Couple football recruiting events
First, Lorenz just placed a crystal ball for 2020 4*, #11 Ath, #176 Overall Safety RJ Moten.
More importantly, 2 days ago OSU got their QB for 2021 in Kyle McCord (#112 overall, #8 Pro Style). Who cares, right? Well, they were in the thick of it with us for JJ McCarthy (5#, #2 QB, #19 Overall). This only helps us even more with JJ McCarthy who is 100% balled to us. If you have not seen his film yet, check it out. Kid is really good.
Plus, McCord was expected to go to PSU if not OSU - so the worst case scenario is averted (McCord to PSU, McCarthy to OSU).
2021 class is setting up for a top 5 class.
2021 doesn't even look right
I think it's way too early to have an idea of how the 2021 class is going to look.
But yes, those other things are good. I like the R.J. Moten kid. I think he would make a good Viper.
Yep, you hear it every year very early in the cycle.
That's where I like him too. Morant and Paige at traditional safety spots and Moten at Viper would be a really good S group in 2020. Moten is a fantastic athlete, but doesn't appear quite twitchy enough to be in man frequently.
Wonder if Moten is a two-sport candidate here?
2021 is a long ways away but they are in great position with more elite players in that class than at anytime during Harbaugh's tenure. It certainly helps there is a ton of talent in-state.
Is he being recruited as a Viper? His tape shows a lot of clips of him at RB, and I believe he was highlighted as a WR at one of the camps. I also thought Michigan was recruiting William Mohan for Viper
I don't think he's being recruited as a Viper, but that's where I like him. I'm not in love with his acceleration/speed as a running back.
Yes, Michigan is recruiting William Mohan for Viper.
It seems we recruit about 5 kids a year to play Viper when there is one on the field at a time. Is that because it's a sexy-sounding position so we tell athletic kids that they might be able to play it or is it just a catch-all for "defensive athlete" or "extra athletic linebacker"?
Before Barrett was shifted, our depth chart at viper consisted of Hudson and Glasgow. So Brown needed (needs) bodies there. I believe we have three true freshman being looked at for viper. Brown treats it like a linchpin position on the defense--premium athletes only. So he does recruit intensely there.
I think there is a certain allure to the position and/or its name that recruits respond to.
Recruiting Vipers is different than other positions because none of the recruits play it in HS. So they recruit a safety and tell him he could play safety or Viper. Recruit a LB and tell him he could play LB or Viper. Recruit an athlete and tell him he could play Viper, or WR or RB or whatever.
The number of recruits signed specifically for Viper seems very small. Maybe one per class, not five.
Part of that allure may also be being compared to Peppers who personified the peak of how explosive and impactful that position could be. I think recruits like being compared to uber athletes like him.
In 2019, Daxton Hill, Quinten Johnson, Anthony Solomon, and Joey Velazquez were told they could be vipers (plus other recruits who did not end up in the class). In reality, only Solomon and Velazquez are likely to play that position.
I think it's one of those positions where you can recruit a bunch of guys, and if they don't work out, they might be able to play safety or weakside linebacker.
Kind of like running back. If running back doesn't work out, some guys switch to fullback...or linebacker...or safety...or defensive tackle.
In 5 years I hope we're all talking about McCarthy's invitation to the Heisman ceremony in a winged helmet, while laughing about how many times McCord was on his ass during The Game. Oh, sorry, you caught me daydreaming.
This actually sounds very familiar with what already happened ... Henne/Morelli (although, PSU and not OSU).
I hope the QB room looks like shit at OSU until the end of time.
Yes, it will be filled with coolers.
McCarthy is a must get. Elite QBs don't pop up in the midwest every cycle. Plus, he's buddies with AJ Henning from this cycle. Could honestly see McCarthy pulling the trigger soon and trying to push Henning to us after.
They're not that close to the point of it mattering, Henning is a wild card. He's trending towards Notre Dame, but I don't think he ends up there. Honestly, I wouldn't be totally shocked if he ends up at Illinois. His grandfather was a basketball player under Lou Henson, and he's south enough in the suburbs that Champaign is close. Then again, I know he has had good vibes regarding Gattis and the speed in space, so I genuinely have no idea. I'd say it's a Michigan-Notre Dame-Illinois battle, but that's not exactly new info.
McCarthy will come off the board very soon. It'll be Michigan. This is a battle Ohio State fucked up horribly.
McCarthy had Henning on his social media the other day calling him his “future teammate”. I think it’s safe to say that McCarthy is going to recruit Henning and that they have exactly one school of interest in common. Whether they’re besties idk.
Oh, they're friends. He'll recruit Henning. I just don't think they're close enough to the point of it mattering. Especially with the year difference, I can't see it being that important.
Gotcha
But in the broad scheme of things, McCarthy could be one of the most important Michigan recruits in a long time. Tim Racki has turned Nazareth into a perennial power in one of the region's toughest football conferences. Turning it into a pipeline would be huge, and I don't think it will happen because of the new rules, but in a prior life I have a feeling there would have been an analyst conversation for him.
Yeah I mean, I think he's hugely important just because 5 star talent at QB doesn't happen in the Midwest very often. The last time the Midwest had a 5 star QB was Hunter Johnson in 2017, and then you have to go back to Gunnar Kiel in 2012 before that.
Talent like McCarthy's at the most critical position only comes around in our region ever 4 or 5 years and we really have to nab it when it does.
No doubt, especially when the 5 star talents in one of the states are probably not happening. But Illinois/Chicagoland is a state like New Jersey, where every couple years they'll have a great class of elite talent. It's important to be able to lock down those prospects to counteract Michigan not always having incredibly elite talent. Especially with Ohio being a great talent state.
I think OSU had him and McCord equal on their board and it was first come first serve. McCord might have even been higher from what I have read. Do you have any different insight to say that OSU fucked it up?
No, only the fans of OSU are saying OSU had him higher. If you look at the immediate aftermath of his committment, most people were "shit, why didnt they hold out for McCarthy, now Michigan gets him".
I personally don't know how you could watch the film of both, and come away with "McCord is higher on our list, he is a must get" over McCarthy. Unless your the fan of a program that was trending away for McCarthy and accepted the commit of a lesser dude before losing them both.
It was their recruiting insiders that said that. Ours say something to that effect all the time and we believe them.
If Urban Meyer or Jim Tressel had McCord and McCarthy equal on their boards, they would have pushed hard for McCarthy. They always recruited with an eye towards Michigan.
Yes. McCarthy had a committable offer before McCord. I'm sure once they botched the McCarthy recruitment, and it became apparent, they moved McCord up. But 3 months ago it was McCarthy.
Lorenz also ball'd DE Antwaun Powell to Michigan. Him and McGregor would be a nasty DE duo.
I kinda can't believe you
a) said something positive, and
b) have a post that's not in negative numbers!
Here, have an upvote on me!
He predicted Jordan Morant too, but I thought he already had that one in.
I don’t have a 247 account but he put in 4 crystal balls today - Antwuan Powell, RJ Moten, Jordan Morant, and one more which doesn’t show the name in the preview. If someone else has an account, that last name would be much appreciated
I'm not big on giving out paywalled info, but it's a 2021 kid, so still a long way to go.
He usually puts his picks in a day or 2 after he puts out the article, although sometimes he forgets to do that.
Yeah, he poured them out after/same time i composed my post. Nice CBs too - quality kids.
Watch Powell on Hudl- Filthy off the edge. Get off, can bend, and physical at the POA.
But what about 2020? That seems more important right now
The future, son, let's talk about the future!
Are you more concerned about:
1) 2020 recruiting
2) Whether to make gravy from scratch or use a can
3) Keith Jackson's mortality
4) The 2019 Army game
5) The weather for the 2019 MGoBlog camping extravaganza
Well Red, I would have to go with option 3. I can't imagine college football ever being the same if something happened to Keith Jackson.
'21 will be a beast regardless if we end up with all the "top 100" players we have a chance for; however, lock in a stud QB early and, as Cade showed last cycle, you can start "commit recruiting" to lock in that special class.
It's nice that, unlike the last cycle of in state top100, the '21 players already show they value the education plus some, like El-Hadi, are living their college football dream. It's nice when your commits are really committed. lol
I'm hyped, but can we stop with the notion that just because they pick other schools, they don't value their education? Some kids don't vibe with Jim that well, and that's ok. Because you'd be surprised how many players commit to Michigan without actually giving a shit about school. They're recruited to the football program, not the business/engineering program. The school is just a bonus.
I love how 90% of the recruiter say they want to major in "enter actual worthwhile major here" and end up majoring in general studies
Yea, I'm fine with it. As much fun as we poke at Cardale Jones, these kids aren't here to play school. If a scholarship athlete has a 4.0, but isn't worth a shit on the football field, he's getting processed.
I never insinuated that, (it's) just you can tell (that) education matters when the school your recruiting against is Notre Dame and not Wisconsin.*edit
Why would you pick Wisconsin for that comparison? Wisconsin is 4/14 for Big Ten Schools. (Northwestern, Michigan, Illinois are 1,2,3.) It's a pretty good school. Nebraska is the lowest ranked academically FWIW.
4 out of 14 is pretty good, especially when you factor in the football side. Also, the Big Ten and ACC are far ahead of the other major conferences when it comes to academics.
Also, Wisconsin is actually pretty hard to get into for football players. It's hurt their recruiting as they recently lost commits who couldn't get in. One to MSU.