he was recruited by Rod Smith, the quaterbacks coach. Is that an oddity at all given that he is a DE? Or is this a regional thing that Smith recruits the Michigan area?
Mostly recruiting is broken down into sections of the nation and at least one coach is assigned to each section. Important parts like Michigan, Ohio, and Florida may have multiple coaches that recruit those areas. I don't know for sure (I don't have premium on any site), but I think Rod Smith has the state of Michigan in his recruiting area.
It's therefore not unusual for a coach that coaches a different position to be recruiting a kid. Different sections of the nation have different "personalities" to them that may suit certain coaches better. Even more important, however, is that coaches build up relationships not only with recruits but with high school coaches. That's why sections that each coach recruits doesn't change too much very often, then you lose that relationship that's been built up between high school coach and Michigan coach. That relationship is a large part of what creates "pipelines". Thus, it's very important.
Additionally, it's not unusual for a different coach to recruit a kid and then introduce them to their position coach when they visit Michigan. Then, both coaches might try to stay in contact with the kid.
picked up a ND offer recently as well
His current coach was my former HS football coach (when he was in Michigan). Do you guys want me to see if he has any gut feelings on Olaniyan or is that approaching uber creepiness?
yeah that would be pretty interesting to say the least