A few interesting recruiting notes (3-21-12 edition)
Henry Poggi- I'm hearing that Michigan leads for his services, with Saban closing hard. My own personal thought, is that he isn't sure how he fits in at Alabama (It would take far more time that I'm willing to give to explain this). A lot more people than are being reported, are being told that Michigan's class is full outside of the LB position. Several DT prospects have been told the class is full. It's being speculated down here, that the Michigan coaches would be shocked of Poggi didn't land there. Which is why alot of kids are being told that the team is full at that position.
I tried to dig up some info about the whole Dorian O'Daniel situation, and what I did find out, I unfortunately can't talk about (Nothing major, I was just told to not talk about it). But, I will say this. I think Michigan made an error in judgement here. You don't do something to harm a relationship with a school like Good Counsel. I understand and respect Coach Hoke's first to commit philosphy, but you make room for a kid like O'Daniel. I've yet to confirm this, but I believe the relationship with Kendal Fuller has been damaged as well. The number crunch at the position is to blame of course, but if taking an extra LB is the price you pay for keeping a good relationship with a powerhouse, talent laden school like that, you take an extra LB.
Breneman vs OJ Howard- I e-mailed a good friend of mine, who is one of the better talent evaluators in the south, about which of these TE's is the better prospect. He said believe the hype about Breneman, he really is that good. His hands are the best at his position that he's seen in a LONG time. He said he absolutely stalks LB's on the second level, and is a tremendous route runner, and student of the game. Great body control for a kid his size, and it would be surprising if he doesn't make a huge impact on the next level. TE's like this don't come along that often, it's a position that kids usually don't want to play, because there's so much blocking involved. While that's an area he could use work, you'll find very few natural Tight Ends in high school, that are great blockers.
Ahmad Fulwood- My favorite WR in this entire class, and you can write that down anywhere you want. Big time talent, but unfortunately, even bigger attitude. In his defense, I've always said a WR needs a bit of an attitude to be great. His recruitment is shaping up to be quite interesting, and should come down to just about signing day. Urban Meyer has been a fan of this kid for a long time, and the trash talking between Saban and Urban for his services, is getting intense. It's no secret that Saban and Meyer are not on eachothers christmas card list, so if you love recruiting drama, be sure to follow Ahmad's recruitment.
For more info, be sure to follow me on twitter, at twitter.com/#!/Idon'thaveatwittereither
March 21st, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
is interesting, given Brian's front page article and is what the "guys who buy a lot of insurance" are worried about.
However, it sounds like the LB position was full, given our 2 commits and the hold for Lavenberry. I would hope a High School would understand and admire a College coach sticking to his word and keeping his commits, and not dumping them if someone better comes along a week later. This is not the SEC.
It could be the hold for Levenberry that's causing the friction. It's one thing to say "We're full at linebacker, sorry." It's another to say "We're full at linebacker unless this other kid wants to commit, but we don't have room for you anymore." I'm not disagreeing doing so, just pointing out that I could see how that would sour a relationship with a player/school.
Levenberry can play SLB, while O'Daniel is a WILL or MIKE.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
I'm not sure about how the O'Daniel situation was handled as well. You do make a good point about damaging the relationship with Good Counsel, who consistently puts out top players that are desired nationally. I don't consider myself a recruiting expert, so I don't know if he is one of those guys that you don't turn down no matter what, but sometimes it is best to let him visit and keep all avenues open in case some decommitment or other event occurs and he becomes desired again.
Hes already PROVEN he knows what hes doing...If the relationship with that school suffered then perhaps its the HS coaches fault....and if a HS coach steers recruits away from a particular school because of a personal vendetta?? so be it...its the Kids that would be hurt in the long run not the college..there are PLENTY of top notch HS programs to pick from
March 21st, 2012 at 11:48 AM ^
March 21st, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^
You need more hobbies.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:24 PM ^
James Ross...does that make you feel better?
Who is Jim?
March 21st, 2012 at 11:48 AM ^
Can you elaborate on what it is that you were told not to talk about?
March 21st, 2012 at 11:50 AM ^
Not sure what you are looking at, but Levenberry has even said that Michigan is his number one choice right now.
What is your definition of right now? He may have said that 10 days ago, but in the past three, I have seen tweets from @NoleTroll69 and @c00l3rP00p3r saying that Michigan is no longer in his top 3. So there is that.
Those definitely sound like reliable sources.
Unless your Mike Farrel from Rivals, then FSU is the team to beat. Even if Levenberry says otherwise.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:50 AM ^
I know you said you can't say specifically, but why is telling a kid we're full at his position group damaging to a relationship with a school? This happens at every top school every year. Turning away a commitment from a kid we want just to wait and see on a kid at a powerhouse high school would be a much worse way to go about things, in my opinion.
And although Good Counsel is a top talent school, they're a little outside of our wheelhouse. We've taken one kid from there, without having any real connections there before. I don't think you alter your recruiting stategy for the sake of one school that might not send a kid your way again for a decade.
From their perspective, Michigan says "we're interested", he makes arrangements to go well out of his way to come visit, everything is confirmed, then Michigan says "don't bother."
While the process and timing makes sense from Michigan's side, it's understandable that someone could view that approach as inconsiderate. Not every recruit is going to be ready a year before signing day, and elite recruits are being treated as nicely as possible by most schools.
Good Counsel has a lot of kids that we've recruited and been in contention for. The fact that Countess is the only one we've gotten so far is beside the point. It's not like there are dozens of other pipeline schools with multiple commitments recently.
GC's coach, without a doubt, knows how recruiting works. He knows that "we're interested" really means "we're interested, as long as the spots exist." I'm sure it was communicated to O'Daniel and the GC coach that we'd be taking a small LB class based on our haul last year and the likely limited class size this year. He also likely communicated that with SAM being our priority, it was likely we'd only take one guy at O'Daniel's spot.
If it makes sense from Michigan's side, it's not inconsiderate. This is like if I called you and told you I was looking to sell some game tickets, and a week later you being pissed that I sold them to someone else.
Some kids like to drag out their recruitment, and this comes with pros and cons. One of the cons is that the school you really want might not have room for you. This is not inconsiderate, it's simply how the process works.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:51 AM ^
Re: O'Daniel
You can't cry over spilt milk, Good Counsel. How I believe it all went down: O'Daniel loves Michigan, wants to commit. Hoke won't let him commit without visiting, tells him "you need to get out here by x date". O'Daniel cannot get out in time - perhaps the timeline Hoke gave him was unreasonable. McCray commits, with potentially Gedeon as well. We save a spot for Levenberry, but not O'Daniel.
On one hand - O'Daniel had his chance. On the other hand - there was probably no way he could make it out in time to commit before McCray. Unfortunate, but I cannot see how GC can hold this against us....
March 21st, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^
Buying into the Mike Farrell theory eh?
I can say quite confidently, that is not how it went down. They like what they have at WLB. They like Gedeon more because they like his flexibility more than O'Daniel. They think that he could play any of the LB positions, while they only see O'Daniel as a WLB. They would be completely happy with a class of Gedeon and McCray if they don't end up with Levenberry. They don't see LB as a huge need.
In addition, O'Daniel is planning to commit next year, so the timing of his April visit wasn't that important.
its not Hokes fault all these players WANT to come to Michigan....oh wait yes it is!!!!!
Carry ON coach HOKE....
March 21st, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
That Good Counsel tidbit is a bit depressing, especially considering it's about an hour drive away from where I live. I was looking forward to see potential Michigan recruits play in person every year, but now I guess I'll watch them and think what might have been.
EDIT: I definitely understand that Good Counsel isn't by any means a pipeline to Michigan. But having Countess commit to us, then have Stefon Diggs, Wes Brown, Dorian O'Daniel, and Kendall Fuller all have offers from Michigan in two years made me pay attention to the school even more than I did before. I enjoy going out to watch talented high school players play, especially if they are considering Michigan. Cass Tech, Detroit city schools, etc. are all considered to be "pipelines", but since I live in Southern Pennsylvania making the drive to see those kids play would be a bit out of the question.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:52 AM ^
Poggi is a recruit I really want Michigan to land. Seems like he'd be great 3-Tech DT, and would be fantastic next to Pipkins. The fact taht Saban is after him so hard makes me even more excited for him. Would love to get a big NT as well, but I wonder if the coaches just don't think they have the room.
And I would love for Saban to steal recruits that Meyer really wants. Michigan will likely never play them except in bowl games, and I'd love for OSU to not get their first choices, and probably not their second choices as Hoke & co already has those second choices committed.
Many recruits talk about academics, but the Poggi family sounds like they are serious about the quality of the school. That doesn't bode well for Bama.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
I've heard that he has very strong views about the Union staying together.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
a) I don't think O'Daniel is the type of kid to really worry about. He's a good athlete, yes, but I don't know that he's a make-or-break type of player. In my opinion, he's somewhat easily replaceable and Michigan has a large number of linebackers.
b) If sticking to your word means damaging the Good Counsel relationship, then so be it. It's not exactly Cass Tech - Michigan has successfully recruited exactly ONE player from that school in recent years. There are plenty of other schools out there with good players. I'm not suggesting that Hoke should be careless about building relationships with high school coaches, but you can't make everyone happy, either. And meanwhile, the coaches at Hudson are sitting there saying: "Hey, this Hoke is a good guy because he told Gedeon he wouldn't take any more linebackers, and he stuck to his word."
March 21st, 2012 at 11:56 AM ^
Exactly, you can't tell Gedeon that he has to get on board or lose his spot and then turn around and take O'Daniel. If anything, I think that it will be awkward if they take Levenberry if they haven't flat-out told the other LBs that he's the one guy for whom they'd go to three.
Did Gedeon commit? I feel like I'm missing something here.
You can't make everybody happy and being respected is more important than that.
OTOH, if Michigan doesn't communicate the situation and their approach well and the recruit feels like he was inconvienced or mislead...that's a mistake.
Depends on how it really went down, which we don't know.
That is a good point about GC not really being a pipeline. It is a great school to have a presence, but it is not like we are pulling recruits from GC every year.
March 21st, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
Here's what will happen with GC - O'Daniel, and thus his coach, are upset at how things went down. A big part of that, though, is likely due to the class just filling up quickly, and not necessarily about how M handled it. A little time will pass, the coach will cool off, Hoke and/or Mattison will head to GC and sit down with the coach, explain why things happen how they did, no hard feelings.
Especially considering Countess's good experiences here, I highly doubt this is something that will keep top GC players from considering M in the future.
All will be forgiven
March 21st, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^
I really like O'Daniel, but I really have to disagree with your assessment of that recruiting situation. You don't take a guy that you don't need just to maintain a good relationship with a school. It isn't in the best interest of the school or the player. And I don't think many were really expecting Fuller to come here anyways.
You can't let a high school bully you into taking one of their players. If you are a powerhouse college program, the school needs you just as much as you need them.
I'm with you. We had too many needs to load up on LBs again. Filling recruiting classes with one or two positions is how we got into our current depth situation in the first place. Taking 4 LBs 2 classes in a row would just limit the depth somewhere else. We're in on awesome recruits at every position so it's inevitable that we'll have to turn some away to spread the blue chippers throughout the field.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:06 PM ^
McCray's decision to announce so soon out of the blue was a bit of a surprise to the coaches. The plan from the begining was to only take two linebackers in this class. Hoke made the decision that we would not turn the young man away if he wanted to commit. The coaches were in agrement that we have sufficient numbers at the WILL, so, O'Daniel became the odd man out. We need a SAM & MIKE in this class.
We lead for Levenberry right now. He is the #1 target at linebacker by far in the opinion of our coaches.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:11 PM ^
I'd replace Gedeon with DoD without much issues - both are good atheletes
March 21st, 2012 at 12:40 PM ^
I believe the working assumption is that Gedeon is a silent commit. Obviously, a decent amount of uncertainty accompanies any such claim, but that's what I've read around the blog.
Gedeon is not a silent commit, nor is he the top priority at linebacker at this point in time. Levenberry is.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^
Obviously I don't know what you heard, but I know what I've read in multiple spots - Michigan told O'Daniel that they're full at Will and are not taking anymore Will linebackers. That was the conversation between the Michigan coaches and O'Daniel.
Any "commit or lose your offer" rumor is just that and it's stupid negative recruiting. I might be inclined to believe that if one of the 30+ commits Brady Hoke & Co. have received since taking the job even mentioned something like that. Commit or lose your spot, that's believable because you only have so many spots. That's called life.
The LB targets seem to be Gedeon and, if he wants it, an open spot for Leavenberry at SAM.
I don't think there's an issue with Michigan and Good Counsel based on the way this was handled. Additionally, Blake Countess' parents are trumpeting the horn for the Michigan coaches with every commit in Maryland and Virginia because Blake's Dad seems to be friends with them (notably Leavenberry's dad).
If there really is an issue, that sucks, but I'm not worried about one high school that has 2-3 prospects we would offer a year that's out of the Big Ten footprint. Even if we have a good relationship, we aren't grabbing those 2-3 a year when Bama, Florida, OSU, VaTech, Maryland, Virginia all recruit the school hard.
Edit: I don't think we're "full except LB", but space for spots on D has greatly narrowed since we only have 6-8 spots left. We aren't full as much as we've told guys like Rod Crayton thanks but no thanks because we're focused on our top choices at this point.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
We don't have 6-8 spots left at this point. We only have a few.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^
You don't think we'll get to 22-24?
We're at 19 right now without attrition. I guess I'm believing at least 3 people will look elsewhere to finish their career, quit football and/or get in trouble. Just my opinion, of course.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^
I do think there will be attrition. But you said we have 6-8 spots left, and that's not true. We have 3 spots left. We might have 6 eventually. We might have 8 eventually. We might have 12 eventually, for all we know.
March 21st, 2012 at 12:46 PM ^
OK, got me. "Projected available spots" of 6-8.
Seems like we're recruiting for more than 3 spots is all.
Mr. Sushi, I heard that they told Lathum we are full at DL, but where did you hear about Crayton also being told the same?
edit: someone said Lathum was projected by UM as OL.
ty will get one when he commits to michigan sometime next week
waiting for Henry Poggi to commit two days ago
March 21st, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
wasnt the enigmatic Stefon Diggs from Good Counsel! maybe this is a result of that!!
March 21st, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^
wasnt the enigmatic Stefon Diggs from Good Counsel! maybe this is a result of that!!
March 21st, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
who was not in the state when the coaches came to visit his school, even though he was supposed to be? i am not sure that would all be on hoke. while the good counsel coach obviously has players that everyone wants, Hoke has something players and coach wants and that is exposure and a degree. i don't think hoke is being a dick to get back at fuller, but lets not think that good consel does not have a role in this.
if "this" even really exists.