That's only the case when you trust the judgement of your coaches. I wouldn't have said the same always for Hoke/Rich Rod. Fortunately for us, Harbaugh and this staff has pretty good evaluation and development skills so their top targets > final rankings.
deleted. not the time or place.
I love reading that Michigan is getting the guys they want. I have a lot of faith in the coaching staff, and know that Brown and Hamilton and Mattison and Drevno (and obviously Harbaugh) see things that maybe the recruiting rankings don't see. To be honest, I've wondered if the talent was dropping off a bit in 2018. This piece gives me faith that things are going the way the coaches want. I'm hoping that from 2018 on, we will be putting guys on the field that Michigan wants on the field, and that we'll have the depth we need to be able to bring solid backups onto the field in case of injury, etc.
One thing I was curious about was how coaches viewed McCall at OG and Gervin out of Cass at corner. I vaguely recall that Michigan might have been a bit meh on both. But honestly, I wouldn't know.
This article totally flew under my radar and I would've missed it.
Thanks again.
Good read! Of course, given the dearth of substantive content at this juncture of the offseason, it may just have seemed good...
As far as team rankings we won't be as high as last year simply because of class size. You have team in front of us now with a couple of 4 stars and 14 3 stars like OK state, Maryland 3 4 stars, UCLA 3 4 stars but for overall quality this class will be fine especially if they hit on a couple of the big targets still on the board.
Look for the BBC at the Big House to bring someone in. Not to get ahead of ourselves but look where we stand as of now with the 19 recruiting class, it could be very special
Haha just noticed that
Harbaugh has the train rolling
Interesting article, especially about Notre Dame.
“I know they’re basically biding their time with Notre Dame,” Lorenz said. “At least from their standpoint, I don’t think they expect Notre Dame to have a great season. I think they may be able to try to pick off a couple of (Notre Dame’s) guys.”
I wonder what guys they are going to go after from their class. I know their running back commit is a teammate of Emil Ekiyor Jr, so I'd assume he'd be one.
I was thinking the same thing
Below is a list of UM-ND battles that UM would still keep recruiting even if they're committed to ND.
- Cameron McGrone (not yet committed, but it looks like it's between UM and ND);
- Shayne Simon (not yet committed, but it looks like he's leaning ND as two of his teammates have comitted to ND and there's some scuttlebutt that some of the coaches at St. Peters Prep out of NJ are anti-Partridge); and
- Jayson Ademilola - 4 Star DT (committed to ND along with his brother who is a 3-star DE).
Lorenz is well-reputed, though. He would know what their board looks like.
Remember that Brown and Harbaugh are both used to recruiting under-the-radar type guys. Neither of them previously coached at a powerhouse like Michigan, so they HAD to scout well in order to do well, because they weren't going to beat Bama/USC/Texas for top recruits.
that they aren't that happy with the guys they got in their recruiting class, or that they weren't really the guys they wanted most? Pretty much never. Being publicly delighted with your recruits, whoever they are, is just boilerplate coachspeak.
And not that relevant, anyway. What matters is whether they turn their recruits into a winning team.
B+ is "fluff"? Lol, alright.
Michigan has gotten two top targets at cornerback in Gemon Green and Myles Sims. Mayfield and Hayes were top targets after the Frey hire and Milton was the first QB Pep Hamilton offered after his hire.
Otis Reese was/is literally their top VIPER target and Emil Ekiyor is a Top100 prospect.
It's not fluff to say almost every one of their verbals was at or near the top of their board at their respective positions.
Jedd Fisch offered those other quarterbacks.
Outside of Trevor Lawrence and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, I am about 99% confident that Hamilton preferred Milton and Tyler Shough over everybody else; the two guys he offered.
look at talent on a team and decide based on playing time. We are stacked at talent in the QB position for the next 4 to 5 years. But still a bit surprised the top QB this year did not want Harbaugh's toolage.
I share your scepticism about them getting their top targets. That doesn't seem to be true at QB or TE.
Those guys do seem to be in the same range - along with Brevan(?) and Mallory, the TEs we already lost out on to Miami. I look forward to them regretting the decision to go elsewhere.
In my experience, his recruiting updates are the exact opposite. He seems to have actual evidence for his views, even if he can't openly speak of his sources. When he's guessing, he'll make it explicit and often offer up reasons behind the guess. If you've ever heard him on the MGoBlog podcast, the guy is completely opposite of the self-promoting bluster you see in the recruiting world.
Edit: I think his responses to your comment are a pretty good example of what I wrote in this comment.
I think you're think of top targets as if its a far more limited subset of players than it actually is. Their top targets at CB could be 5-6 guys that they view with relatively equal value. Getting 2 of those guys would mean that they got their top targets at the position. Same for other positions. If their top target is only one player at a given position and they don't get him, then yes, they aren't getting all of their top targets.
Agree with many posters about trusting Harbaugh and Co. and their evaluation of talent. Coach knows what he wants this future roster to look like
But one of the talking heads from the national media proclaimed that Jim was the best coach to get you to the NFL.
I was surprized, as I would think Saban would get that honor on volume alone. Granted with all the blue chippers, it makes it a bit easier.
I hope everyone starts thinking that way. Go Blue.