Free Recruiting Update from Sam Webb
These are rare and it's late anyways.
- Chris Clark's final visit is to UCLA and will be next week, but Harbaugh has an in-home visit scheduled with the young man after his UCLA visit. That bodes well for Michigan
- Joe Burrow was indeed the B1G recruit that Michigan got in contact with but he is sticking with OSU (in other news, their other current QB commit, Torrance Gibson, just visited Auburn and many think he will end up pledging to the Tigers). McLane Carter is still a possibility and Harbaugh will continue recruiting other QBs.
- Jay Harbaugh visited Patrick Allen, a 4-star OL from Maryland who visited UM in September, at school this past week. UM will be in his final four with Georgia, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. It'll be tough to pull him to Ann Arbor but the fact that this staff can grab a kid's attention so swiftly certainly bodes well for 2016 and beyond.
http://michigan.scout.com/story/1503596-michigan-recruiting-roundup-1-1…
January 19th, 2015 at 12:06 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 19th, 2015 at 12:11 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 1:15 AM ^
I don't hear you laughing now!
January 19th, 2015 at 9:25 AM ^
i am a little suprised that Harbaugh hasn't taken a few dumbtonio recruits. i would love that for two reasons .... take some decent recruits with only 2 weeks left. And secondly, send the fricken message that we get who we want ... spartans are 2nd class again.
January 19th, 2015 at 9:41 AM ^
dumbtonio?
smh
January 19th, 2015 at 9:49 AM ^
"i am a little suprised that Harbaugh hasn't taken a few dumbtonio recruits."
January 19th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
I'm with you and Clint on the "Dumbtonio" thing, but looking at their class I don't see any Michigan offers on either their four star types or their in state guys. Is there a 2015 MSU commit Michigan wants and could conceivably get?
January 19th, 2015 at 12:07 AM ^
Fortunately, this is a small class, and last year's class was strong. So, we can afford a really small class, provided that we can bring in a stacked class next year.
January 19th, 2015 at 12:20 AM ^
I'm sure the staff was well aware of the disadvantages they would be facing.
With that said, it is very, very rare for a staff to come in and, within days, get guys like Iman Marshall and Roquan Smith to visit from far-away states. While there might not be a lot of star power in this class, the fact they hold such sway so late in the process with those types of recruits bodes extremely well for the future. Think of what they can do when they are on a level playing field time-wise.
January 19th, 2015 at 4:22 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 4:45 PM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 12:21 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 12:33 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 12:37 AM ^
You don't need to look farther than Brady Hoke who had a very subpar 2011 class and then turned around to have top 5 classes his next two years. Basically Harbaugh needs to find spots quickly and eliminate bringing in as much dead weight as possible. It will be hard to find good players who can contribute in a month. Almost none of Hoke's 2011 late adds have but if anyone can do it it's Harbaugh.
January 19th, 2015 at 12:50 AM ^
luckily this class is much smaller than 2011.
January 19th, 2015 at 1:00 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 2:36 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 6:46 AM ^
If you can't get the kids you want, is it better to save scholarships for 2016 when the coaching staff will have the opportunity to develop relationships and get the talent they want?
January 19th, 2015 at 6:59 AM ^
I was listening to Butch Davis talk about this last month...he said the biggest mistake he made (football wise, lol) was trying to fill all of the scholarship spots his first year.
He made some great points on that if you're not going to find someone who can contribute early, it's not worth it unless you have a glaring need. Don't just take bodies.
Unless you need the depth, it's really not that big of a deal. Especially if the kid is just going to redshirt. Then you're talking about a RS Freshman in 2016 vs. a True Freshman in 2016.
I hate the whole "in (coach) we trust" meme, but this is one of those times where you just have to trust the coach. In reality, no one knows 100%, but you have to trust that the coaches can make the decision to fill short-term holes while still having the long-term goal in mind.
Right now, at least IMO, we don't have too many more holes.
We need a RB because we have a logjam in the junior class. We need a TE because AJ Williams cannot be trusted...and, well, HARBAUGH! We need at least 1 more OL, I'd love 2.
We sorely need a DE, we don't need a LB for next year, but you have to take one in this class. Same goes for DB.
So that's your 6 spots that we HAVE to fill. I'd love to get this class to 15, just because I'm a fan and want the splash and the ranking, but we really only NEED 6 more players - and some of those are just so we're not in a bind 3 years from now, it has nothing to do with next season.
January 19th, 2015 at 7:10 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 7:08 AM ^
We really do have a very deep roster at the moment. Our woes had much more to do with subpar coaching than lack of player talent.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
On the plus side, Durkin and Drevno HAVE been evaluating talent (even if Harbaugh has not) this year. I am always reassured when the report is an offer went to a kid that has a relationship already with one of the assistants.
January 19th, 2015 at 8:09 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 8:17 AM ^
I've read some comments on this Board to the effect that it's better to fill a recruiting class to its limit, rather than bank scholarships for the next year. Considering the circumstances, would this be a year when banking scholarships would make sense?
Other than Chris Clark, are there any highly rated recruits in the 2015 class who have expressed a high level of interest in Michigan? If not, and if (a) last-minute "flips" aren't looking too promising and (b) athletic scholarships now have to be considered as four-year commitments (instead of being annually renewable), would the coaching staff be satisfied with a class of only six scholarship recruits for 2015 (or seven, if there's really a "silent commit" for this class), rather than offering scholarships to low-rated prospects who might be limited to contributing only as scout team players for the next four years, at best?
And if they can't land any more good recruits for the class of 2015, would there be any academically qualified graduate transfers available who might be capable of becoming one-year starters? Would it then be better to take an experienced graduate transfer rather than a low-rated high school player who projects to offer nothing more than four years of scout team help?
January 19th, 2015 at 8:23 AM ^
because you have to believe that we will have kids transfer after Spring Ball (for the usual reasons of not enough percieved playing time, to Harbaugh's system is not for me, to the workouts are too hard...). So, you want bodies now and will still get more then you think for 2016.
January 19th, 2015 at 8:43 AM ^
Banking scholarships is dumb unless you are planning to have a really tiny class one year, which is rare. Next year's class is not going to be tiny. We have 16 seniors graduating after 2015, and obviously there will be others who transfer, leave early for the NFL, get injured, etc. Our 2016 class is probably going to be around 20 players strong, maybe more.
January 19th, 2015 at 9:51 AM ^
Agreed. Our classes are all out of balance - look at OSU, they have recruited 24, 23, 24 these prior 3 classes. We have something like 26 coming in 2017 and 12 this year. The only time I'd consider "banking" a few is if by the time we get to 2017 and the class is like 30. A class of 12 is not one you bank a single soul. We need an entire secondary rebuilt in 2 years, if you rely on 2016 guys its going to be a secondary full of RS FR - no thanks. Same for DE, and in fact DT.
I dont think people get how young our 2017 D is going to be. If you dont get a Clark or RB or whatever every spot should go to a future defensive player IMO.
The 2016 class is a good size, it currently is 17 and by the time we get there expect the nromal attrition so it will be 20ish.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:42 AM ^
I dont think people get how young our 2017 D is going to be. If you dont get a Clark or RB or whatever every spot should go to a future defensive player IMO.This is a great point. Our 2014 D was extremely experienced, and 2015 looks to be equally experienced. This should continue to be a strength for the team, and once the special teams and offense gets going, it will only make the defense statistically that much better. (less three-and-outs, better field position, etc.) We do need some players from this year to pan out as juniors in 2017, and for some of our current freshmen and RS FR to work out. If too much attrition happens on defense, we could have a problem, but hopefully Durkin, Mattison, or whoever will be the coach in 2017 will coach them up to Harbaugh standards.
January 19th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
I don't really think of this as a major issue. The 2017 defense is going to be the fifth year for the class of 2013 and the fourth year for the class of 2014. We took 9 defensive players in 2014 (8 remain after Michael Ferns left) and there are 3 currently scheduled to be fifth year seniors in 2017. So that's 11 players scheduled to have senior eligibility in 2017. Granted, some will transfer, get injured, etc., but that's not a small group of seniors for one side of the ball. Toss in a few experienced juniors or redshirt sophomores (Tyree Kinnel, whoever we add on defense before February, etc.), and the youth issue goes out the window.
January 19th, 2015 at 8:32 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 9:11 AM ^
January 19th, 2015 at 10:20 AM ^
the issue of recruiting top ranked players is way overblown. MSU has proved this. Name me one Michigan highly rated recruit over the Hoke years that has made a difference.He had many of the highest rated classes and yet last season failed to make a bowl game.
Caoching is the difference and Michigan has taken a huge leap in this area.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:33 AM ^
MSU has been very effective in coaching kids up. Michigan, not so much over the last decade or so. But it is a crap shoot. MSU would love to be able to get top ranked kids over lower kids. Obviously, they have to fit what they want but for what ever reason, MSU has had the secret sauce of being to identify and coach kids into being very good college players. And I don't think that is something that can easily be replicated.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 19th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
Actually, if you are playing for the national championship, it is not overblown at all, as discussed here on MGoBlog a few times. From this article, the following:
Recruiting isn’t everything but this is a pretty conclusive look that if you are picking title contenders, you can shorten the list very quickly. All champions were in the top 10 in roster talent and all but Florida 2006 and Auburn 2010 had least one side of the ball in the top 4.
If you want to win championships, you need to recruit top players. MSU fans can laugh about winning the recruiting championship and it not panning out on the field, but no one has gotten over the hump of not recruiting well and winning it all. Maybe with the new playoff format it will happen, but we haven't seen it so far.
January 19th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
as I think there will be a ton of attrition before next signing day. Next year's class will have plenty of openings.