JayZ1817

November 18th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^

I saw this after I went to see him play Friday night. It really blew me away and makes me root even harder for him to go to Michigan. A great kid. Wherever he goes, that school is getting one heck of a kid.

MaizeNBlu628

November 18th, 2011 at 8:36 AM ^

I'm originally from MD, and played GC several times in baseball tournaments and scrimmaged them once in football (i went to public school). The school is in a very affluent area, def not short on funds. They recruit from all over the MD/DC/VA area, they actually took my schools best 2 players (a LB and RB) when I was there.

Trebor

November 18th, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^

Pipelines are nearly impossible to set up at big time private school football factories like Good Counsel (or Aquinas in Florida). Most of the recruitable players at schools like that go there for the coaching and visibility - just because you get a kid one year doesn't magically increase your chances of getting a kid the next year (it certainly doesn't hurt though). Just look at all the basketball factories - yeah, the Duke/UNC/Kentucky/etc. schools have the advantage, but it's not like Duke owns Oak Hill because they got the latest top-50 kid from there.

The good thing, however, is that you're never actually out of the running for big-time private school kids like you would be with some of the smaller feeder schools (e.g. a lot of coaches don't bother with Cass Tech kids because Michigan is basically the first choice for all of them, Dior Mathis notwithstanding).

BrownJuggernaut

November 18th, 2011 at 10:39 AM ^

This is Michigan fergodsakes!

I don't think establishing a pipeline is just about getting a kid or getting multiple kids. It's about the kids that go there and having success at the college level. It's about establishing a connection and a presence where every division 1 prospect at the school feels like they should check out Michigan. It shouldn't be just "hey a kid from my school went to Michigan, I should go there too." It's about "hey a kid from my school went to Michigan, and he was successful. That makes me feel better about going there because I think I can succeed there as well." You do have to land a few kids, but I think it's about developing a positive perception at the school.

RickH

November 18th, 2011 at 7:39 AM ^

Holy shit, 17 siblings?  I don't even understand how they could survive with a single parent.  Hope this kid succeeds, he's had a hard path but fought through it.

BrownJuggernaut

November 18th, 2011 at 10:41 AM ^

Good for him if that's the case. Vandy's not the most high profile football school, though they've been better this year, but it is a darrn good school. At the very least, he'll get a great education. If football doesn't work out, he should have something to fall back on.