Jordan Payton top 2

Submitted by Gobluegr on
There have been rumors on this board about Michigan being in Jordan Payton's top group, and now it is official. In a recent interview with LA Daily News, Payton said this about how his recruitment is going "Right now I'm going through the process ... my top two schools are Cal and Michigan, those are the two schools I'm really interested in right now." Here is the link to the(relatively short) article: http://bayarea.sbnation.com/2011/8/8/2352150/jordan-payton-california-g…

Don

August 9th, 2011 at 2:01 AM ^

Hmmmm.... beautiful area to live in while in school? Check.

Wonderful climate? Check.

Degree from a university widely regarded as one of the best in the country? Check.

For west coast kids who've never been to the Midwest and didn't grow up thinking that Michigan was the end all and be all of college football, this might be enough to lure them to Berkeley.

Rico616

August 9th, 2011 at 2:07 AM ^

I agree. While going to Michigan on a football scholly would be a dream for a lot of us, it might not be the end all for Payton. Hopefully he would love a degree from Michigan and to play football there however if he decides to go to Cal why should we be surprised?

It reminds me of Buckeye fans on Bucknuts that were blasting Kalis and saying "how could you not want to play football for ###?"

HAIL 2 VICTORS

August 9th, 2011 at 11:24 AM ^

In all fairness to Buckeye fans losing Kalis to us is a knife in the gut compared to Payton staying in state to play for Cali.  I was none too happy to see ROJO and Nick Perry head out to USC and my ONLY solace was that they did not go buckeye.  Pete Caroll and company owe us  few.

mGrowOld

August 9th, 2011 at 3:25 AM ^

Having lived in the bay area from 83 to 88 i can you the reason property values are sky-high in cali while remaining not so much here in the midwest is because lots and lots of people want to live there. You know.....people who like climate...views...nightlife....culture....etc. Pretty sure Morgn is one of those people things.

MGoShoe

August 9th, 2011 at 7:49 AM ^

...that if you have a top two, and one of those schools has several offers out to interested recruits in your position group that are similarly ranked, you might want to think about pulling the trigger.

Mr. Yost

August 9th, 2011 at 9:02 AM ^

I hate to be the downer, but IMO...it's

 

1. Cal....

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v

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....michigan.

 

If we pull it off, IMO it'll be a Donovan Warren type steal, something late in the game. Either that or Cal fires Tedford.

WolvinLA2

August 9th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^

I don't think it's just his opinion.  Just about every post I've read about Payton, many on this here blog, suggest he's going to Cal.  He's been reportedly recruiting other players to go with him to Cal, including mega-safety Shaq Thompson. 

Obviously Tom knows something, and if he visits there's always a chance, but I think it's safe to call this one a long shot.

ChiefLB

August 9th, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^

California has long been a pipeline for Michigan football.

Would be great to get another Cal kid into this recruiting class.  Especially in a position of need (WR).  And even if he doesn't Go Blue, being in his Top 2 broadens our appeal to younger California players who may pursue in the coming years.

Now we just need to get back to the Rosebowl (and kick some Pac-10 ass) in order to further broaden that appeal.

CAwolverine

August 9th, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^

This would be awesome for UM on 2 levels.
<br>
<br>1) Jordan is sick, he is the real deal. I have seen him play amongst the top competition in CA. I will take him any day over Burbridge, Madaris, Darboh. He set records as a freshman and is ine of the most sought after WR in CA. BTW he has been a big fan of UM for a long time. I think we have a legitimate shot with him.
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<br>2) Oaks Christian is a powerhouse for California High School football. They have been a big contributer to USC, Oregon, Notre Dame among others. Bill Redell runs an amazing program and attracts the best if the best. His staff includes Clay Matthews, Casey Clausen and many others with big time college and pro experience. Getting our foot in the door with this program would be huge. If Jordan chooses UM, he would be their first football player from Oaks to attend UM.
<br>
<br>Go Blue!

cigol

August 9th, 2011 at 12:04 PM ^

I've shared this before, but this is the guy that pointed at me in my Michigan hat after scoring a toughdown in a California 7 on 7 tournament and said, "Go Blue."

 

I guess I don't see how somebody in their right mind could pick Cal over Michigan, given the monstrous offensive line and 5 star pocket passing QB we have coming in.  It is going to be a true aerial assault in 3-4 years and this guy would be the first elite WR in the door.

Belisarius

August 9th, 2011 at 12:22 PM ^

It should never surprise someone when an elite CA player doesn't come to Michigan. It's just a different world out there. Even if every PAC-12 team was horrible, due to distance and culture, the kids there would still grow up watching PAC-12 games. And it's hard to expect a kid to go so very far from home. It sure happens. I would love it to happen again. It's just a lot to expect. I adhere to the rule "if they visit, then consider their interest to be genuine." Until then, best not to expect much.

cigol

August 9th, 2011 at 1:02 PM ^

The kid has probably never felt so much as 40 degree weather living in southern california.  I am pretty surprised he's not looking to go to Stanford.  It's obvious that academics are important to him, and Stanford is light years ahead of Berkeley in both academics and football.

WolvinLA2

August 9th, 2011 at 6:40 PM ^

I would not say that Stanford is ahead of Cal in football.  They had a very good season last year, but their hot-shot coach that got them there left.  They should be good this season, but their star QB will be gone after this season. 

Over the last 2 years, Stanford has been better, but over the last 10+, Cal has been much better, and even recently Cal has recruited better and they have the better coach.  Once Luck leaves, Cal will be back to being the top team in the Bay Area.

Volverine

August 9th, 2011 at 5:49 PM ^

"Michigan is up there. So far, they are my favorite. I'd say Michigan is 1 and Cal is probably 2," Payton said. "I like everything about [Michigan]. I like the school, I like the coaches… I like all that stuff."

 

--Accoring to Rivals.com