Baumgardner article on Coach Harbaugh and recruiting

Submitted by HarbaughToKolesar85 on

Nick Baumgardner wrote an opinion column on Coach Harbaugh and recruiting that was published this morning. I agree with the majority of what he says. It was fair and balanced in my opinion and reminded me that there are some journalists out there who are still professional. Basically, he breaks down the fact that kids and coaches have the right to back out until signing day so it is totally fair to do so as long as there is some advanced notice. I.E. Brian's column about picking up the phone. While I disagree that we need to go as far as Bama and OSU to win like them he makes a compelling case that there is no one whose hands are perfectly clean. (Recruits, parents, coaches, etc.) It is definitely worth a read.

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/01/column_jim_harbaugh_recruiting.html#incart_river_index

 

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bacon1431

January 30th, 2016 at 2:52 PM ^

I am fine with any recruiting practice as long as:

1) It is within the rules

2) The philosophy is communicated clearly to recruits/families and the staff ensures that the philosophy is clearly understood

As long as our staff is doing the above two, there'll be no complaints from me. 

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PopeLando

January 30th, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^

This is what happens when a polarizing figure does ANYTHING. People decide which side of the fence they're on, then look for confirmation bias. Or, if you're a journalist with low ethics, you lambast. Really, there are two ways to make your career as a journalist: insightful analysis, or faux-outrage trolling. The latter is easier by far. (These are just general thoughts, not about the Baumgardner article, which I think was pretty fair.)

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Yessir

January 30th, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^

Didn't Nick B get caught in the middle of the Swenson thing?  I think he just wrote what he was told by Swenson and caught some guff from both sides.  I think thats right. So he might just be clarifying his position on things. 

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Optimism Attache

January 30th, 2016 at 3:13 PM ^

That is basically what he did, but remember he was writing that as a reporter. You report what you can. Preferably you confirm everything, but that's not always possible. Or, you get people who will "confirm," but are not 100% forthcoming. Today's post is from Nick opinion columnist.

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Kwitch22

January 30th, 2016 at 5:56 PM ^

On Twitter he clarified a bunch of times his Swenson stuff was just reporting what he was told and he would write more once he had something from Michigan, at least he did what he said he would do. It was a pretty good column.

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Geaux_Blue

January 30th, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^

He got blown up blindly by idiots for dating to put into print what was being publicly stated. Commit comments are news - to not print it would arguably be against journalistic tenants because it would be partisan



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Yessir

January 30th, 2016 at 3:30 PM ^

I know I was interested in what happened.  I wanted to hear/read what the player had to say.  In the end, it all seemed to work itself out.  The commit was able to get his comments aired and Coach was able to speak generically about how he recruits.  I'm ok with all of that.  

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Hail Harbo

January 30th, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^

He didn't report as much as he cut and paste.  He said he had personal contact with the Swenson's yet he made no mention of any direct questions about specific conversations and timelines.

BTW, Baumgardner should be paying a royalty to Brian, he gets a shitload of his material, almost verbatim, from MGoBlog.

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Yessir

January 30th, 2016 at 5:44 PM ^

Just looked it up and I was wro.. I was wron...  I was wrong.  It wasn't Swenson that called him but his HS coach that called him and said that nothing was being communicated to Swenson last year.  HS Coach said everything was fine even after the OSU game.  Just thought if someone calls you about a big story like that, you'd want to write about it. 

Ok, my bad, move along.  Nothing to see here.

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MgoWood

January 30th, 2016 at 2:59 PM ^

I would like a coach who will answer the intriguing questions about recruiting rather than other infamous coaches who dodge them because what is happening behind those scenes is completely worse and unethical. Damn bag men.

 

#Harbaugh

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True Blue Grit

January 30th, 2016 at 3:14 PM ^

Although I have no personal knowledge about them, my theory is that these "bag men" keep a long arm's distance from the coaching staffs of these schools to remove any direct links to the program.  Nothing is ever written or recorded and they are mainly acting thru boosters on the fringes of the program.  Maybe the coach has some knowledge that something is going on but he has no specifics as to whom, where, or how much is involved.  So if asked about it, he can deny knowledge of any specific instances and be telling more or less the truth.  It's pretty rare for the recruits or former recruits to spill their guts because they'd be making themselves look really bad or lose eligilibilty if still students. 

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MgoWood

January 30th, 2016 at 3:22 PM ^

A coach from sEC country probably knows that if they are going to go hard after a huge recruit that they need the boosters would probably take notice from the grape vine and shoo their minion bag men onto their doorstep.

This is a scenario that plays in my head when I hear of crazy turns from the B1G to sEC.

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Don

January 30th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^

It's like a mob boss who lets it be known verbally to his underlings that a certain "problem" needs to be "taken care of." He puts nothing in writing, is careful not to name names, and generally makes sure he's got plausible deniablity when "the problem" is found slumped over in his Cadillac with a large bloody hole in his head.

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aratman

January 30th, 2016 at 3:22 PM ^

Schools can have 58 football recruits on scholarship.  

Universities must offer an equal number of scholarships to female athletes.

You give the NCAA standard 20% tribute.

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tmzenn

January 30th, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^

I understand people debating an issue and having a different stance than others. However, the people responding hate against Jim Harbaugh are stating flat out lies. 

Jim Harbaugh didn't rescind anyone's offer because he found someone better. He did it because they didn't continue to meet the expectations that were given to the student athelete when the offer was presented. 

I could understand people debating the fact that they don't agree an offer should ever be pulled once given. That would be a personal judgement call.

I personally feel Jim is doing the best thing for a big college in order to be competitive. This isn't a college scholarship for grades. It is for football. 

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Yessir

January 30th, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^

I'm ashamed to admit I trolled Sparty after the 38-0 beat down.  I would NOT have done that if we weren't trolled (on other boards) after the punt.  I should've been the bigger person and not done that, but had a couple of beers in me and had a lot of fun that night.  Got a small gang together and hit Sparty hard. 

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Truthbtold

January 30th, 2016 at 4:36 PM ^

UM has gone far beyond both those schools, they only only thing missing is the wins. Don't lie to yourself man, you look stupid and we are all laughing at you.

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LSAClassOf2000

January 30th, 2016 at 5:08 PM ^

Personally, I have no problem with it -- with one condition: If he and his coaching staff are being up front with players when they make their commitments that this offer is contingent upon them continuing to improve on the field and meet all the necessary requirements to get into school. If that's not the case, then Michigan certainly needs to clean that up.

I would agree with this sentiment as it is more or less where I am at with this - if the communication has been less than timely, then that is an area for improvement, but beyond that I really don't see the problem if that and everything else is going well.

Harbaugh smmarized the expectations in that Friday interview in the answer to one question - as long as those are being communicated, then I guess I don't see the problems others see. "Commitments" aren't binding on anyone until the grant-in-aid paperwork arrives in the signing period, and if there is a player that in the vie of the staff is not meeting their expectations, then there is no compelling reason - in my opinion - to be upset when that commitment vanishes really. 

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