A Look at our WR recruiting recent history
I watch a ton of college football every week, as most of us here do. One thing I always notice and am envious of, is big time WRs, that seem to take a team's offense to a different level. We just have not had a player like that in the longest time. We have had good WR play, but not an elite difference maker at WR. So I get excited about DPJ possibly committing to us, and try to think of the last time we had a WR recruit that good. So I looked back at the 247 composite of our WR recruits.
Name, Overall Composite, Position Ranking
2016
Kekoa Crawford – 120, 19
Brad Hawkins – 294, 55
Eddie McDoom – 406, 65
Nate Johnson – 590, 95
2015
Grant Perry – 868, 109
2014
Drake Harris – 67, 7
Freddy Canteen – 298, 41
Moe Ways – 495, 68
2013
Jaron Dukes – 338, 47
Csonte York – 564, 75
Damarion Jones – 776, 99
2012
Amara Darboh – 222, 29
Jehu Chesson – 639, 74
2011
No WRs
2010
Jerald Robinson – 314, 43
Jeremy Jackson – 833, 107
Dj Williamson – NR, 158
2009
Jeron Stokes – 90, 10
Jeremy Gallon – 326, Ath
2008
Darryl Stonum – 48, 10
Terence Robinson – 204, 31
Martavious Odom – 301, 45
Roy Roundtree – 411, 60
2007
Toney Clemons – 96, 12
Junior Hemingway – 120, 17
Martell Webb – 237, 32
Zion Babb – 279, 40
James Rogers – 412, Ath
2006
Greg Matthews – 218, 29
2005
Mario Manningham – 50, 6
Antonio Bass – 56, 8
LaTerryal Savoy – 218, 22
2004
Doug Dutch – 71, 10
Adrian Arrington – 94, 14
Keston Cheathem – 401, 50
2003
No WRs
I did not feel like looking past 2003.
So in the last 8 recruiting cycles, we have not had a single WR in the top 65 composite.
In the last 13 years, we have only had 1 inside the top 50(Darryl Stonum, 48).
No WR commits near 5 star in atleast the last 13 years, really does say somehting about our passing game. Cannot wait to see the difference it could make having a player like DPJ at Michigan.
December 4th, 2016 at 2:59 PM ^
Antonio Bass :-(
December 4th, 2016 at 3:47 PM ^
What a tragedy. Both for the young man and for the team.
I firmly believe we would have won it all in 2006 with him on the offense.
December 4th, 2016 at 4:09 PM ^
One more playmaker against Ohio State could habe made a huge difference. Who knows if we would have beaten Florida, but I suspect the perception of Carr might have been a little different even if we just beat Ohio State.
December 4th, 2016 at 4:15 PM ^
Offense wasn't really our problem against OSU, and Bass would not have miraculously given Mike Debord the guts to actually play aggressively when run-run-pass didn't work against USC or (inevitably) Florida.
I think he would've made a huge difference in 2008, though. Could've transformed RR's career. For better or for worse.
December 4th, 2016 at 4:13 PM ^
One more playmaker against Ohio State could habe made a huge difference. Who knows if we would have beaten Florida, but I suspect the perception of Carr might have been a little different even if we just beat Ohio State.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
One of our most hyped decommits is currently playing for FSU. It will be nice to see Darboh and Chesson outplay him.
December 4th, 2016 at 10:59 PM ^
Looks like he has 3 receptions for 42 yards this year? LOL
December 4th, 2016 at 11:38 PM ^
That was last year. He took a medical redshirt this season due to injury/surgery.
December 4th, 2016 at 9:06 PM ^
When he was running a 4.35 at The Openinf, they forgot to mention that he couldn't catch a football. That didn't stop them from ranking him in the top 5. 2 years later, he still couldn't catch. He dropped like a rock.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:01 PM ^
DPJ, Nico Collins, Tarik Black. And add Hawkins to the mix. Let's get it.
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:02 PM ^
I don't even remember what it's like to have an elite WR or RB.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
Elite compared to what?
December 4th, 2016 at 3:15 PM ^
For running backs, I'd saying anything over 1k yards was a pretty good back, and anything over 1300 yards was approaching elite. In the Big Ten this year there were 7 RBs with over 1k yards, and three over 1300. Mike Hart was the last Michigan RB to rush for over 1300 yards in 2007. We've had one RB go over 1000 yards since then (Toussaint in 2011).
One. That's abysmal for a program like Michigan.
For WRs, its a little harder but something like 1000 yards and 10 TD is probably a fairly safe elite benchmark. Manningham did that in 2007, Gallon had 1373 and 9 TDs in 2013, and that's been it.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:23 PM ^
our 4 RBS went over 2000 yards. if we had a smaller rotation one of them certainly would have broken 1000 yards
December 4th, 2016 at 4:30 PM ^
Maybe. But I also think if we had a 1000 yard back on the roster, Harbaugh would have given him the ball more.
Either way you cut, Michigan's rushing output was pretty meh this year.
December 4th, 2016 at 5:04 PM ^
I don't follow this argument. Smith averaged 4.9 YPC, Evans averaged 7.1, Higdon 6.2 and Isaac 5.6. Do you really think none of these guys could have reached 1,000 yards given more carries?
December 4th, 2016 at 3:46 PM ^
It's a whole machine type of deal too. Great OL, great RB. Great QB, great WR. Great RB, great WR. Great OL, great QB.
December 4th, 2016 at 8:48 PM ^
Yeah, it's not like Hoke had a bunch of mashers up front but just couldn't recruit WRs. This is why I'm trying not to be down about this year. I know we had a ton of experience, but the players we're going to have in the future with this coaching staff? Damn. I'm feeling pretty optimistic this team will be a top 10 team next year (in S&P at least). And then 2018 and 19 we're going to destroy people.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:34 PM ^
A lot to do with the fact that we don't cheat our asses off like most of the top teams do.
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December 4th, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^
you lose the interwebz for today.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:04 PM ^
Great post, by the way.
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:24 PM ^
Thanks. Only 1 top 120 composite WR in the last 7 years, just seems crazy for a school like Michigan. Kinda reinforces the idea that Hoke was a good recruiter, but mostly a defensive guy, and it shows with his WR recruiting.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:33 PM ^
And QB recruiting and even RB and OL recruiting. Is there a single top 100 Hoke offensive recruit that has lived up to their ranking?
December 4th, 2016 at 4:05 PM ^
When I get back to my computer I'm going to look into this. Hilarious and intriguing question...
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December 4th, 2016 at 4:39 PM ^
... unless I'm mistaken, the only top-100 offensive recruits from the Hoke era--besides a handful of O-linemen, none of whom have really equalled or excelled their recruting profile--have been Shane Morris, Derrick Green, and Drake Harris (and maybe Brian Cole, if you want to include him as an "athlete," though he was in the class that Harbaugh inherited). I suspect that Butt has been the best offensive recruit, though he was a top-200 player, not top-100, at least on 247.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:04 PM ^
Looks like not since manningham.
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:04 PM ^
Our offense has been good against shitty teams and painfully inept against the best teams for as long as I can remember. I'm 40 and I almost have forgotten what it feels like to be confident that we will win against a good team. I was there this year and then.... (need a "falls off cliff" emoji)
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:05 PM ^
The only playmaker Michigan has had on offense in like the last ten years has been Denard. No running backs, no WRs, nothing. Second best player is maybe Jake Butt.
Tired of seeing schools like Northwestern, PSU, Wisconsin, shit even Pitt, consistently have better skill players than Michigan.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:07 PM ^
Even with denard we couldn't do much vs good teams.
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:25 PM ^
I agree. That is one of the reasons why I don't think that this HAD to be the year like so many people think. Yes, the defense was great, but with Don Brown here the defense will most likely always be a top 15 defense. And yes, we still should have made it to the Big Ten championship and playoff this year.
The offense is what held this team back this year. The inability to run the ball/ make plays on offense late in games is what cost us this year. It is hard to close out games when you do not have a mauling offensive line. In due time Michigan will have an offensive line like the ones Harbaugh built at Stanford. The only dynamic players on offense this year were freshman (Eddie Mcdoom and Chris Evans).
With the incoming class and Freshman who already are on the roster, I think the offense could actually make a slight jump next year and then explode in two years.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:31 PM ^
Hard to tell what they will do. The OL is a real worry, as it was this year. But there's reason for optimism.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:37 PM ^
I think the frustration people may have had is tied to the fact that we know who we're losing on both sides of the ball, and because of Hoke's last two classes (if you don't remember how bad they were, go back and look) we don't have the players on the roster now to replace them. Harbaugh had a great class last year, and is putting together another great one, but you can't rely on true freshman and sophomores to take you very far.
So, people (myself included) can see the rebuild and step back ahead next season and its just a little frustrating because the success we all want was SO close this season and it'll be at least 2018 before we can get back to that level again.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:41 PM ^
Defense in particular will take a step back. Two generational guys and a number of other guys that are Greats in the annals of the program. You can't just replace Lewis and Peppers with anybody, no matter how much talent is in the pipeline.
The anxiety about the offense relates to: 1. The OL, which was a weakness and now loses guys; 2. The fact that we've seen guys who MAY develop into reliable players but have not yet proven that they will.
December 4th, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^
I loved Peppers, but I don't think he's as hard to replace as Lewis.
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December 4th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^
The OL is a big concern. It'll be filled with Cole, Hoke recruits that just never developed like Dawson, Kugler JBB, and REALLY young guys. Kinda sounds like a recipe for disaster.
December 4th, 2016 at 8:52 PM ^
Not with these coaches. Not saying they'll be All-Americans though. I don't see much of a dropoff at all from this year if Newsome can come back healthy next year.
December 4th, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^
The 2014 and 2015 classes are going to be roster problems next year. Some good players in there. But too few.
It is possible that the 2016 and 2017 classes (if it finishes as predicted) can fill the gaps. But with so many young guys playing early, there will be some WTF screw up moments.
December 5th, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^
Jeremy Gallon was special.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^
Would of been top 30 if he didn't get hurt.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:07 PM ^
He's been hurt since high school hasn't he?
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^
his senior year got cut short.
December 4th, 2016 at 8:53 PM ^
If he can put it together next year and be the Manningham he was supposed to be, that'll be so huge. Our young guys look good, but still young. And I doubt Moe Ways can be more than a steady possession receiver.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^
next year, high hopes for Brad Hawkins, and high hopes for Crawford, McDoom and Johnson. Would love to see DPJ, Nico, and T.B. come aboard.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:11 PM ^
I will not tolerate the Jeremy Gallon disrespect
December 4th, 2016 at 3:20 PM ^
I did forget just how good Gallon was. Had a monster season in 2013 -- 89 rec., 1373 yards and 9 TDs. The yardage was 8th nationally.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:29 PM ^
His connection with Gardner, from the day Gardner started at QB, was magical. Incredible route-runner.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:43 PM ^
I was really pulling for him to make it in New England. Thought it was a perfect spot.
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December 4th, 2016 at 3:55 PM ^
Me too. Sad face.
December 4th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
Dude had 14 catches for 369 yards against IU!
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December 4th, 2016 at 4:17 PM ^
The 2nd most single-game receiving yards in the history of college football.
Look @ what goes on in the big 12 every week. That's a hell of a record.