Has Brady Hoke actually "recruited" a single Michigan kid?

Submitted by Section 1 on

The answer, I think, given a reasonable definition of "recruit," is No.

Let's review.  Here are the Hoke recruits:

  • Russell Bellomy - Arlington TX
  • Tamani Carter - Pickerington OH
  • Keith Heitzman - Hilliard OH
  • Antonio Poole - Cincinnati OH
  • Matt Wile - San Diego CA

Now to be sure, there is Raymon Taylor of Highland Park.  Decommit from Indiana who, by all accounts, wanted a Michigan offer all along, and took the offer from Hoke as soon as it was extended.  We might be able to debate whether that is "recruiting," or simply "offering."

And there is Jake Fisher; having decommitted following the firing of Rich Rodriguez, Fisher is now being "recruited" all over again.  We can likewise debate whether Jake Fisher is a Brady Hoke "recruit."

Finally, there is the likely offeree, Thomas Rawls of Flint.  Who apparently did not ever need to be sold on Michigan, who was understandably below Dee Hart on a list of desired RB's, and who until recently had serious ACT concerns.

In fact, I'd argue that Hoke has done a decent job in dealing with the terrible problems that were caused by the premature termination of Rich Rodriguez's six-year contract.  Hoke has done okay in recruting some Ohio, Texas and California kids; some of whom were previous SDSU recruiting contacts, albeit kids that Hoke was not successful in actually committing to San Deigo State.

We have some great Michigan kids in this class, of course; and they were all recruited by Rich Rodriguez and his staff.  Hollowell, Beyer, Hayes, Morgan.  Kids from Ohio (the traditionalists think that Ohio recruiting is nearly as sacred as State of Michigan recruiting) include Greg Brown, Jack Miller and Chris Rock.  Among the Top 50 high schoolers in this state, Michigan got 5 of them (MSU got 6 of them), and three of the Top 10 are coming to Michigan.  It is hard to picture a single high-level recruit in the state that was lost to a rival because of Rich Rodriguez.  Zettel certainly comes to mind, but we just don't know what that story really was.  MSU got the kids it was expected to get its reliable feeder-schools.  Notre Dame got the state's best kicker, with apparently nothing anyone could do to sway Kyle Brindza, who might have given ND an oral commitment when he was in kindergarten.  Valdez Showers is going to Florida, DeAnthony Arnett is going to Tennessee.  Eh.

The real point of all of this has nothing to do with Hoke's skills or deficiencies, but rather with the exploding myth that Rich Rodriguez was somehow a deficient Michigan recruiter whose errors, in Michigan, are now being somehow corrected by Hoke.  That is a myth that is unsupported by the numbers and the names. 

Edit. - Amazing it is, how a post that contains some mild congratulation for Brady Hoke, and some very moderated defense of Rich Rodriguez, can get flamed on the 2011 MGoBlog.  Drew Sharp's favorite attack on this and all other similar blogs was that they were beneath consideration as serious information outlets, because they were simply collections of fan-boys.  I rejected that; my contention was that there was more thoughtful criticism of Michigan football from Brian Cook than one could ever hope to find in the Free Press.  I still think that I am more closely-aligned in my thinking with this blog's host, than are most of the readers and particularly some of the members replying below...

Edit. II - Some of you dumb-asses really need to learn how to read.  I didn't criticize Hoke's recruiting.  I didn't suggest that Michigan needed to recruit more Michigan kids.  I didn't say most of the things that you guys are imagining.  Just read, people.  I'll make it real easy for you all:  Amidst all of the claims that Brady Hoke is currently "repairing" in-state recruiting damage allegedly caused by the Rodriguez tenure, Brady Hoke hasn't landed a single new Michigan recruit.  I am not saying that he should.  I am not saying that we need some more in-state kids.  I am not even predicting that Brady Hoke won't do some very good recruting in Michigan.  Apart from stealing Brindza, or Lawrence Thomas, or Showers, etc, I'm really not suggesting that Hoke somehow needs to get some more in-state kids.  I am simply saying that the anti-Rodriguez argument, such as it may be based on Brady Hoke's "repairs", has no supporting evidence in the real world. 

And special replies to two commenters:

Blue_in_NC:  You are SO right!  Hoke's biggest recruit so far, by far, has been "the media."  The Media is Michigan's biggest recruit of 2011.

Yost Ghost:  I hope that my bias in favor of Rich Rodriguez isn't "veiled" at all.  Not even "thinly veiled."  My support for coach Rodriguez, and my distatse for the way that he was treated in Michigan, is as open as it is determined.

 

BRCE

January 28th, 2011 at 4:41 PM ^

Isn't it fairly obvious that Section 1's love affair over time had little to do with Rich Rod himself? The guy hates the media SOOO much that he was never going to do anything else but go down with the ship and make sure that when they found his body in the water he was still going to be holding up the middle finger.

What a nutjob.

 

Rx

January 28th, 2011 at 1:22 PM ^

Remember the thread on the poster that you like the least.

Yeah...i never commented on that one, but section 1 you get my vote. Everytime you make one decent comment you follow it up with crap like this. He has had two weeks to recruit kids that have been recruited by other coaches for years. If he only pulls 3 out of the top 10 MI kids next year we can revisit this topic. But lay-off the man. 

And yes raymon taylor does count, as will Rawls and Fischer if they do commit. You can't just disregard this sooo easily because it makes your argument better.

 

Yost Ghost

January 28th, 2011 at 2:30 PM ^

First off saying a recruit came because of the school not the coach Is true with every coach at UM. Are they the coaches recruit or the schools? You could say that every recruit comes, in varying degrees because of the school. So do we now need to create a metric to measure that so we can gauge recruiting efficacy? Your premise is absurd. Sometimes being a good recruiter, much like being a good salesperson, is to let the product sell itself. Sometimes it's enough to not screw it up then to make it happen and knowing when is the appropriate time. Additionally, in your edit you profuse to be in the camp of blogging being more aligned with credible information sources like journalism than the banter of mere rabble. What smacks as insincere in your incredulity is the thinly veiled bias towards Rodriguez. So don't act offended when trying to make a point of comparison between Hoke and Rodriguez's recruiting abilities when all your really doing is attempting to have yet another debate as to why the ousted coach shouldn't have been ousted after the fact. Stop living in the past and move on.

 

And so here we go yet another round of the wrongs of the RR firing. Some of you thought that 3 years wasn't enough time. It wasn't just 3 years it was 3 years of futility with no real hope of it changing significantly in the near future. The D was awful the ST were awful and the O was marginal. Looked great against weaker opponents but against worthy competition it wasn't good enough. The issues with the D and ST were inexcusable in my mind.  The fumbling and poor ball protection. It was time for a change. 

Be that as it may you posting like a fanboy about how unfair the criticism of RR recruiting is pathetic. You should expect to get flamed. The guy had good recruiting classes which makes the teams mediocrity even more damning.

Again get over it. We can't go back and our responsibility now is to get behind coach Hoke and hope that all the hype about his recruiting and coaching skill is true. If not we'll be back here again in 3 years to debate it endlessly.

You also can't make any accurate comparisons regarding recruiting until Hoke has a full season under his belt.

 

His Dudeness

January 28th, 2011 at 1:37 PM ^

I saw a kid in the student section last year wearing a Stanford hat.

The commenters here lately are that kid.

This post is valid in that it is the same type of shit thrown about when RR was hired.

Kids from FLORIDA!??! NEVAAAR!!!!!!

Damn fine speech by Da Hoke-ster though. Damn fine.

 

His Dudeness

January 28th, 2011 at 2:11 PM ^

I am butt hurt about how RR was let go when I believe he was on the rise and should have been retained. I admit that. Because of how horribley he was treated here I will not blindly follow Hoke because he promises to play "hard nosed football" etc.. I will let him win me over with the team he puts out on the field. Until then all he does and can do is talk.

I take issue with the blind faith this fan base has for him when they couldn't be paid to give the same faith to a man only three years ago because he happened to coach at Tulane when he was coming up rather than coach D-Line at Michigan. It's stupid. The fan base is unappreciative, entitled, whiney and terribly annoying and really doesn't deserve success based on their actions. I hope for those fans who actually do support the coaches, no matter where they happened to get their start, that we start to win again under Hoke. To say we deserve that would be way off.

JBE

January 28th, 2011 at 2:16 PM ^

This blog, at least, was very supportive of RR during some very tough seasons.  I can't speak for the entire fan base, because - besides this blog - I stay far, far away from them, but I don't feel the posters here are any less or more supportive of Hoke than they were RR.  

BostonWolverine

January 28th, 2011 at 2:21 PM ^

I think there's something you're misconstruing. From what I can tell, there are a lot of posters on this board who agree that RR was mistreated. Like, a lot. They also believe he didn't play the shitty hand he was dealt very well. And both of those things are true.

Should RR have been retained? It's moot at this point. BUT, I think what you're seeing is a lot of people getting behind the new coach because they don't want a repeat of what happened with RichRod. The posters here are a lot less whiny (save some of them) than the typical Michigan fan. My sister and brother-in-law are about as whiny and entitled as it gets - and they have a signed photo of Lloyd Carr on their mantle (not a joke). It seems to me that the MgoCommunity is throwing its support behind Hoke, because we saw what happened when we didn't do that the last time.

 

Steve Lorenz

January 28th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^

I'm guessing Rodriguez will get over his firing faster than you will. 

Equating posters who are showing support for Hoke to some misguided idea that they wanted Rodriguez out is ridiculous. 

Also, singling out our fanbase as unappreciative and whiny is stupid too. Any fanbase that is used to winning is going to gain a sense of entitlement. Look at the MSU boards last night after the game and you'll understand what I'm saying. Look at Texas and Florida message boards this year. There's a correlation between winning and whining....you should know this. 

Yost Ghost

January 28th, 2011 at 2:40 PM ^

I was quietly optimistic just as I think most fans were when RR came in but he wasn't on the rise when he left, his improvement was incremental at best. RR had 3 years and didn't get it done and now I will give Hoke the same time frame. But Hoke isn't coming into A2 trying to bend the program to his will he's trying to return it to the traditions that made it great. I don't think the fan base has blind faith but you have to admit he's doing the right things and saying the right things which stands in stark contrast to how RR came in. RR came in amid controversy regarding his contract, how he handled himself when informing his team, rumors of him destroying documents, a court battle over breach of contract, changing UM culture with the #1 jersey. The list goes on and on. People were already freaked about what he was going to do on the field to change the program without having to worry about how he was going to completely change the culture. Hoke has none of these things going on. Now if he doesn't get it done on the field that is how he will ultimately be judged but for now what we're seeing looks good.

yoopergoblue

January 28th, 2011 at 3:52 PM ^

Yeah....because you are being totally the opposite of whiny and terribly annoying in your defense of Rich Rodriguez who IS NOT our coach anymore and was fired because of what his teams did on the field.  It has become apparent through what you have posted on this board since Rich Rod was fired that you are a bigger fan of him than the University of Michigan.  This is far worse than the words you used to describe your beef with much of the fanbase. 

JBE

January 28th, 2011 at 1:46 PM ^

For the sake of Section 1, I pray that the media jumps all over Hoke.  By the time the season starts RR will be out of heart and out of mind for most fans and media, and I fear Section 1 will have to reach even deeper to pull out his thought bubbling posts about the "conspiracy" that led to RR's ultimate demise, or how his name is still being dragged through the mud.  It's ova.  The tune will not change because the song is dropping off the charts.  I no longer care what the media says about RR, and I surmise that I'm not alone.  Out of sight, out of mind.  This thing reads like a crazy dude typing shit in his mom's basement about how aliens are going to steal the first born of American leaders to weaken the country for an upcoming invasion.  I don't believe that rhetoric, but at least I still read it from time to time, unlike these irrelevant rants.  

._.

January 28th, 2011 at 1:52 PM ^

Section 1 daily activity
1. Scour his "hated" Detroit media
2. Miscontrue anything that could be made to look negative
3. Post it on MGoBlog, hoping for positive feedback
4. Not receive positive feedback
5. Try again tomorrow
 
Surprisingly accurate

mwings

January 28th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^

Another RR fanboy taking a jab at Hoke.

He'll have at least two four star prospects by the end of this class. The midwest is loaded next year, and I expect Hoke to start cleaning house in state, especially with Mattison behind him.

st barth

January 28th, 2011 at 1:54 PM ^

Everybody knows that Coach Cowhoke™ prefers fat kids from Indiana and Ohio to run his style offense & defense.  Why should we expect him to recruit Michigan?

True Blue Grit

January 28th, 2011 at 2:02 PM ^

in  a little over two weeks with the recruiting train wreck he inherited.  IMO, "excellent" or "amazing" would be more appropriate words.  Of course, we'll see how things finish out. 

jmblue

January 28th, 2011 at 2:03 PM ^

Given that you seem to be more loyal to Rich Rodriguez than to the Michigan program as a whole, can we assume that those coveted seats in Section 1 will not be renewed?

CRex

January 28th, 2011 at 2:18 PM ^

I was with you until you started flaming people and calling them dumb-asses.  M-Live is over that way ------->  (or maybe it is that way <------).

My personal belief is that "Doesn't recruit Michigan players" is a meme pushed by homer sports writers.  Crazed individuals that somehow thing Michigan produces a lot of talent.  Yes we have some good programs but when you have Ohio and its programs 40 miles to the south, this is no reason to spend a lot of time sorting through every program in the state for the few sleeper recruits when you could journey south and be knee deep in four stars.  Carr never really recruited Michigan extensively.  He grabbed some talent when he saw it (Woodley, Edwards, etc), but Carr worked across the entire MidWest, PA Coal Country and ventured down into Texas and Cali.  He didn't spend his time sorting through all the various Michigan high schools, he went after national names for the most part.  When one of those people appeared in Michigan, he locked them down but he didn't focus on the state.

So basically in my view this entire argument over recruits or doesn't recruit Michigan doesn't really matter.  In my view both RR and Carr grabbed the top recruits in the state and then got the hell out of the state to finish up the class.  Hoke has kept Hayes as a commit and gone national, just like his two predecessors.  The only really difference was that Carr and Hoke seem to like the Texas area more while RR liked Florida.  

Harballer

January 28th, 2011 at 2:37 PM ^

Yes RR was treated unfairly by the media when he was coach, and he did recruit more locally than the media will give him credit for, but his tenure as coach is over now, and it is time to move on.  Also, we do not know the specifics of his firing so to say that we let him go prematurely is not factual.  What if the situation came about where DB told him that in order for him to stay he had to get rid of basically all his defensive coaches and RR said no?  You can't necessarily say that he shoulda gotten another year because we really do not know all of the facts.

bronxblue

January 28th, 2011 at 2:48 PM ^

I understand the point you were getting at, and I think it has merit, though I'm not it really was that big of a myth for anybody other than those rely solely on 97.1 and MLive for their Michigan sports fix.  UM recruits reasonably well in the state and usually gets the big-name kids, but it is a national program that can go into virtually any region in America and compete for the top kids.  OSU can do that, Notre Dame can do that, and that's about it in the midwest.  So while I guess it means something to people that Hoke is "fixing" the lie that RR can't recruit in-state, I don't see it as much of an issue.

On an unrelated note, though - there was no need to respond to specific "idiots" or "a-holes" in your post.  The internet is filled with anonymous tough guys who take shots - look at Antonio Cromartie-Matt Hasselbeck for guys talking tough but whom I am fairly certainly wouldn't touch each other in real life - and it is best to ignore them or respond to them specifically.  Calling guys jerks for being jerks doesn't really move the conversation along, and MGoBlog is the only place I've seen in the sports ecosystem that generally doesn't devolve into Godwin Law-level hysterics.  Let's try to keep it that way.