Lansing writer's take on MSU/M recruiting and in-state dominance.
The Freep carried a take from a writer with the Lansing State Journal, regarding some MSU fans being up in arms with worry over the fact that we have taken every top in-state recruit with offers from both schools. I thought it was interesting to see the perspective from the other side. The writer argues that (of course) recruiting rankings don't matter that much, and that sparty has had lower recruiting rankings than us most years but still beat us. But both from the writer's comments and from a few posters, it is clear that clear eyed sparties are indeed worried.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110515/SPORTS07/110515017/Lansing-writer…
Here's a link to the article in the Lansing State Journal, if people don't want to click on the Freep link. (H/T to one Mr. Rittenberg and his "lunch links.")
Naturally it takes a Michigan fan to jump in in the comments to point out why the author is off base.
"MSU could potentially send 4 guys in the first 3 rounds, including 2 first rounders. MSU could send 3 WRs, an OL, a TE, a DT, a safety and a corner into the league after this season. That is Big Time football, and that is what MSU is stepping up to."
Who are these future NFL all-stars that are going to litter the first three rounds? I am curious to hear more. (Also, THREE wide receivers!)
I know for a fact that Jerel Worthy is being considered at first rounder maybe even top 10. I also think Cousins will get drafted, but I'm not sure of the others.
I think MSU realistically could have a pretty good draft showing next year. Not delusional MSU poster good, but good in a more realistic sense. With Worhy, Cousins, Martin and/or Cunningham, Baker (depending on how his season shapes up and if he decides to leave early), plus random non-skill guys I don't know anything about, MSU could potentially send a fair number of guys to the pros.
EDIT: That last sentence was originally written as a string of names and words that didn't actually form a real-life sentence.
Why give the Lansing State Journal site hits? They're even bigger Sparty homers than the Free Press.
Sometimes you just have to look at the car wreck. I'd rather the Freep not profit from my rubbernecking. My hatred for the Freep is strong enough to prefer that the Spartan Slappy Journal get the hit instead.
Suck on these sour grapes!!!
Go Blue!
"Recruiting rankings don't matter" is wishful thinking. It's what Sparty fans were saying all throughout the Booby Williams and John L Smith eras.
Sparty says that MD is the greatest evaluator and developer of talent in the history of the universe. That is why recruiting rankings don't matter to them.
And through the Rich Rod era. Lost in all this is the obvious fact that Michigan has outrecruited MSU for the past three years. Yet, you're 0-3 in that time span. You can keep winning recruiting victories, and MSU will win the ones on the football field. Given the choice, I know which ones I would take.
I find this whole "September Heisman" thing hilarious. Sparty slappies are already talking up Cousins getting some "Heisman love". Is that not what a September Heisman is? Plus, it's not like MSU has been winning actual Heismans. I'll take a September Heisman -- just goes to show that the national media appreciates that we have a superb quarterback. 'Course, I'd like Denard to get a real Heisman too.
We had 19 losses to other teams in those three years. Join the club.
Shallow and forest-missing. RR recruited for a unique offense and unusual defense. Michigan and MSU werer after different players. The difference is that this year, we are going for the same recruits for similar style offenses and defenses. That means that for every recruit Michigan gets, the talent pool for MSU shrinks. That, and you built your "dynasty" on one of the worst three-year spans in Michigan football history. We will get back to ripping off multiple wins punctuated by the occasional loss to Sparty very soon.
Your screen name confuses me. I thought that the Heisman Trophy was awarded in December and given to outstanding athletes like Tom Harmon, Demond Howard and Charles Woodson. If you're going to be factually accurate (and support MSU football), maybe a more accurate screen name would be, "NeverWonHeisman".
Correct. The author of the article cleverly (or not so cleverly) dances around the fact that M has traditionally dominated the "rivalry" with Sparty, in large part because M has had vastly superior talent. He's using the tiniest of windows -- the past three years -- as the basis for his argument. No wonder he's employed in Lansing.
the opinion is quite different on the Spartan chat sites. After tomorrow the only difference between the meltdown of the Spartan loyalist and the reactors in Japan is the Sparty meltdown will last for years and not months.
If a tree falls down on Sparty in the forest and nobody is there to point and laugh did it happen?
Anybody have a RCMB threadlock for this?
Sure.
http://michiganstate.247sports.com/Board/93/Rexrode-on-recruiting-ranki…
They call it "a nice piece".
My favorite quote from Sparty's site is:
"I would also add re: this article that there doesn't seem to be any Thomas, Woodley or Rogers in MI for this recruiting class. It's not like Hoke is getting studs. Chances are some of them will turn out being quite good, but I would not lose sleep over these commitments at this point."
Now I don't want to be presumptuous ( I won't compare a guy to any of those talents until he's proven it at the college level) but we've got a number of athletes in MI this year who are being nationally recruited (see the commited UofM athletes for the 2012 class) by some of the country's biggest programs.
Also, I shiver at the use of the word "stud" but we've got some guys who are going to be real players. If we (knock on wood) land TRich tomorrow, this will look even more like a case of Sparty doing its best to shrug off what appears to be real panic!
Anyone else see the guy on the Morgan Trent thread that said something like "come on guys lets not make this another 6 pg. thread about um, who cares" on page 2?.... It's now on page 6. lol
On the second page, one commenter essentially makes the argument that because Charlie Weis recruited well but failed to effectively execute, and Brady Hoke is also recruiting well, he won't be able to coach either. Couldn't make this stuff up! Only Sparty...
This kind of desperate rationalization is only further evidence that deep down, they can sense that something has changed, that things are returning to their natural order--the same way you can feel a coming thunderstorm in the air before it actually arrives--to Michigan completely slapping MSU around, both in recruiting and on the field, seemingly at-will.
Does anyone seriously think MSU won't be able to sign 18 good players by next Feb.Uh, yeah...me.
I don't care if all our recruits come from Bangkok while Sparty takes the top 25 recruits from Michigan every year, so long as we return to beating their ass 75% of the time and start winning Big 10 titles.
Let them all freak out or try to justify this landslide in recruiting success. I hope they lose sleep over it, but in the end, all that matters is having more points then they do when the clock reads 0:00 at the end of the 4th quarter on October 15.
That recruiting scenario will never happen... Bangkok runs the spread.
they switched to a pro style when Sukhumbhand Paribatra got hired.
Well then, I'll have an order of G3, Pad ManBaw
They run the spread...
FWIW While I agree with you (I don't care from what state we get our recruits, as long as we win), it will be easier for us return to beating their ass 75% of the time if we take all the top recruits they ever had a chance at getting and they are left picking up the leftovers.
That a B1G co-champ has lost ground attracting blue chippers.
Finally, a voice of reason, crying in the wilderness of delusion.
And here they thought they were closing the gap.
To be honest some of our better diary writers here could right a better, more complete article than Mr. Rexrode.
Write you are.
I love how they're now trying to justify their crappy recruiting class by saying "rankings don't matter anyway"....apparently they've never looked at the top ten recruiting teams and how many BCS championship's they've won vs. the MSU's of the world who never crack the top 20.
The fact that sparty finds the current recruiting situation "really disappointing considering all the selling points we have" is hilarious. The one and ONLY selling point they have at the moment is that they have beaten us 3 years in a row and that is about to change in the near future.
"They're kicking our asses. This is not good."
- END SUMMARY -
they are scared shitless. They always justify it with, Well at least we still kick their ass at Basketball. *NOTE* Not this year. But come on they have to bring up basketball recruiting during football recruiting season just to feel better!?!
I crack up everytime i read these articles from Sparty. Jim C just wrote one ripping Terry Rich's ability too. But what amuses me the most is how they always want to point to immediate playing time as being a reason why Hoke is kicking their butts in recruiting. Explain how when 20 of 22 starters are returning how an incoming freshman will see early playing time. Granted our Defense was horrible last year but i would be surprised if less than 80% of this class doesn't redshirt this year. So i think the early playing time line is just another swan song by sparty fans who realize their little 3 year dream of domination over Michigan is coming to an end!
As they teach in law school, if you can't win the argument with the facts, change the scope of the argument. If MSU was pulling the in-state four stars it would be all "suck it, look at all our four stars". With Michigan dominating them in the face, now it's all "suck it, rankings don't matter, it's how you develop the talent".
Just happy that we finally have the facts in our favor again and all is right in the world.
they don't teach that in law school.
maybe not anymore. i graduated about 7 years ago. and i'm not a very good lawyer.
point still stands though.
But good work letting everyone know that you are a lawyer.
evreyone on this board is a lawyer,successful business man, Dr. etc and is always bedding hot babes. That's just the way it is around here.