Best recruits left to commit?

Submitted by SpreadGuru on
With two and a half weeks until National Signing Day, who are the best recruits we could still sign to finish up the class?

bronxblue

January 14th, 2012 at 9:55 AM ^

This is more of a general question, but has the coaching staff been looking beyond the Midwest/Mid Atlantic and CA for recruits?  I know that RR had varying success in the South, but it feels like there are more than enough recruits in SEC country for UM to nab a couple of kids, especially if they are transplants.

tn wolverine

January 14th, 2012 at 11:49 AM ^

Right now Tenessee is in a down cycle. After Kiffin left almost every recruit he brought in left the school. That put their scholarship numbers very low so they are offering any warm body they think could possibly help them right now. That's why we're running into so many kids offered by UT. They're also selling the fact that the kids have a chance to play early if they commit.  That's their big sales pitch, that and we're in the ESSS EEEE SEEE.

TTUwolverine

January 14th, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^

Tennessee really isn't far away from the midwest, and maybe they feel like they have better odds competing with Big 10 schools up there than fighting Alabama, LSU, Florida, Auburn and Georgia for the elite talent down south.  Not only that, but Tennessee doesn't have a particularly deep talent pool either, so they have to go somewhere else to get players.

Mr Miggle

January 14th, 2012 at 10:24 AM ^

is obviously yes; Garnett - WA, Reeves - MA, Bars - TN, Houma, UT. They lost out on more targets outside those areas.This staff has different connections than RR's, so it's natural to see more emphasis out west and less in the south. That seems to be changing going by the early 2013 offer list.

Gobluegr

January 14th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^

I'd look for the coaches to be more involved in the south next year. Peter Kalambai out of NC has Michigan in his top five, Shaq Wiggins out of Georgia has them in his top three, and Laremy Tunsil out of Florida has them in his top five. Shaq and Peter are both four stars, while Laremy is a five star.

Genzilla

January 14th, 2012 at 9:56 AM ^

The other 3 that we're considered to have the best chances with yet are Reeves, Grant, and Diamond

Armani Reeves: 4-star CB, PSU commit, looking at UM ND and OSU.  On campus this weekend

Jordan Diamond: 4/5 star OT, has UM in final 5, I believe he's visiting this weekend or next (HS teammate of Chris Bryant)

Sam Grant: 3 star TE, current BC commit.  Looking at UM and OU yet.  I believe he's coming back for an unofficial this weekend of next.  Teammate of Kyle Kalis

Garnett is announcing on 1/26

MgoBLUEfromDC

January 14th, 2012 at 10:28 AM ^

Tim Sullivan article (http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1318384):

Garnet: 50% chance of landing

Grant: 60%

Reeves: 30%

Diamond: 20%

Kozan: 18% (No. 30 offensive tackle and No. 239 prospect overall in the country by Rivals)

Madaris: 10% (No. 55 wideout in the nation)

Wildcards:

Yuri Wright and Kenneth Crawley (Tenn decommit), both tall, high ranked CBs.

Back-up option at OL:

Dan Gibbs: (2* 6-7, 332 lb OT) most likely would commit if offered, could still walk-on 

ccdevi

January 14th, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^

Ugh. Those %s are probably about right but don't like to see in black and white, would like to think our chances were a bit better with all those guys. Based on these numbers we'd be lucky to get 2.

Really hope we can pull one of the 2 big ols and Grant, at least. Reeves and or Madaris would be gravy.

Have to say, really hope we don't offer Gibbs, didn't even think that was a possibility.

detrocks

January 14th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^

He announced is list of finalists and we're not on it.   Not surprising given that we filled the two WR slots we had open.   Once that happened and he cancelled his visit that was scheduled for this weekend, the handwriting was on the wall.

Otherwise, the ratings seem about right.    I'm assuming the 20% for Diamond represents that he has five finalists and there's no favorite among them.   I think that we have a chance at Reeves but that it's more about what he thinks is going to happen at PSU than anything else.

M-Dog

January 14th, 2012 at 6:43 PM ^

If he would have made it 18.45% it would be FACT.

We learned that in corporate financial planning.  If you take a wild ass guess and put a metric on it with a decimal place, it becomes fact.  If the cutoff for an investment decison is 10.5% and your wild ass guess is 10.6%, it's a go.  If your wild ass guess is 10% you are laughed out of the room.

Blue boy johnson

January 14th, 2012 at 10:40 AM ^

There is an elusive big DL prospect located somewhere in the Northwest with off the charts measurables. He's not highly rated because he doesn't go to the camps during daytime and sorta keeps to himself. Very little film on the big guy and most of what there is, is kinda grainy, plus it's from his freshman year. Goes by the name Sasquatch. Don't mess with him. I figure if we team him with Wormley, Stroebel, and Pipkins we will be unbeatable.

Sione's Flow

January 14th, 2012 at 10:44 AM ^

Well look at what Hoke and Co, pulled off with a little under a month to work last season.  I'd almost guarantee you, they have some under the radar prospects that no one is talking about that they would offer in the last month, if UM doesn't get the guys they originally pursued.  And I'm not saying that they're just going to take people to fill spaces.  I think the coaches probably see alot of potential in these guys, but there not as ready for the step up to D-1 as the higher rated prospects are.  

ChiefLB

January 14th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^

To bad we're still not in the hunt for Stefon Diggs.  He had us in his list early on, we had an angle via Countess.  Ditto for Good Counsel's RB Wes Brown, but then he stayed home with Maryland.

I too hope for a strong of out midwest recruiting.  We'll always get our fair share within the Midwest, within Michigan, within Detroit.  Keeping the PSL pipeline for role players who end up making key contributions is crucial for the program's success.  But we also need to keep our presence in California, Louisiana, Florida, etc -- thats where we get the Donovan Warrens, the Leroy Hoards, the Anthony Carters.

GoBluePhil

January 14th, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

from all that I have read I believe UM wants a true corner and Wright's projections have moved him more to safety. We have enough safties now. It will be Reeves for a corner or no one. They will bank that scholarship for next year.

M-Dog

January 14th, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^

Give me Garnett, Reeves, and Grant and I'm a happy happy man.

We'd be a top 5 class, no matter how everyone else finishes out from here.

Magnum P.I.

January 14th, 2012 at 12:16 PM ^

It's greedy, and probably unlikely at this point, but I'd love to get both Garnett and Diamond. How awesome would it be to have a single OL class with Kalis, Garnett, Magnuson, Diamond, Bars, Braden, and Stacey. We could have attrition/guys who don't pan out and STILL have an entire five-man line more talented than any in recent memory. 

jethro34

January 14th, 2012 at 1:04 PM ^

The recruiting stance Hoke and Co seem to be taking in terms of regions is that UM absolutely MUST get the majority of the best recruits in Michigan and compete well for the top recruits in Ohio.  That should be the case every single year.  Beyond that it all depends on volume.  If the two states combine to produce 20-30 four and five star kids in one year, then the need to go beyond those areas isn't terribly strong.  Even then, you want to compete for recruits in Indiana, Illinois, and western Pennsylvania.  One thing that makes recruiting those areas such a good idea is that these kids are used to Michigan weather and won't have as much adjustment/homesickness issues.  It's a good strategy.  It's what has gotten Dantonio in the Big Ten Championship situation for two years.  Their roster has very few people outside of the midwest.

Yes, RR recruited well outside of the Midwest, and thankfully we have Denard, Roh, Lewan, and some others from that success - but for every major contributor he pulled in from those areas, there are 3-4 guys from those areas that didn't last long or have been here but seen the field sparingly if at all.

Hoke has shown he'll recruit nationally as necessary, but he knows he needs pipelines close to home and that if you can't recruit the Midwest with dominance you can't win a championship or sustain success.  I would imagine most of his classes will have 5-8 guys outside of the 5 midwest states mentioned above.  And that's good, because usually it will be the game-changers he goes for on the national level, and every great UM team has a number of those guys.

Hoke has given me no reason to question him at all.  He gets it.

True Blue Grit

January 14th, 2012 at 3:10 PM ^

reasonably close to their hometowns.  That's why the Midwest will always be our core recruiting area (MI, OH, IN, PA, ILL).   Our coaches can visit a lot more players in their limited time in the Midwest since the travel time is less.  Plus,  It's a lot tougher to draw a top player far away from home unless they have some tie or pre-existing interest level in Michigan.  Look at RR's recruiting.  He did get guys from the south, but a lot of them were lower rated players.  That's one big reason the SEC is so good - there are a ton of great players close to their schools.  Michigan can be selective and get some good players from the south and west.  But they need to do their homework and go after the guys that can really help us.  

Ball Hawk

January 14th, 2012 at 3:28 PM ^

If we cant fill the rest of the schollies with the high rated players that we want then I hope they bank the schollies for next year. There is so much talent for next year and the coaches got a good start by offering a lot of elite guys for next year.

razor93

January 14th, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^

If for some reason Hoke and company cannot pull in any of the last guys we are going after? (Garnett, Reeves, Wright, Diamond, Grant, etc.)

M-Dog

January 14th, 2012 at 6:50 PM ^

Little bit.  And for no other reason than it's close to signing day.  And yes I know it's not rational.

Fact is, if you took some of the guys that comitted to us months ago and instead moved their comittment dates to signing day, we'd all be over the moon estatic.  Yet it would still be the same class.

Head games.

uminks

January 16th, 2012 at 1:27 AM ^

And will put us on track for being in the B1G ten and national championship hunt in future years.

Though, I thought winning 10 games and winning the Sugar Bowl would get us 3 or 4 more big names.

Hoping that we can add Grant and one of the OL. If we don't Brady has done a fantastic job recruiting this 2012 class and 2013 looks as good if not better!