CC; Impact on Recruiting
Recruiting is one of the few things that Brady Hoke seems to have done well during his tenure as HC.
In a lot of ways, Michigan sells itself to recruits, or at least it did before the suckfest began in 2008.
Everyone seems to think that recruits will flock to JH because of his recent NFL experience (and many other reasons). Is there anything about him that potential recruits will find off putting? Do his California connections put that state more in play?
Does Les Miles open up Louisiana and other southern states? Or will he try to bring in too many kids that "ain't come to play school"?
Are there any other candidates that can potentially open up recruiting areas that Michigan hasn't done well in historically?
December 12th, 2014 at 1:44 PM ^
I'm sure he'll rub some guys the wrong way, but that happens with any coach. As others have said, winning and some stability will draw people to Michigan.
December 12th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
that maybe we don't want players that aren't willing to play for a coach that expects excellence.
To me that seems like one of Michigan's biggest problems of late.
/winning is just a statistic, et al
December 12th, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
I think both Miles and Harbaugh would be a help for recruiting.
No one outside of UM's walls knew who the hell Hoke was before he got to Michigan. And each year that goes by the Michigan brand is more about brand than on field results. At least in these kids (15-17 year old) lifetime; at least the part when they are aware of football i.e. age 7-8 forward.
TomVH asked recruits who you'd like to see at Michigan and these were the top 2 candidates. They bring their own brand - they are known as independent entities. While Hoke was levering the UM brand, these 2 genetlemen not only could lever the school brand but their own brand.
That said there is not much room to improve for recruiting at UM. I mean we have recruited average Rivals Rank 11 over the past decade. There is a nominal difference between being 7 and 11 for example. Recruiting is not an issue.
One advantage I'd see from Les over Harbaugh is I think he'd get some (not a ton) of kids out of the south. He has 14 years trolling the waters of Texas, Oklahoma, LA, AL, FL, GA. My personal opinion is UM needs to be making a lot more inroads in the south as the quality of football just seems better. Miles has those relationships.
As for Harbaugh he brings his own brand and the same instant credibility - he can lever the "I can get you into the NFL because I know what works there." Les has the "I can get you into the NFL because ... well do you have 30 minutes for me to list every player I sent there?" Both would be very effective recruiters although Jim would be starting from scratch in terms of building HS relationships in the Midwest (Les to a degree as well). But again they are 2 college coaches out of maybe 12-15 in the country that has instant name recognition by everyone.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:05 PM ^
of recruiting well in the south cannot be understated. If you look at long term population trends (at least until they run out of water down there), and the way that football is ingrained into the culture, the south is going to produce the most/best players going forward.
A lot of parents are backing off from putting their kids in football because of all the injury risks. There seems to be less of that in the south.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:17 PM ^
I'll be very curious how OSU matches up to Bama based on this.
My worry is what I saw with Notre Dame this year - they recruit just like us and OSU - yes national but a heavy emphasis on midwest players. Yes they hung with an underachieivng FSU team (that played almost everyone close all year) but they go out West and get destroyed by a Todd Graham team that is recruiting average rank 35-40 and then a poor man's version of USC destroys them.
Of course we know what happened the last time ND faced Bama too. So if OSU goes out there and lays an egg with the 2nd best coach in CFB and a lot of elite playmakers its just going to confirm even further than a "Midwest 4 star" is generally that due to competition level. Yes there are exceptions to the rules but I am getting to the point I'd like to see >50% of the class from the south. TCU and Baylor are getting "3rd rate" players out of Texas and doing well.
I am generalizing to a degree and yes great players still come out of the Midwest but if I put 50 Florida/Texas/Bama/Georgia 4 stars in a room and 50 Ohio/PA/IL/MI 4 stars in a room I'll take group 1 every time.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
December 13th, 2014 at 2:02 AM ^
I don't either. You can't underestiamte how a failure in only one aspect of Wisconsin's game cascaded into multiple failures that affected all aspects of their game, and resulted in a blowout.
Wisconsin was incredibly weak in thier passing game. I'm not talking Michgian-weak in extending the field vertically, I'm talking any passing game. Their QB was constantly missing wide open recievers, even in the flat.
After the first quarter, it became clear that Ohio State could just load up the box and run blitz. This forced Wisconsin into multiple three-and-outs which gave Ohio State a lot of posessions and short fields. The Wisconsin D could not hold up to this and eventually just collapsed.
What I'm saying is that Wisconsin was about three made third-and-six passes from keeping it a two TD or so game. For want of a nail.
This won't happen with Alabama. Ohio State will have to face a team that will challenge it in all aspects of the game.
December 12th, 2014 at 1:56 PM ^
Jim Harbaugh was Bo's third choice for a scholarship offer (in the pre-cap days). One guy chose Michigan State. The other guy chose Pitt. Michigan ended up with Harbaugh.
Crazy.
December 12th, 2014 at 2:05 PM ^
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December 12th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^
You got Hoke, who everyone beleives recruited well, Harbaugh and Miles. All three come to your door on separate ocassions recruiting your kid for Michigan. Who do you think has the most impressive back ground and track record no matter where they have coached?
December 12th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^
Seems like another Hackett smokescreen to me
December 12th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
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December 12th, 2014 at 3:01 PM ^
The Suckfest began with the blow out. hmmm
December 12th, 2014 at 5:28 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^
Besides the obvious-he's a really good coach-I think his NFL success would help draw recruits. The fact he had a long and successful career as an NFL QB also wouldn't hurt. Michigan has proven it will pay for assistant coaches, and his assistants seem to have a lot of loyalty to him. (If anyone's heard otherwise, please correct.) The really top kids are confident enough that they can handle being screamed at, and Harbaugh is confident enough that he probably feels he can handle any kid-so we might not shy away from kids with attitude.
More reasons why Harbaugh might even be their #1 target ahead of Jay Gruden...:)
December 12th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
I've heard otherwise.
December 12th, 2014 at 3:34 PM ^
December 12th, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^
A significant number of players left the football program when they had to contend with Bo Schembechler's high standards.
That turned out okay.
December 12th, 2014 at 6:04 PM ^
Most 18 year old athletes think they are tougher than titanium and will live forever.
They are ready to be challenged, and the best coaches aren't afraid to do that.