Flood of crystal balls in for Michigan football targets to Michigan's rivals
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this string of crystal balls from this weekend is rough as these guys are all big time Michigan targets and some with Michigan connections:
- 5* QB CJ Carr (Lloyd's grandson) Wiltfong crystal ball (confidence 6) to Notre Dame
- 4* OL Sam Pendleton Wiltfong crystal ball (confidence 6) to Notre Dame
- 4* OL Sam Pendleton crystal ball (confidence 6) to Notre Dame
- 4* OL Sam Pendleton crystal ball (confidence 6) to Notre Dame
- 4* DL Devan Houstan (Caleb's brother) Wiltfong crystal ball (confidence 6) to Notre Dame
- 4* DL Devan Houstan (Caleb's brother) crystal ball (confidence 6) to Notre Dame
- 4* ATH Jacob Oden (in-state) crystal ball (confidence 9) to MSU
- 4* ATH Jacob Oden (in-state) crystal ball (confidence 7) to MSU
- 4* ATH Jacob Oden (in-state) crystal ball (confidence 7) to MSU
I'm sure it's not over with these guys but this is definitely concerning and I'm not sure why it seems like we're struggling on the recruiting trail right now
I know why...
April 17th, 2022 at 10:15 PM ^
I hate to say it, but you make a valid point. Harbaugh gave opposing coaches tons of ammunition to negative recruit. Our rivals don’t need to make up stories, just tell the facts. “Harbaugh is only at Michigan because the job / jobs he wanted didn’t offer him the position”. JH Didn’t make the recruiting game any easier for Michigan.
Not sure why people are downvoting you as it's what I'm hearing from actual HS coaches in MI and OH at the moment. Mentioned a few weeks back in my Conerly update that the vibe I'm getting from some major HS coaches is that UM is in a bad spot on the trail and the main reason is Jim's attempt to get back in The NFL. One coach in SE MI told me it's so bad that Jim should have just lied about it. Outright said "he'd have done himself more favors just lying and saying it was all lies". Telling kids "yeah, I tried to leave but now I'm back" is basically the worst thing he could have done with regard to negative recruiting.
I wrote and then didn't post a reply to GOJ's recent QB post that basically said that I'm hearing the exact opposite of good things for Moore. The Carr stuff is only sorta surprising as the worst I heard was that he was genuinely giving everyone a chance, UM lead but was not a lock. Which, tbh, I took as UM being a lock. So the recent talk is surprising but if the recruiters at UM feel good about Moore right now they probably shouldn't. I'll leave it there.
I'm only recently making rounds, catching up with old acquaintances and hearing about 23/24 kids and it's fn grim across the board for UM right now. Just saying what I'm being told from small school coaches and guys with multiple P5 guys. ND and even MSU are really kicking UMs ass right now and The NFL shit with Jim is a massive reason why. Flat-out. There is plenty of time for a class but not with individual guys that I know UM desperately wants to keep around. QBs specifically tend to pick early and stick unless the program they picked absolutely falls apart.
I didn't hear about Carr reclassifying before GOJ so if that happens it could change a lot of things. I dunno.
This may hold some validity...I doubt that it amounts to very much. When I was recruiting I was always impressed with how informed, thoughtful and objective the kids were. In general, they were not swayed by things like this. I just cannot imagine it is as you are projecting.
Some coach told him it was!!! Just LIE TO THE KIDS!!!! So you mean to tell me lying is much better to do in recruiting, and your name is, “Jim $@@;)( Harbaugh?” And that’s the best thing he could’ve done? Boy oh Boy!!! These spins will be worse than a Vanilla Ice concert in the old Cobo Arena!
I don't even know what the hell this means!
Could you please explain, in English?
If you don’t know what a spin is, “you’ve” failed English already. Get it?
Username Checks Out!!!
Figures. One step forward, two steps back. The story of Michigan football for the last two decades. SMH.
It does make you have to chuckle. We finally have the year we all thought Harbaugh would bring us, and the momentum we had was turned upside down.
Tis life. All will be ok. We have great talent and I think we will have a very solid year. Maybe not as good as last, but solid nonetheless.
April 18th, 2022 at 11:09 AM ^
We all gotta take a deep, offseason breath when:
1 step forward = winning the B1G + CFP appearance
2 steps back = bad CB's for (3) recruits + some HS coaching rumors
April 18th, 2022 at 11:29 AM ^
MSU "kicking M's ass" in recruiting? M leads by 40 points in 22 and down 1.5 points in 2023.
I’m sure JH and NFL flirtation is hurting UM right now. But I also believe we have time to turn the tide. JH has publicly stated he’s is here for the long haul and now he just needs to get in front of recruits and HS coaches and get the point across He has months to do that before these kids decide and also another good season will help. I think we will be just fine in the long run
Fucking grim? Lmao
Get real
April 19th, 2022 at 12:19 AM ^
Just won a B1G title but it’s grim lmaoo.
April 17th, 2022 at 10:28 PM ^
yay. i look forward to months and / or years of "this never would be happening if harbaugh hadn't talked to the vikings" posts.
April 18th, 2022 at 12:30 AM ^
It seems to me that Harbaugh would now be more likely to stay at Michigan compared to other coaches at their respective schools.
Actual years. There’s nothing like a fan who posts negativity Alllllll the time. Harbaugh can’t win the Big One. Can’t beat Osu. Never has recruited well. Satellite camps suck. CJ Carr hates Michigan. Minnesota is in play.
April 17th, 2022 at 10:28 PM ^
Damn, those are some ugly colors.
Hey kid with NFL aspirations, you need a coach who wants to stay in college for life!
Also, ND and MSU don’t have staff turnover.
April 18th, 2022 at 10:41 AM ^
Wait, what? ND lost their head coach.
April 18th, 2022 at 11:57 AM ^
I think both statements are very much /s, although I don't agree with the premise behind the first one.
April 18th, 2022 at 11:52 PM ^
Notre Dame is likely more attractive now with Purple Face gone and a cool, African American coach in... hate to say it.
April 19th, 2022 at 10:56 AM ^
Everything is cool until you go 7-5.
Faithless is he who loses courage as the road darkens
Michigan means everything to me. Yeah, I wanted to leave, but I didn't get the job and I'm back and Michigan means everything to me.
I love you honey, you mean everything to me! I wanted to leave you for another woman but she doesn’t want me. So, I’m back with you and you still mean everything to me!
I've never understood comparing jobs to spouses/sexual partners.
Jacob Oden to MSU is not a surprise. Rob Oden (Jacob’s dad and coach at Harper Woods) is close with Thomas Wilcher (longtime Cass Tech coach and UM alum) who is now an analyst at MSU.
April 17th, 2022 at 10:00 PM ^
That’s good intel, however it seems likely that MSU will take a step back this year on the field with the harder strength of schedule, no Walker, etc…MSU beating Michigan, PSU, Indiana and Nebraska by a total of 15 points is not even close to sustainable.
I am expecting them to taper off a bit this fall, but we shall see.
I don't know. Walker didn't just happen, as he was a backup before he got to MSU.
I think State picked a good coach out of thin air. I don't know if he will be Dantonio good. Only time will tell on that.
April 18th, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
People seem to assume Walker was a scrub before MSU, but it's simply not true. He ran for ~600 yards and 13 touchdowns in 7 games of 2020 before opting out the rest of the season (cuz COVID.) We may not have heard of him here (cuz Wake, ACC), but people paying attention down there knew he was legit.
Spot on. And he was 1b to Christian Beale-Smith at Wake who was pre-season all-ACC before fighting injuries throughout 2021.
Why did not UM go after him then? Oh academic standards. - Wake Forest doesn't have them, UM does. Ok our RBs were better and we trust in them etc etc. So forget us.
Why didnt Auburn LSU Georgia go for him? In their backyard (the south) - it was easy to see he was a top 3 RB in the country. Alabama didnt need him but another 8 of the top 10 teams in the country could have used him. We could offer because Wake Forest is a school who is nothing academically and those credits don't work for us. But what about other schools? It was obvious to those in the know what he was.
April 18th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
If MSU's strategy is to find a Heisman caliber player sitting on the bench of a different team every year, yeah let's see how that works for them. Their defense still blows, their passing game is very hit or miss. Without Walker they're fighting for bowl eligibility last year, we'll see how they look this year.
April 19th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
Never underestimate the value of the official replay booth.
Thorne the hit or miss QB was
60.4% 3232 yards 8.3 ypa 27 TD 10 INT
McNamara
64.2% 2576 yards 7.9 ypa 15 TD 6 INT
Of course our not hit or miss QB was held back on stats by sharing time with another generational QB and the fact we run the ball unlike MSU. Oh wait, Doak Walker award winner.
Their hit or miss passing game was awful. It was all 80 yard bombs against inferior opponents, opening up by generational Walker who ANYONE with an eye for talent could of got in the transfer portal.
Keep going. It's now become laughable 90% of board points to this as an auto win every year and MSU football a "lucky" joke. HIT OR MISS PASSING GAME.
No their strategy is eliminate the bottom 25% of the roster every year and replace with established 2-3 year players along with some projects that may or may not work. Then they will replace those within a year if they don't work out with the next batch. I am surprised HS players will continue to go there in that system because if you dont work out in 2 years Tucker will get rid of you but that's the system. He is going all free agency in college and raises the floor of the team immensely by taking out on carts anyone who doesnt perform. Doesnt mean its the ceiling of the great 5-6 teams in the country but means the floor will always be high.
He completely transformed an awful LB corps this off season. One of the worst in the B10. But dont worry it will be an auto W for us. Like every year.
Yes, Walker just so happened to explode for MSU. I have plenty of MSU alum friends that were talking about him in the preseason and given that he had 23 carries for 264 yards in the opening game against NW would lead me to believe that he certainly was NOT the back up going into the season.....
Tucker has proven himself to be a decent coach, but if your recruiting strategy is to pull a rabbit out of your A** each year to make your team competitive...... Well we shall see how that works out.....
Tucker will come up with something to make the team competitive, right now it is hard to see how but they will be solid fighting for bowl eligibility
With all that being stated, Michigan MUST beat them this year......
If you take away Tucker's 2 marquee wins against UM, his record as a head coach is 16-17. And now he's the highest paid public employee in the history of the State of Michigan.
April 18th, 2022 at 11:19 AM ^
WoodleyisBeast,
MSU and Tucker are going to be great because that’s just how this works. Everyone thought Tucker would do much worse the last two years and he’s crushed M fan/MGoBlog expectations at every step except playing OSU.
April 18th, 2022 at 12:37 PM ^
Not so much...Beating Michigan twice was completely unexpected by both U of M and MSU folks, so Tucker has overachieved. But it is reasonable to expect Sparty to take a step back this year with a tougher SOS(Wisconsin and Minnesota added to their Big Ten schedule), not to mention some extremely tight wins. And their two losses in the Big Ten were by a total of 60 points to OSU and Purdue.
Tucker has some good momentum, but I'd be stunned if they win more than 8 games in their regular season this upcoming fall.
That is not how it works. MSU had one of the luckiest seasons on record last year - literally.
https://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/ranking/luck-by-other
They were soundly outplayed by UM, Indiana and Nebraska. (The unluckiest team in CFB)
A Nebraska punt went 40 yards and then bounced directly back for a net gain of 7 yards. That punt was a metaphor for both teams seasons. The Cornhuskers out gained by 200 yards and had no 1st downs and 13 yards in the 2nd half. Martinez threw a pic in OT.
An inexplicable pic 6 is what beat Indiana and we all know about the ridiculous touchdown that was taken away against us.
Plus they flat our won the transfer lottery with an elite back like Walker.
Their secondary was the worst in CFB. They were bludgeoned by Purdue and OSU torch them for 500 yards in the first half.
They have a tougher schedule and much less talent. I also really doubt very much they lead the league in luck 2 years in a row. Add all that up and you have a team that will struggle to go to a bowl game.
MSU taking a step back this year and being weak and not to UM level is now a MEME for 20 years. Every 7th year it is correct. The other 17-18 yeah no.
Thanks for continuing the tradition.
Remember last year they sucked all over and if not for Walker they would have been a 3 win team. Thanks for playing.
Tucker got rid of about 18 players and brought in another 6+ new starters esp for that joke defense ... no worries though. They will take a step back next year. As they always do.
April 17th, 2022 at 10:04 PM ^
Isn't Oden also buddies with Semaj Morgan and Will Johnson?
That's true, but also Rod Oden is a Michigan alum (as is Wilcher, obviously). So there are connections to Michigan, too.
April 18th, 2022 at 10:17 AM ^
Oh yeah for sure. I worked with Rod with a former player and commit of mine to help him out. Rod is a good dude and I don't forsee any issue getting players out of what is becoming a huge talent program in Harper Woods (since Rod became coach the school has gone from 400 students to now over 1200!). Both Bellamy and Hart have a good relationship with him. I'm just saying the fact that this is his son, there are connections I think he would be most comfortable with being around and in contact with.
The Carr news is a bummer, but we’re a long way until ESD for even this 2023 class.
Just keep doing it on the field and it’ll solve itself. Definitely surprised that we haven’t seen more high level commits though since previous classes averaged around the 10 range and Michigan just won the Big Ten and went to the playoff.
April 17th, 2022 at 10:19 PM ^
ND isn’t getting Dante Moore and CJ Carr. This is silly
April 17th, 2022 at 10:36 PM ^
Is there an edit I’m missing? Who said they’re getting both?
If it’s just the Easter Sunday sauce hittin’ different, then I apologize.