ESPN 150 Released
Commits:
Shane Morris 37
April 17th, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
Henry Poggi is also a borderline 4 star to ESPN.
April 17th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
That one seems a little crazy to me. I bet they looked at his floppy hairdo and prejudged him. I know I did when I first saw him. I was thinking THIS is a top 10 DT?
April 17th, 2012 at 12:49 PM ^
is a QB-DT? I had no idea centaurs were allowed to play football.
The DT is for Dual-Threat.
I just like imagining a player who plays both QB and DT. Maybe Jared Lorenzen could have done it.
John Navarre could've been close. He was being recruited by many schools (including in-state Wisconsin) as a DE.
I wonder if the addition of Wolverine Nation and Tom, Chantel and Michael over there has any effect on how favorably ESPN rates this class. It seems plausable to me. This does not mean that the ratings are not fair, just wondering if that had any effect.
I do not mean to downplay the greatness of our class thus far, but this has got to be head and shoulders above any class we have ever had at U of M, from ESPN's perspective. The fact that it happens to coincide with the creation of Wolverine Nation makes me wonder if that helped our ratings with them.
Again, this is just a thought, I do not mean to downplay how awesome this class is so far.
Tom has no input, and he has said that multiple times and has praise for the analysts that come up with the rankings.
The typical accusation of ESPN bias is the UAA game. That accusation reduces to $. Now that ESPN has WolverineNation, I could see the same argument applying. Since Michigan has one of the largest fan bases in the country, why not be favorable to their prospects in order to grab more subscriptions? I'd love to read articles gushing about how great this class is. Of course, this is just speculation and beyond the scope of proof.
That would also be the case for Scout, Rivals, 247 Sports, etc. Michigan has a large fan base available to read those sites as well. I don't see why Wolverine Nation would make ESPN lean more toward Michigan than those other services.
Probably more to do with all of the kids we have committed to play in the UA game.
Putting it in perspective:
Corner Position Rankings:
4. C. Burrows
5. K. Fuller
6. G. Conley
11. J. Lewis
3. Eli Woodard (Ohio State)
Woodard will remain a corner, while Burrows could very well end up a safety.
I'm also pretty surprised to see Jaylon Smith at 46, Hutchings at 57, and even Cravens as low as 15 surprises me. Those guys are freaks by all other accounts and I expected them to all be top 20 with Cravens top 10. This is a weird list.
Your guys' class is ridiculous this year. Especially the OL haul. That is all.
Your class is also looking pretty damn good. You just aren't as far along as us.
Return of the Big 2/Little 10: imminent.
Last year, Alabama had ESPN's top class and had 13 ESPNU commits and 15 4-star commits altogether. This year, we already have 11 ESPNU commits (in April!) and already 15 4-star commits. Granted, Alabama had 2 5-stars also sign, but with the offers we have on the board for the talent still available, it appears as if we're making a pretty good push for the top 2013 ESPN class. Sure, it's only April, but Hoke and Co. have shown a knack for holding onto Michigan recruits.
There are two things I see in this list that have not been commented on much.
- All five of our OL recruits are ranked in the top 150. While the OL doesn't get the publicity and love of skill position players, they are the foundation. If you have a strong OL & DL, you can work on the other positions. I find it interesting that Dawson, who is a three star to Scout, has the highest rating from ESPN. Regardless, with four strong OL recruits coming in the Fall, and now five more, we have established a strong foundation. Even if some of these nine don't pan out or are injured, there undoubtedly will be a number who are very good. This will set up our running game for years, and give our QB the needed protection.
- Four on the list come from Ohio. While the only recruit listed with an offer from Ohio is Dymonte Thomas, it is critical that Michigan recruit Ohio well. Having eight of our seventeen commits coming from Ohio is a great thing.
It couldn't be going any better. That said, the historical rate of Michigan recruits turning into reliable contributers or starters isn't much better than 50% (4-star or not). And while recruiting rankings for OL are good for estimating talent that gets you to the NFL, they're probably not good at getting at who will or won't pan out.
As for the Ohio thing, our worst classes in years past have been our most Ohio-heavy. Get good recruits, period. Geography is secondary, at best.
Tom VH must be bringing some common sense to that recruiting team over at ESPN.
People get caught up too much in #120 vs #180, when in reality, they are essentially equal. Just a tiny, tiny fraction of a difference serparting them.
12. Eli Woodard CB
21. Cam Burrows CB
55. Jalin Marshall ATH
127. Marcus Baugh TE
142. Evan Lisle OT
Our guys all seemed ranked roughly right to me. The only one I may have a gripe on would be Marshall and that's because it's hard to imagine 54 guys in the country being better than Jalin.
The thing that makes me the most happy is that Ohio is probably unlikely to add any more than 5 or 6 more of those guys on that list. 6 would make them tied with us. And with us likely to add 2-4 more, and also the possibility of guys like Gedeon, Butt, and Shallman maybe jumping in, we are virtually guaranteed to end higher than them.
Hail.
Nope, I'm not surprised.
Awwwwww... Rabble Rabble Rabble!!!
Love how everyone is disappointed that he is "only" at 37. We're all spoiled.