CB recruiting - Touch the Banner
"Overall, that's nine potential cornerbacks who are either playing other positions (Michael Williams, Denard Robinson) or no longer on the team. I can't blame Lloyd Carr or Rodriguez for most of those position changes and such. However, the handling of the cases of Adrian Witty, Demar Dorsey, and Conelius Jones should come into question now. Why were those three allowed to sign Letters of Intent if they weren't qualified? At such an important position - and one in such dire need - Rodriguez couldn't afford to hand out scholarships to kids who would never play a down for Michigan. He did anyway. I hope I'm wrong, but this could be a major failure of the Rodriguez regime at Michigan."
-Magnus
I couldn't agree more.
August 18th, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
I'm not sure how Jones fits into what you are saying. He treated by the sites as an "athlete", but they talked about moving him to CB if QB didn't work out. He certainly wasn't recruited as a CB as his first destination. Maybe I'm missing what you're trying to say, but I don't see how Dorsey (who was treated as a CB by the sites) and Jones (who was not treated as a CB by the sites) are related.
August 18th, 2010 at 9:46 AM ^
A lot of things had to go wrong to get to this point. And it did. Part of the blame could be placed at RR's feet, but he recruited the position. Those players have either washed out, never qualified, got arrested or got injured.
I love RR, and I believe he is the right man for this job, but I don't think I would stand next to him in a lightning storm. At least not right now.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:33 AM ^
Where we were once thinking secondary recruiting was close to finished is definitely being reassessed. I know we already have Hollowell & Brown committed (both smaller CB's) but Michigan needs to land some impact players in this class. I really hope that Walls is blown away by his official but it would be nice to add someone like Showers too. Is Lyons going to be a S or CB at the college level? From the most recent updates we currently aren't in on many top flight CB's which can always change.
Question for Magnus, if you're reading. Do you think as the season gets rolling that Avery and Christian start seeing any meaningful reps or if they do will it be because the team is having serious issues in the secondary and are trying anything?
August 19th, 2010 at 12:05 AM ^
I think Christian is going to get A LOT of reps from the beginning. Avery, I'm not so sure. The chances of anyone who's 167 lbs. getting a lot of reps in college are pretty slim, but we might not have a choice...
August 18th, 2010 at 10:36 AM ^
The Head Coach is ultimately responsible for coming up with a strategic plan for success. RR is the highest paid employee of the University of Michigan and needs to be held to a very high standard. The reality is he is still learning how to work within the structure at Michigan. Although it is pure speculation I doubt he fully understood the differences between U of M and WVU in terms of navigating admissions until he lived through the experience. Hopefully he finds a way to coach the team to a winning season and earns the right to continue as HC.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:45 AM ^
if you go back a few months you will find threads where Magnus complains about the overrecruiting at DB. And-to write this in the wake of an injury? The whole thing reeks of revisionist history.
Give me a position, any position, and I can invent a scenario similar to the CB situation. It's called BAD LUCK. Let's say QB. Let's say we somehow got Tate, Beaver, Newsome, Denard and DG to commit (nearly impossible given the realities of recruiting, can't sign a ton of good guys every year). Now imagine Tate starts a life of crime and is booted. Beaver has some grade issues and can't make it in, unknown to everyone. Newsome gets fat and leaves. Then Denard goes down with a terrible injury. What are we left with? A highly rated true freshman in DG (i.e. Cullen Christian if you are following along) then....nothing, more or less.
Could you seriously, honestly blame that scenario on the coaches as well? It's more than a little idiotic.
August 19th, 2010 at 12:11 AM ^
You're right. I was complaining about over-recruiting the position...
...back when I thought Greg Brown and Delonte Hollowell were going to be ADDED to a group that would include Justin Turner, Demar Dorsey, and Conelius Jones (not to mention Avery, Talbott, Floyd, and Christian).
As an outside observer, it's impossible for me to know that Dorsey and Jones wouldn't qualify and that Turner was too out of shape to play. Rich Rodriguez's job depends on knowing those things and/or changing them. Turner's not in shape? Find a way to motivate him to get in shape. Dorsey and Jones aren't going to qualify? Say, "Sorry, but I can't give you a scholarship - I'm giving it to _____________ who's in good academic standing."