing on the recent success...after 2021 was the staff and Jimmy even recruiting? Seems like they hit the 'pause' button to see exactly what JH was going to do. Meanwhile they lost focus on the 22,23,24 recruits and the relationship building took a hit. Identifying targets, getting them on campus, continuing contact after the visits? Seems there's a disconnect somewhere.
Out of nowhere Osu closes out on a few highly rated defensive recruits. Their db’s have been hurried and the dline hasn’t been good vs any top competition The scheme and staff are vastly different from when the Bosa’s were there. This isn’t osu’s defense previous to 2020.. It’s not like a few seasons ago when the offense was obliterating defenses so bad it didn’t matter.
This is the world of Elite recruiting. Most Elite recruits don't want to go to a place where they must attend classes in person, work hard at their academics, work hard to make NIL dollars, and balance the life of a student athlete. Frankly, not all kids that Michigan recruits will get past the admissions process, hence they commit to another program. Places like OSU, UGA, BAMA are football factories where kids can take all online courses, have academic tutors doing most of their assignments, they get paid to play (in a sense), and are football players first and foremost. Plus, a lot of Elite programs adjust academic admission requirements so recruits get into the University. Michigan has to recruit a specific type of athlete that wants and can handle being more of a typical student athlete and also meet all of the academic entrance requirements.
Michigan will never recruit at an Elite level until we follow the same standards as OSU, UGA, and BAMA. I say we should follow and change the rules for athletes. It wouldn't hurt Michigan's Ivy League reputation one bit. Frankly, it would enhance Michigan's global brand if they were winning titles in Football and Basketball.
This is more true than we would like to admit. Often times, in addition to good genes, the athletes' singular focus on football/sports is a big reason why they are 5* athletes. There are only so many hours in the day, and every hour spent on academics is one less hour in the weight room or film room. Some kids can handle doing both at a high level, but they are the exception rather than the rule. If we want to make sure that our players are also legitimate students, then we lock ourselves out of a lot of the top talent.
The revenue sports are largely a semi-pro endeavor at this point. While I understand and like the idea of JH's transformational over transactional approach, it is a nuanced approach that may be hard to appreciate when teams start throwing big signing bonuses at recruits.
I smell a Michigan 3 peat this upcoming season and a possible shot at the natty! 😎 Those who come …. I’m out for the day, have a great day everyone! Go Blue!!
Is this the end of the line for the cliff?
Nope. One more behind you.
The concern brigade is out in force, I see. Before 2021, i would have been Chicken Little too, I suppose.
YES, we have some systemic limitations when it comes to modern recruiting right now. Some self-imposed (which is sad) but many are not. But, get a goddamn grip -- we are BACK TO BACK conference champs with two straight poundings of our main rival. What I mean is this -- no, we won't win all (or even most) of the top-tier recruiting battles, but we don't need to.
Would it be nice? Sure. Should we be snagging a few more highly rated recruits? Perhaps.
But given all that, we are crushing it. Chill.
I love our team and I am very happy with the recruiting class we have assembled. To have done so without just throwing bags at 17 year old kids is nothing short of remarkable. At the same time, it does get frustrating to see OSU do nothing in particular to improve upon the talents of many of their top recruits, and still see kids lining up simply because they "ain't come to play school." Following the path of least resistance is a big part of human nature, and that isn't going to change any time soon.
sucks to miss out on Justin Scott.
I am not saying that Scott would not have been great at Michigan - but you need to commit for the right reasons. Since he chose OSU, clearly he wasn't interested enough in Michigan in his heart...so he wasn't a 'fit' by definition.
One of the reasons for Michigan's turnaround is the emphasis on culture and I believe that this goes hand in hand with how Harbaugh views NIL:
It should be transformational and not transactional.
Michigan is looking for kids where a commitment to play football isn't simply a transaction...If NIL was what tipped the scales, Scott's pov wasn't aligned with Michigan's. If it wasn't NIL, then the kid simply wanted to play for OSU over his other suitors.
Disappointed, but need to move on to other kids who do want to play for Michigan.
You hit the nail on the head, Labatts. Culture is key to any teams success. Look now further than A&M and the amount of money thrown at teenagers.
I’m curious to if paying more for incoming players compared to upper class man will erode team unity. As upperclassmen, you teach culture and values upon the incoming class. I don’t see how this helps mold unity when younger class man have a perceived higher sense of worth based on monetary compensation
What a great book it will be to see the impact of NIL in terms of team culture, player development and success. Will money help or hurt the success of a team ?
I'll enjoy watching Justin Scott be the next Zach Harrison chasing the next Donovan Edwards down the field.
Perhaps he just didn't really want to play school.
Larry Johnsons pitch:
"What would our plan be for a defensive line prospect such as yourself, Justin? We're glad you asked, and it's simple really. See, every now and again we get shithouse lucky here at Ohio State, and walk right into a generational talent on that side of the ball without reeeeally having to do any work. Well...that hasn't happened for almost half a decade, so we're just kinda thinkin' that we're due. Hey, we have a saying here - "Playing the odds sure beats playing school." LOL, also here's a giant bag of cash."
Recruiting threads are the best. Idiots arguing about idiotic things
We just need George Costanza to chime in.