alum96

January 31st, 2015 at 1:49 PM ^

Seems like it - with all the RBs being offered and this at LB it wouldnt speak to highly of chances of Weber or Smith for those last few slots. 

I was anticipating Durkin was going to bring 2-3 recruits he had been building year+ relationships with him up to Michigan but it doesn't appear that is going to be the case which is disappointing.  Hopefully 2016 is better for him - he is supposed to be an ace recruiter. 

Don

January 31st, 2015 at 2:30 PM ^

Since Durkin was at Florida for the past four years, it's probable that the majority of kids he was recruiting were from Florida or other deep Southern states. People may have underestimated the difficulty in getting those kids to all of a sudden switch their thinking to coming up north simply because Durkin is in Ann Arbor.

It's an interesting object lesson overall—there was plenty of blind optimism around MGoBlog that simply because we have Harbaugh and a staff full of NFL experience that top-rated recruits were going to be ditching their commitments left and right to come here for the 2015 class. We have to wait couple more days to know for sure, but right now it seems like that degree of optimism might have been a bit excessive. We're just going to have to wait until 2016 to get a true picture of this staff's recruiting chops.

victors2000

January 31st, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^

not everyone bleeds blue. Coach Harbaugh is a force, and he's brought together an excellent staff, but there simply wasn't enough time for them to turn a lot of guys to Blue. I'm not going to waste a moment getting down if NSD doesn't go our way, it's way past NSD that I'm looking forward to. We're all very excited to see what Coach Harbaugh can do at the helm; this is just the beginning of the beginning.

alum96

January 31st, 2015 at 7:39 PM ^

Disagree here - a lot of kids were not going to UF because it was a flaming tire fire not much different than UM.  Many thought Muschamp was done so how could Durkin get people to commit to a staff that would not even be there?  Muschamp had at least SOME chance to stay there I suppose but that was pretty much done by late October.  So Durkin had players who were interested in an elite football school but turned off by instability.  I would have liked him to land someone this class and I think it's right to be disappointed by him not doing so.  Even further the coaching staff that did land at Florida was not exactly high in sex appeal so not like they were thinking "OMG the school I was interested in now has this rock star coach so I'm clearly going there, screw Durkin."

 

alum96

January 31st, 2015 at 7:35 PM ^

The reason I picked on Durkin was he has been college recruiting the past 2 years which is the cycle that would get kids to come here - its the time needed to build a serious relationship.  So I was expecting more from him for the 2015 class - it doesnt mean anything to his abilities long term but he was 1 of 2 guys (Drevno) who really was in there recruiting while most of the other coaches were in the NFL so was most likely to bring someone here.  And unlike Drevno he is noted as a super recruiter. 

I didn't expect much from Harbaugh or any NFL assistants he brought for 2015 - they have not been recruiting for the past half decade.  Most of their HS coach relationships are old/stale and their relationships with kids non-existent.

Mr Miggle

January 31st, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^

The staff has offered multiple players at every position they've recruited, except LB and FB. That leads me to believe LB was not a high priority, rather than they were counting on Smith and just learned he's not coming. They don't seem to be the type to put all of their eggs in one basket. From the outside, there was never any indication that Smith was even likely, let alone a sure commit.

More offers might just be going out because we have more openings than originally anticipated from added attrition. It's also possible that he plays a different position than Smith anyway. Someone below mentioned FB, which would fit.

Logan

January 31st, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^

I wouldn't put that much stock in it. As of now we have 6 slots (probably more like 8) to fill by Wednesday and all of the more high profile guys on our board are still up in the air. The closest "lock" we have is Ty Jr. and we really have no idea what he's going to do.  

I just don't think the coaches are going to go out of their way to "bank" scholarships for next year when they could have an extra year with an under-the-radar guy they think they can develop. And I trust that this coaching staff will get the best out of each player who has the basic talent requirements to play in the B1G.

Plus it helps that Oliver goes to the same school as Weber.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple more offers go out to MAC guys over the next few days.

bacon1431

January 31st, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^

LB is a position of need, as we'll have a dearth of upperclassmen LB next season, but not a ton of depth in the lower classes. Can't be going solely after Smith and I'll trust the staff on this. 

DrMantisToboggan

January 31st, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^

Plays downhill, great first step/play diagnosing, hits hard. I think he is a great use for a scholarship if he is the type of guy to come in and work with a chip on his shoulder, while also strengthening the fence around Detroit (hopefully he is good friends with Mikey, and Donovan Peoples-Jones). If he plays on their side of the line of scrimmage 5'11 doesn't matter.

Magnus

January 31st, 2015 at 1:53 PM ^

I think Cass Tech is sending him on blitz after blitz. I wouldn't take too much away from him attacking the line of scrimmage like he does, other than the fact that he's not tentative when it comes to contact.

DrMantisToboggan

January 31st, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^

The only reason I am hesitant to agree is that his diagnostic path is visible. He is either a tentative blitzer who abandons the gap he was supposed to attack or he wasn't blitzing on every play. You can see him take his first step and then adjust on many plays. He blitzes quite a bit, but on many plays its his first step and then appropriate flow and attacking of pulling guards. With our coaching and SC program he seems like a solid #2 Mike as an upperclassman.

WolvinLA2

January 31st, 2015 at 1:51 PM ^

If we were stretching a bit for an in-state LB, I would have preferred the younger Ojemudia, though I know they're not the same type of LB. And I agree with Magnus that bodies are always better than open scholarships. People weren't psyched when we signed Desmond Morgan or Jake Ryan and those are the two best LBs we've had in years.

4th and short

January 31st, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^

The coaches need plan B candidates for every spot / player they're not sure about. Each offer does not necessarily mean we have zero chance with the plan A player at  the same position.If he gets offered.

DHughes5218

January 31st, 2015 at 2:21 PM ^

Magnus, is he blitzing on those plays or is he quick on the read and react? You can make up for being a little slower if his first step is always right...agree or no?