Message from Chaparral coach
So a guy I used to work with left the company about a year ago to follow is passion of coaching. He got a job coaching the defensive line at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, AZ. For those of you that don't know, Chaparral produced Craig Roh and Taylor Lewan and is the current home of Michigan target Andre Y. I recently reached out to him to ask about Andre Y and what he may be hearing about Michigan and here is what he had to say:
"You know we have two kids already playing at Michigan, Craig Roh, and Taylor Lewhan. So you know they are already in his ear to make it a chap-town trio up there. Both are studs, you saw what Craig can do this past season, freshman all american. and Taylor should start at Tackle in the fall. He's the next Jake Long, Trust me. Yes Andre Y. is a beast, I told him how impressed I was with Rich Rod, his staff and the facilities when we (chaparral coaching staff) went up to Ann Arbor last spring. Dude I fell in love with Michigan; I'm a big fan now. But we will see, he is high on SC , UCLA and Washington, what can I say kids here grow up watching Pac 10 ball. But he said he was definitely going to take a visit to Michigan. I guess we will see."
Not a whole lot of new information but I thought it was cool to hear what he had to say about his time with Rich Rod and what not. Anyways, I will try to make it to a Chaparral game this fall and will share my thoughts on Andre Y.
How do we get Jake Long to give him a five minute phone call?
I could be wrong but I think that's a recruiting violation, so let's say we don't.
(Remember Reggie Bush's alleged phone call to Joe McKnight that sealed his commitment to USC?)
"Reggie Bush called Joe McKnight? Let's put that in the violations queue." -- NCAA
Seriously though, a phone call is probably the most minor of all the things that Bush and McKnight did at USC.
March 31st, 2010 at 12:27 PM ^
If we're deciding what to do based on consequences, maybe we ought to start flaunting some of the same rules USC does. They seem not to be catching a swift kick to the pants seat. And every day they get away with pulling ridiculous crap with complete impunity my soul cries out with rage.
...is "chap-town" pronounced "shap-town" or "chap-town"?
Seriously though, glad to know that the coaching staff has such a good opinion of Michigan. HS coaching staff visits are a huge part of recruiting success and it sure seems like the football program is using them to its advantage.
It's pronounced shap.
...but it's nice to get confirmation. You never know when "chap-town" might come up in casual conversation and Lord knows I wouldn't want to be THAT GUY who doesn't know the correct pronunciation. Awkward...
Taylor is the next Jake Long?
Yes please!
You can post all day long about T. Lewan being the next Jake Long. Never gets old.
It's like watching my man Jack Bauer killing fucking scumbags, yeah it's tired, but I still love it.
Lewan/Long/Lewan/Long/Lewan/Long.....OL with a nasty streak I'll eat up with a spoon as well.
While I like what I am hearing about TL, I think it's a bit premature to say he's the next JL. As for Andre Y, UM will have an uphill battle recruiting this kid if he's a big Pac 10 fan and UCLA, USC and Wash are knocking on his door.
I don't know, I think having friends already on the team will help us hugely. Pahokee and Trotwood are good examples.
Isn't this where everyone on this board rips this guy for not knowing anyone and having no sources? Oh... that is only if he said something we don't want to hear? Noted.
You're new here*, so mistakes are acceptable.
* - yes, I know he's not new here.
I want Michigan football news, even if it isn't all good news. And bearers of bad news at mgoblog shouldn't be neg-bombed because they aren't telling us what we want to hear.
Why do we need sources for stuff we already know?
There was literally zero new information in this post (no offense, OP) to people who follow this sort of stuff.
Whether it's good or bad news, no sources are needed for something like this.
Where do you get piss flavored Corn Flakes?
/I didn't neg you, you grumpy old bastard you.
"Isn't this where everyone on this board rips this guy for not knowing anyone and having no sources? Oh... that is only if he said something we don't want to hear? Noted."
I realize it really isn't new information, the part that stuck out to me was his thoughts on Rich Rod and Michigan after their (Chaparral coaches) visit. With all the negative stuff we hear about Rich Rod I thought I would pass along some positive news.
How do I not have a source for this information? The guy is personal friend of mine who just sent me this message. I left out his name for obvious reasons and left out the personal part of the message as well. The guy is my friend and coaches at Chaparral how that isn't a source I have no idea.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:16 PM ^
If you don't want people to know who your friend is you might not want to tell us where he works and his role on the coaching staff. A few clicks of a mouse came up with this. Just sayin.
Steve Williams - Defensive Line Coach
Coach Williams is excited to enter his first year of coaching with the Chaparral Firebirds football team. Originally from Buffalo, New York, he grew up in a military family and traveled throughout the country eventually settling down in San Angelo, TX. He attended San Angelo Central High School where he was a decorated running back for the Bobcats and one of the conference leading rushers his senior year. Following a successful high school career, he was recruited to play for Eastern New Mexico University. At ENMU Coach Williams was a two time all Lone Star Conference player for the Greyhounds and was considered one of the best full backs in the LSC. After graduating and receiving his degree in Telecommunications he enjoyed a successful career in Sales/Recruiting in the IT staffing industry. Coach Williams has been happily married to his lovely wife Vivian for 13 years, they have 3 children, Arianna, Tre and Jared.
Last year, maybe August, a regular poster here at mgoblog put something up about a source close to the Michigan team, and how this would lead to some good inside posts throughout the season. There was enough info in that op that it was easy enough to figure out who the source was, and to put a reply post making it clear I knew the id of the inside source. Both that op and my response were edited/redacted to obscure the id. Why? Because if the name/id is out there, it compromises the inside source, as well as the poster. This protection of the id of the op and the source led to later very good inside info on this board.
Even yesterday, I read in another post about a coach back in the Carr era, iirc, who said something inside that was traced to him, and blew his inside status.
My point is this: even if there is a legit source, and real inside info, sometimes you either just have to keep your mouth shut, or be very circumspect in honoring anonymity. Your very "outing" of the id of this coach is in bad form, and shouldn't have been done. Now, you could have asked the OP to find out if the source was willing to go "on record." This is something that Tom VH does regularly. If you have permission to attribute a source, you do it. Otherwise, you either honor the anonymity by posting nothing, or you obscure enough of the info to protect your source.
I assume you're referring to that one guy who said his uncle's friend went to a dinner with some guy who heard RR cussin' like an Appalachian sailor*.
To me, the differences are: (1) the OP actually spoke to the source, rather than speaking to a source who spoke to a source (who may have spoken to a source, I can't remember now); (2) Cussin' by a football coach? THE HORROR!; and (3) in general, since this blog trades in both actual information and feel-good stories, given the relative lack of sourcing of both (though see (1) above), we'd just as soon hear the good stuff, thanks.
* May be an oxymoron.
Andre keeps me updated pretty frequently every week. He has family in Oregon, so he's naturally high on them.
That coach is right about USC. The recent offer has definitely caught his attention, and their coaching staff was excited about it, as well.
This is going to be close, and I think he's an honest situation of it could go either way. I know that Taylor has been a big influence on him, and he has a genuine high interest in Michigan, so we'll see.
I'll be at some of their games this year, so I'll have some video for you once the season starts in the fall.
I used to work with a guy, who had a sister who worked with an aunt of the god-cousin of a recruit. This guy told me that he talked to the nephew of the recruits grandfather who was with a girl and she told him and he told me that there is nothing new to note about the recruit.
Seriously, I did....
Haha seriously this guy is personal friend of mine and I left out his name for obvious reasons. I can attach the part of the message where he talks about his 3 kids if that helps.
It isn't a surprize that other colleges would like him and offer him, it isn't a surprize that he would look around, I am just glad that we are still on the table for this guy. If he gives us an honest look that is great, it says a lot for RR and our program that top recruits are still looking at us and considering us, even though we have had two bad years in a row.
I thought we had a good shot at Andre Y. until USC offered. We'll see what happens with the NCAA.
March 31st, 2010 at 11:58 AM ^
Perhaps Andre Y will smell the Vinegar and Water on Lane Kiffins breath and run from that douchebag.
I really hope we end up getting him but that USC offer scares me.
For high school coaches at a program like Chaparral, is there a push to get kids into the elite college programs in order to better sell their own program? I've been in places where "local kid goes to _______" is a great source of pride for the town, but stops there. I've also been places where sending any kid to a DI school was huge because it meant that more of the kids at the school would get some looks. I've also been places where getting kids into great college football programs meant more kids enrolling/transferring/families moving into the school district because they saw that as the surest path to greatness.
What position is Chaparral in?
Chaparral just won the state championship in their division this past season, and they're in Scottsdale. Their coach, Ragle, is very highly regarded by college coaches and his players.
They have a really good program. It's always a big deal to send athletes to D1 schools, but it's not something they need to sell their program. The coaching staff is one of the better groups in the state.
Charlie Ragle coached at ASU for a little while, and played in the CFL (I think).