BBrown: 4 New OL Offered
Even on Super Bowl Sunday the coaches are staying busy for the first part of the day offering a new prospect today along with three others yesterday. I have made contact with all of them but haven't put together any sort of dialogue just yet with the NFL festivities today so look for that in the coming days.
Name: Ryan Bates
Position: Offensive Tackle
Ht/Wt: 6'6" / 285 lbs.
Location: Archbishop Wood Catholic High School – Warminster, PA
Offers: Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Temple, Virginia
Ranking: ★★★★ .9101 (247 Composite)
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Name: Grant Newsome
Position: Offensive Tackle
Ht/Wt: 6'7" / 280 lbs.
Location: Lawrenceville Prep School – Lawrenceville, NJ
Offers: Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Miami, Michigan, North Carolina, NC State, Northwestern, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, Syracuse, Temple, Virginia, Wake Forest
Ranking: ★★★★ .9088 (247 Composite)
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Name: Keenan Walker
Position: Offensive Tackle
Ht/Wt: 6'5" / 266 lbs.
Location: Chaparral High School – Scottsdale, AZ
Offers: Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan, Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, USC, Washington
Ranking: ★★★★ .9508 (247 Composite)
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Name: Drew Richmond
Position: Offensive Tackle
Ht/Wt: 6'6" / 313 lbs.
Location: Memphis University School – Memphis, TN
Offers: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Memphis, Michigan, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina, NC State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest
Ranking: ★★★★ .9634 (247 Composite)
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February 2nd, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
Boom!
February 2nd, 2014 at 3:47 PM ^
Is this really good news considering the fact that we have so many lineman already in the fold? I know you are supposed to load up on O-line and D-line, but I am curious if this is due to the lack of production we have gotten out of our 2012 haul of lineman. If that's the case, I am shocked at the lack of development of certain 2012 lineman (Kalis, Magnusson).
February 2nd, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:16 PM ^
The (overly?) large 2013 OL class will be gone after 2017 so we need to take at least three each year to get the numbers right by then. I'd like to see 4 next year (and would have preferred 3 this year).
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:43 PM ^
Yup, after the 2013 class there is very little OL depth. As you said, in 2015 they should take multilple lineman (3-4) and continue to take that number every year.
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^
Sound it out...
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:35 PM ^
I thought with such a small class it would be 2, but maybe it's 3? Runyan already in the fold, in good shape with Sterling Jenkins and now 4 more offers. Hard to say exactly.
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:18 PM ^
What year do these young men graduate? Are they late offers for this cycle? 2015 grads? Or 2016?
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:17 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:46 PM ^
I figured, but wanted to make sure. I knew you had put some stuff up about 2016 kids as well, so I figured it was worth double-checking.
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:42 PM ^
This class is the turning point of Hoke's career in my mind. His previous classes he has built off promise and the future. Now recruiting has slowed down immensly and thier seems to be less intrest overall in the program. Hoke needs to step it up on the field before we turn in more top ten classes like in the first couple of years......end rant.
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:59 PM ^
Could not agree more ,I can't begin to imagine all the other Big Ten coaches using our last two seasons as proof that Hoke's hope for the future is misleading and that our Sugar Bowl season in 2011 was simply an anomaly.
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^
February 3rd, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^
since the start of the 2013 football season we have no 2014 commits (other than maybe Wangler?) we lost Harris and Campbell, and we lost out on Hand and may lose out on McDowell when both seemed to be Michigan leans.
So yea while most of our 2014 commits came before the season, since the season started recruiting hasn't exactly been going gangbusters.
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:47 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 6:08 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:51 PM ^
Saying his recruiting has slowed is incorrect. Its not like they have an unlimited number of scholarships to give out. This isn't Alabama.
February 3rd, 2014 at 7:52 AM ^
February 3rd, 2014 at 8:31 AM ^
Didn't Brady Pallante commit just a few months ago, November maybe?
February 3rd, 2014 at 9:24 AM ^
No, but Erik Swanson, Shaun Crawford, others, did.....
Recruiting has not slowed at all.... to the misguided out there, understand that when Michigan fills 75% of its class 18 months EARLY, that it tends to feel like recruiting "slowed", but it is a false sensation.
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:37 PM ^
I'm hoping the coaches take more natural tackle prospects. 6'6 and above with lean bodies to mold.
February 2nd, 2014 at 4:57 PM ^
Good stuff Brandon. Thanks.
February 2nd, 2014 at 5:17 PM ^
We need to get Keenan Walker blocking for Kareem Walker.
February 3rd, 2014 at 2:59 AM ^
I prefer Careenin' Walker.
February 2nd, 2014 at 7:09 PM ^
Is it just me or do offensive lineman and QBs seem to have a lot less drama to their recruitments than every other position? I know we had the Dawson saga last year, but for the most part they seem to commit fairly early and you don't hear a lot of wavering once they commit. I wonder why that is.
February 2nd, 2014 at 7:50 PM ^
We were in on Alex Kozan, Jordan Diamond and Josh Garnett. There was Gunner Kiel then, too. I think QBs commit early because there is generally going to be room for only one in each class. Despite 2012, I do agree there is usually less drama with the OL.
February 3rd, 2014 at 3:04 AM ^
There's always going to be drama with some recruits, no matter the position. Referencing one class with a few guys on Michigan's radar who were "dramatic" (whatever that means) doesn't really tell much of a story. Most teams probably take 3 or more linemen per class, on average, and considering the fact that teams play five (or more) linemen on every single play, there are more scholarships being given to offensive linemen than any other position. If each team takes three, that means there are 360 FBS linemen getting scholarships, so pointing out 3 is a tiny percentage. There are a couple more I can think of from that 2012 class, so those aren't the only three, but that's clearly an anecdotal conclusion.
February 3rd, 2014 at 7:56 AM ^
The last line of my post agreed there's generally less recruiting drama with OL. I know, tl;dr. My point was that the poster wouldn't have been making that statement two years ago. Thanks for pointing out that our recruits make up a small percentage of the total.
February 2nd, 2014 at 9:05 PM ^
February 2nd, 2014 at 9:13 PM ^
sorry if I missed something on an earlier post, but have we offered any centers yet? are there any centers being targeted in 2015? am I mistaken in thinking that we are really thin at that position? is it normal to move guards over to that position?
February 2nd, 2014 at 10:38 PM ^
is definitely going to be in contention to play center. He'll be on the interior and is talked about as being the kind of smart, technical player that teams like for the center spot.
February 2nd, 2014 at 9:53 PM ^
OL and DL guys are what make a program great. QBs and RBs need blocking and protection. Stopping the other team's run is huge. When you look at the great teams (lets just throw out Bama, Seattle and Broncos for current reference) they have good OL who give the skill players time to do what they do best.
If Michigan can get to the level where Ohio was last year with a near senior OL and be able to replace them with another senior class the next year, watch out. I realize that doesn't work with the numbers of scholarships available but I like the concept. I haven't run the entire numbers but a group of 4 each year would be cool.
If we can get this one position group to elite level, I think so many things follow in their wake. Literally, and for the entire team.
February 2nd, 2014 at 11:44 PM ^
February 3rd, 2014 at 12:17 AM ^
I don't understand your post.
First, offering a bunch of OL and TEs doesn't mean that they're going to take a bunch of OL and TEs. Sometimes you offer a bunch of guys you like even if you don't have room for all of them.
Second, you don't recruit to improve your team in the first season that the kids arrive on campus. You recruit for a few years down the line. Offering OL and TEs right now says nothing about what the coaches think our 2014 and 2015 OL and TE situations will be. These kids wouldn't even arrive on campus until 2015, and for most of them it's almost a guarantee that they'll redshirt in 2015. These kids are being recruited with 2017-2019 in mind.
February 3rd, 2014 at 10:35 AM ^
I guess my point was based on a couple factors. 1) We have a limited class size and so the coaches have to prioritize where to put those schollarships to use, 2) The coaches have seen the 2012 and 2013 guys in practice enough to form some opinions on how those players may project in a couple years, and 3) We have seen the coaches adjust their recruiting late in the process to take into account attrition and/or deficiencies at a given position (ie not enough big corners or big WR's). I've also been counting Wheatly JR as a lock at TE, but maybe that is premature?
So my concern was really more just conjecture based on the above than anything else. Hopefully you are right that these recent offers are more just based on normal recruiting cycles than reflections of the current roster.
February 3rd, 2014 at 12:22 AM ^
Keep in mind we just hired a new offensive ccordinator, so some of these new offers aren't so much us offering more guys as it is us offering different ones, ones that fit what Nussmeier does (or simply ones Nussmeier prefers or has contacts with).
It likely has little to do with the current roster.
February 3rd, 2014 at 12:19 AM ^
I don't think it's lack of faith in our current roster, but perhaps Nussmeier is recruiting players better suited to his type of offense, which may explain the slew of offers going out recently.
February 3rd, 2014 at 12:50 AM ^
Boy these kids have a ton of offers already. What good is being the 20th team to offer?
Perhaps this is totally normal, but the kids that stick seem to be those who the coaches showed love to early or even first.
February 3rd, 2014 at 12:51 AM ^
Probability of signing recruit you never offer: 0%
Probability of signing recruit you're the 20th team to offer: >0%
Plus, it's not clear to me that it really matters to kids when you offer them. I occasionally see someone mention an attachment to the first school that offered, but I'm not sure there's usually a preference for, say, the 5th school over the 15th school.
February 3rd, 2014 at 6:10 AM ^
The only position that I have gleaned an importance in the order that we offer is QB. Recruits may feel taken for granted when they know that we recruit and offer selectively and are clearly working down a short list. In some of the interviews I've seen of 2015 QBs, they had at least seemed aware of Borges' QB hierarchy.