Hoke and the future

Submitted by Sione's Flow on

I've seen several articles where people have stated that Coach Hoke and this staff are "building something special".  My question to members of the board is what aspect of Coach Hoke and his staff's efforts are do you think is attributing to this?  Is it the level of talent, the character of the kids, the staff's being completely honest with recruits, etc.... 

voraciousness

May 26th, 2013 at 7:24 PM ^

Real recognize real. Coach Hoke and his staff seem to be incredibly real, fun-loving guys. Who wouldn't want to play for a staff that likes to have so much fun, but know when it's time to work? Sprinkle in Coach Mattison (the 25 year-old) who's coached some of the best players the game has ever seen and the fact that This Is Michigan, fergodsakes and it's a no-brainer. This staff has been here long enough now that they're able to start relationships with elite talent much earlier in the process. The sky is the limit for this class. Just as it will be from now on as long as Brady is here.

DrewGOBLUE

May 26th, 2013 at 7:40 PM ^

He has not set a time for when he will make a decision as far as I know. I did read somewhere though that it is being speculated that he won't commit anywhere until NSD.

And like people have been saying on here, the likelihood of him ending up in AA is pretty good. If history repeats itself, a HANDful of the top recruits will follow each other to one school (Michigan) just like last year (Ole Miss).

Generic MGoBlogger

May 26th, 2013 at 8:55 PM ^

For some reason, I actually pictured your somewhat creepy profile picture asking me those questions. And I find it easy to title my posts the beginning of what I had to say so I can just hit the tab button and resume what I was saying.

DonAZ

May 26th, 2013 at 7:15 PM ^

 

what aspect of Coach Hoke and his staff's efforts are do you think is attributing to [building something special]?

Hoke: "What we're trying to do here is help make these kids better men, better husbands and better fathers."

It's really that simple.  Hoke and staff signal with complete sincerity that Michigan is about hard work, accountability, honesty and integrity.

Every young man craves that.  That's how young men are wired.

This society offers precious little of that to young men today.  Quite the opposite, actually.

Hoke is building a program quite unlike most in college football.  Winning helps, certainly ... but it's more than just the prospect of winning football games that is drawing these young men to Hoke and to Michigan.

RoZ06

May 26th, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^

To piggyback off of your excellent comment, I'd add that Hoke (and I'm sure his staff as well) is a perfect fit for Michigan in particular. The school's identity is in many ways tied to tradition/values/character from the coaches and teams that have long come before. Hoke embodies the best of what Michigan tries to produce in educating and training our next generation's leaders, and kids see the connection.

It's hard to think, in retrospect, of a better fit for this program and university.

repole

May 27th, 2013 at 8:40 PM ^

The primary concern has pretty much always been about the offensive system that would be put into place under Hoke, and abou tthe viability of MAN BAWL on a national scale. 

 

That said there were some people concerned that Hoke wasn't a "sexy" enough hire and wouldn't be able to recruit on an elite level, but clearly that wasn't a justified concern. 

DISCUSS Man

May 26th, 2013 at 7:20 PM ^

I remember some people here livid when Hoke was hired saying he can't recruit. 

I wonder how they feel today. 

This class is gonna be one for the ages. Hell, if what I hear about Peppers knowing Hand is true, Michigan could be the first team ever to land #1 and #2 overall players.

Double Wolverine

May 27th, 2013 at 12:37 AM ^

I was most impressed with the speed at which he turned SDSU around. He took them from 2-10 before he got there to 4-8 in his first season and 9-4 in his second. True his overall record was around .500 but that is a really fasy turnaround at a mid-major. They have sustained success after he left, so he really did bring in some talent.

MidnightBlue

May 26th, 2013 at 8:28 PM ^

But you didn't look close enough... Hoke killed it at Ball St and SDSU...

Don't you remember seeing both programs in the top 20, especially Ball Fricking sT.... and saying to yourself.... wtf????  Well I did...   that was acheivement in itself....   

on the surface, you'd be right... but looking closer, and...sorry...

Dutch Ferbert

May 26th, 2013 at 7:39 PM ^

After Carr's last few years (minus 06) and Rich Rod, it seemed like an underwhelming hire. The first press conference sold me though. My God, that was a brilliant press conference! Everything since has kept me sold.

Hoke loves Michigan. He loves the kids. He wants to win. He doesn't make excuses. He doesn't punt every time he has a 4th and inches with the lead. He isn't flashy, but I bet he commands a living room when he recruits. AND, he seems to do all of this while remaining humble. Hoke is the threat, Coach Dantonio...Hoke is the threat!

Finally, he's a defensive-minded coach. I only like high scoring games when it's Michigan winning 56-7. I am part of a possibly dying breed that loves a 9-7 game, as long as it's because of great defenses and not incompetent offenses.

Super psyched about Hoke's recruiting. Go Blue!

ca_prophet

May 26th, 2013 at 10:23 PM ^

... and turned around when he hired Greg Mattison as his defense coach.

That told me three things:
1. He was confident in himself. You don't hire one of the great D-coaches of your era if you're insecure about what might happen.
2. He recognized talent and could build relationships with that talent. You don't get that guy to leave the NFL without knowing exactly what he wants that you can give him, and the NFL can't.
3. Most important, he knew how to delegate. You don't hire Mattison to second-guess him - you hire him and turn him loose, and Mattison doesn't come here if he thinks he's getting micro-managed.

Those are three important criteria for any manager or coach, and having it demonstrated so convincingly helped alleviate my doubts.

TickerTape

May 26th, 2013 at 7:26 PM ^

Yeah I'm not trying to be that guy, but let's just win some games first and worry about everything else later. Last years 8-5 season reminded a lot of that old Carr I used to have.

maize-blue

May 26th, 2013 at 7:29 PM ^

I'm not sure what Hoke is doing or saying but I think once the recruits compare him to other coaches they can tell the other coaches are full of shit.

goblue16

May 26th, 2013 at 7:35 PM ^

Honestly if hoke can coach as well as he is recruiting wr gonna be awesome. Remember his best recruiting classes wr '12 n '13. That means they'll be freshman and sophomore this season. be patient the way the '14 recruiting class is shapin up 2014 n beyond r gonna b fun seasons!

gustave ferbert

May 26th, 2013 at 7:37 PM ^

He simply said that 1) he is a great guy 2) he's genuine 3) loves his players and (I'm quoting the trainer) 4) "He's the funniest motherfucker you ever met" 

corundum

May 26th, 2013 at 7:37 PM ^

He's honest, relatively old-school, and aggressive when it comes to in-game strategy (goes for it on 4th and manageable, defensive calls to end the '12 NW game). He's obviously recruiting well. He understands how important it is to win rivalry games.