mejunglechop

June 20th, 2009 at 8:25 PM ^

There is no more reason to think that the previous poster is underestimating the effect of 3-9 than there is to think that you're overestimating it. If we were raking in a killer class it would be equally easy to say that people had underestimated the effect of selling recruits on potential early playing time. What I'm saying is that your argument is, at its heart, mostly circular. And to your claim that multiple highly rated players won't commit to play the same position except for a perennial NC candidate I need only say: Notre Dame, last year.

baorao

June 20th, 2009 at 8:12 PM ^

good chance that Avery and Christian will be 4 stars in the next round of updates. Avery because he is now almost 5'11" and Cullen because he proved he can be a corner in college at 6'1". I think there is even outside talk of Cullen Christian being high enough to get consideration for a 5th star in the end, similar to the way things finished with Justin Turner last year.

wishitwas97

June 20th, 2009 at 6:53 PM ^

RR turned down Travis Williams, a CB, who wanted to commit to Michigan. It's not like he'll accept anyone to his class. Avery has outplayed all CBs at camp and he earned the offer. Camp is a better indicator because you face better competition than what you would see in HS game. Mathis would be a solid CB but Avery is more of a natural corner. Not so sure if Mathis has the hips to be a successful CB. Mathis is a better slot WR than a CB IMO.

tpilews

June 20th, 2009 at 9:35 PM ^

Not to hijack the thread, but reading through your link there was also a nice mention of Paskorz.

"Hampton defensive end Jordan Paskorz continues to impress the more we see him and he may be the most athletic defensive end in the state this year. Paskorz dominated with technique, power and speed in the one-on-ones. He got everyone’s attention when he hit on offensive lineman in the chest and the player flew through the air and landing on the quarterback dummy."

MichiganExile

June 20th, 2009 at 8:01 PM ^

4* and 3* are not interchangeable otherwise there would be no such thing as star rating. I also think he does have basis to say Mathis is better than Avery. Scout and Rivals both have Mathis ranked higher. These are people who are paid to evaluate talent, rate, and rank it. That being said, if Rod saw fit to offer this kid and he has been showing well at camps then I am all for his commitment. RR has forgotten more about football and talent than I will ever know.

wishitwas97

June 20th, 2009 at 9:15 PM ^

there is not much difference between 41th ranked player and 150 ranked player. Just because they rank players, it doesn't mean that you can take it as a gospel. More times than not, they are often wrong on ranking players. Mike Hart, Braylon Edwards and to name a few disprove that theory. Most of the time, star rankings is warranted if a player goes to camp and whatnot. If there's a player who is superior as a football player, athlete but doesn't go to camp or didn't send film to them, they will not be ranked. It has a lot of flaws in rankings. Besides, ranking players are usually political. Tom Lemming is a prominent example of overinflating ND commits rankings.

MichiganExile

June 20th, 2009 at 10:10 PM ^

that skepticism of rankings and those performing the rankings is necessary. Taking rankings as gospel would be foolish, however, I disagree that the difference between the 150th and the 41st ranked player is negligible. I also don't think that, "More times than not, they are often wrong on ranking players." Mike Hart and Braylon Edwards were the exceptions not the rule. Yes there are diamonds in the rough, and yes rankings are not perfect. For every 3 star that explodes there are plenty of 3 stars ranked in the same area that may never even see the field. Just looking at depth charts of most major programs they are littered with 4 and 5 star talent at the top and filled with 3 star depth at the bottom. This is not to say that a 3 star kid such as Hart can't outperform his 4 and 5 star counterparts, I am just making the argument that normally this is not the case. Now I am not a star gazer by any means and could care less what player rankings are. Again if RR sees fit to offer a kid I'm assuming he has a dang good reason. I care little about what a kid is ranked and very much about how he plays football when he sees the field. I guess what I'm saying is I agree with you that rankings are not the end-all-be-all, but I do think there is some value to them. Of course rankings at the end of the recruiting cycle are also much more dependable than they are right now.

zohizzle

June 20th, 2009 at 9:30 PM ^

Just because he's not rated on rivals and scout doesn't mean he's not a good CB. Its gotta say something when Michigan is already in good standing with CC, Mathis, and Knight and would offer a kid after that. He's a straight up sleeper and if you're premium on rivals/scout you would know why...

Calvin

June 20th, 2009 at 6:23 PM ^

Everyone realizes that none of these kids have had a senior season right? They have one more year of competition. Full ratings haven't even been released yet. We know that right?

jrt336

June 20th, 2009 at 7:14 PM ^

I am skeptical. Nevertheless, I'd rather have a higher rated recruiting class than a lower rated one. People outside MGoBlog will think, "Oh, wow, our class sucks, we have a bunch of 3 stars." Anyway, I think I'll just shut up now.

Ernis

June 20th, 2009 at 9:38 PM ^

Some say... there is this thing called "chemistry" with regards to the social quality of a group. It is not quantifiable, but a good leader will live and die by it. You don't necessarily want a team that is an amalgamation of talented bodies if they don't get along like a team needs to. Unfortunately, many of the most talented bodies have unwieldy egos attached, and this can erode the success of the team over time (see T.O. and the Dallas Cowboys, or USC's perennial regular-season meltdown, or the USA Olympic Bball team in 2004... etc.) Teamwork is a human affair, and is not restricted to the purely physiological side of humanity. Rich Rod isn't just grabbing talent, he is building a team that will bleed and sweat for the greater glory of the Maize and Blue. I trust his judgment. "I trust my eyes to Rich Rodriguez, and you should too." -Pavel Datsyuk

MichiganExile

June 20th, 2009 at 9:54 PM ^

why USC loses to at least one team in the Pac-10 each year. I always just assumed it was the fact that going undefeated in any conference is really difficult when you are playing teams that know you very well each year, or being in a hostile environment against another talented team, or injuries to playmakers. Now I know it is ego. Huge egos are holding USC back from an undefeated season every year. Nothing else.