Michigan is not the only one recruiting un-heard-of's
Go to Rivals and look at Alabama's recruiting class for 2010:
A year removed from having the nation's number one recruiting class and they have three guys who have less-impressive offer-lists than Michigan's newest addition: Ronald Carswell, Jalston Fowler and Austin Shepherd, while a fourth one, Wilson Love, might be a push. I don't think it's worth worrying about.
Besides, this is how RichRod recruits. He has a "throw everything against a wall and see what sticks" mentality, and as we saw with Steve Slaton, it's often times the lowest rated recruit in his class that ends up being the biggest contributor.
In Rod we trust. Let's keep it that way.
Here here
Alabama has rebuilt their program and can afford to take kids who may be projects or would be special teams contributors. They have strong depth on both sides of the ball.
Michigan just came off a 3-9 season. During our spring game, most of our 2nd team defense had walk-ons playing. Our depth on our defense flat out sucks. Right now, we don't need alot of our kids to be projects; they need to be kids who can make an impact immediately. I know we'll be getting the defensive recruits, but the timing on Dileo's recruitment is really bad. For most fans, they're scratching their heads when they see that we have 6 WR commits. Though Dileo is a ST standout, he would be a player that we would pickup in another year or two. Right now we should focus on rebuilding depth, which we're sorely lacking.
Do you think there are just a ton of instant contributors waiting to jump on a Michigan offer? Those kids who can contribute right away are the highly rated recruits who everyone is going after. If RR just went after them we might get a few but then there would be a race to fill up the class come next February. I'd much rather fill up most of the class ahead of time with recruits RR thinks he can win with and have a couple spots left for those blue chip recruits who do choose Michigan. We just came off a 3-9 season as you said, that doesn't exactly draw top talent.
Well, the flip side of what you said is that theoretically a 3-9 team cannot get the immediate impact players. Also, I can't think of any team that would rather have a project player compared to an immediate impact player.
Why would a 3-9 team not be able to get them? If it's a traditional powerhouse, like us, recruits probably see a down season as good opportunity to quickly break into the lineup.
No offense, but I think this outlook is kind of silly.
Since Alabama has rebuilt their program, they can afford NOT to give scholarships to projects. The good teams can wait for good players to commit if they so choose.
The "rebuilding" or "mediocre" or "bad" teams are the ones who will take projects in the hopes that their raw talent can be sculpted and turn into something special.
The way you're talking, you would think USC's and Florida's mentalities would be, "Okay, we're already good with good players...let's recruit shitty players now!"
I will have to trust RR's judgement on this one. If the team sucks for the next two or three years, then I will have some serious doubts, but I just don't think that's going to happen.
The fact remains signing day is 9 months out, our class stands around 10 players so we have 10-15 more to go. Let us know if you are upset w/ our class next Feb.
....Rich Rod has recruited a quality linebacker (Kinnard), one of the best safeties in the country (M-Rob), one of the best wideouts in the country (Miller), one of the best in Michigan (Jackson), and the best QB in Michigan (Gardner).
He's in the mix for the best defender in Michigan (Gholston), a number of great RBs, numerous solid defensive backs who list us as their leader (Jenkins, Ifill, Wood, Christian), and will undoubtedly find more players after the camps.
What the hell is wrong with everyone? This is currently the second best commitment class behind Texas, has the makings of a top-5 class, and people are complaining NINE MONTHS FROM SIGNING DAY.
BOOM! ROASTED!
I think you'd see this anywhere. The quick hits are 2nd tier guys (all you're likely to get at a relatively full position with several highly rated guys in place already) just adding depth/potential position changes. They're also the most likely to "jump" on an offer early. If you're the highschool science wiz and the homecoming queen asks you to the prom, how many milliseconds till you say "yes, thank you, are you sure?"
WR's especially, are perhaps one of the most "flexible". Given 2 years to learn a spot, Slot, DB, coverage LB, S, KR/PR are all posibilities (obviously depends on size).
I think it's a good sign that our most needed positions aren't all wrapped-up yet. It means we're getting some guys who can afford to wait on a decision to consider us.
Is he a quality LB? At this point you can't say either way, but his offer list and his high school achievements wouldn't point to a quality D1 LB. He does have the athleticism, but that's all you can say right now.
So you named off 5 quality players, in your opinion, but UofM has 10 recruits, does that mean the other 5 we're just "hoping" contribute. This is what worries fans. We all understand that many recruits don't pan out, but the larger percent of top recruits you have the better chance you'll get players to pan out, look at USC, Florida and OSU. If half your players are top players and the other half are lower ranked "projects" then you most likely won't have enough talent on you team to compete at the same level as the top teams in the country. This is what worries UofM fans and why we second guess the staff when they bring in a Drake or Dileo.
How does Drake always get lumped in this argument? Drake plays against excellent competition, in a school that annually puts many kids into D1 programs, and he had good production numbers. Oh yeah, and he's quick as all hell. I've got no problem with the Drake commitment. Honestly, I've got no problem with the Dileo commitment either, if this is January 2010 and UM needs to fill its class. But, this early in the game, I don't know...
If you're the highschool science wiz and the homecoming queen asks you to the prom, how many milliseconds till you say "yes, thank you, are you sure?"
If movies and tv have not lied to me, it is probably a prank that her and her jock friends are playing on the science whiz.
But, fear not, the science kid and his nerdy friends will use their superior knowledge of science to turn the tables on them, and hilarity will ensue. At the end, the science whiz will realize that his nerdy female friend is actually beautiful when she takes off her glasses, and he realizes that what he was looking for was right in front of him all along, he just couldn't see it.
Fantastic. Maybe the only post worth a shit on this thread. Well, except maybe obes and magnus telling people to chill the fuck out. Ironic, eh Magnus?
Chill the fuck out.
Mmmm... hmmmmm... so then.... wait... what are you saying? Who is going to throw the eggs at who when they drive by in a limo with a sunroof on prom night?
Considering 90% of BCS programs don't have a spot for a 5'8" 150 pound slot receiver and/or "tailback" aka "quirkback" like a Vincent Smith, Every class will have 2-3 guys that are barely ranked with limited offers because there is no room for a guy that size at most schools. V. Smith, Drake, and Dileo are all players that would never be looked at by a Pro-style offense. So offensively, I'm not too concerned with overlooked slot receiver types.
However, the recent news with offering every single cornerback out of the state of Florida is somewhat alarming considering there are two orthree that we should insist on getting before filling spots with Witty-type-practice-players... Mathis, Wood, and Christian...
that witty will be just a practice player? i know for a fact the coaches don't think so, they expect him to contribute immediately.
Hopefully Witty turns into the next Charles Woodson, so I hope you are right. Hopefully all these guys pull an Ezeh and are studs in their redshirt-freshman seasons. Mike Hart, B. Edwards, etc. And of course the coaching staff wants every guy to contribute right away, but not all 22 this year will, and not all 83 players are going to. I hope you are right because that will just mean we have a better secondary, but chances are he redshirts or gets special teams play and waits his turn (like almost all freshman).
The fact Witty is a barely-three-star "overlooked" player that arguably got a schollie to get Denard on campus is the exact type of player that has people freaking out about giving out "free" schollies. Whether it's to keep the Cass Tech line going, or to get a teammate to commit, or someone who fits the system in spite of a low ranking, fans are seemingly reacting to any 3-star that commits with negativity.
We are already seeing an example of the fans less than enthusiastic opinion of a player based on a 3-star small recuit. V. Smith looks to be legit and will be playing some tailback. I doubt no one thought that a year ago... (I thought he was a slot until he got on campus)
I think you mean "quarkback". Quirkbacks are just weird.
recruiting. If we get to the same place as Mr. Oversigner who has the Attrition Fairy sprinkle pixie dust on enough players who "coincidentally" to leave the program to fit the scholie number, then I will wonder what in the hell we are doing.
The issue is that not everything can "stick" with a limited number of spots for the needs which is part of the current uneasiness right now. This feels different since it is different from the considerably lower numbers of offers that Carr's staff had made in previous years starting with Morrison acting at the recruiting coordinator. I am not saying "wrong", just "different".
I understand the concern, but I think of it like this, if Pete Carroll decides he wants a kid he can pretty much go out and get whomever he wants becasue he is who he is and USC is what USC is. Pete and USC have built a reputation and now from the recruiting aspect you have to respect what they have achieved. I think RR knows that the he has to build that reputation before he can compete on the Pete Carroll level. These next few years willl prove how good of a coach he is. If he can take all of these 3 star "no-name" guys and have a lot of success then people will be lining up to play for RR. It is just going to take some time.
RR's spread has 4 WR / slots on the field, so it takes 8 just to make the two deep. He has repeatedly said he wants 12 on scholarship to fulfill this. All of these guys aren't going to be 4* or 5* guys, so some have to come from the 3* mold.
Keep in mind that Mike Hart, a 3*, was by many considered a "throw in" or "project" behind 4* "immediate impact player" Max Martin. We all know how that one turned out.
I'm not trying to say that Dielo = Mike Hart, but just don't have a heart attack b/c we have a couple of 3* or "project" players.
RR is definitely looking for players with the right mindset and work ethic to excel in his system. I remember reading somewhere that the worst thing you can call a player in RR's system is lazy or soft. A player might not be highly ranked or be an eye-popping physical specimen, but if he "loves football" and demonstrates to the coaches the ability to maximize his talent, RR will accept the verbal commitment.
I think it's important to remember that RR is trying to change the attitude of the program as well as the system.
The issue isn't that we don't like 3* no name recruits. The issue is that we already have 4 WR's in this class with a stable of WR's already in the program. WR IS NOT A PRIORITY.
I agree. I wouldn't care if RR threw a bunch of middling LBs and DTs these offers; but he seems to be focusing heavily on RBs and WRs, even though those two positions are reasonably well-stocked. As Brian has mentioned earlier, I am worried that guys like Dileo might be on the receiving end of those uncomfortable freeze-outs that this staff has done to a few kids, convincing them to de-commit to open up another scholarship. I would never act like I know more than RR as a recruiter, but based on the limited evidence we have seen so far, I am worried that he might be over-extending himself a bit.
Gurus' rank according to how athletes project to the NFL if I am not mistaken. So if you are a WR and you are short, the chances of you going pro are very slim. This guy Dileo is probably not the type of NFL player who will run deep routes and outplay his defender for jump balls. But he may be exactly the type of player who can catch a slant/screen and make one guy miss. Because against a spread it is tough to play zone. Defenses need to man up. So if he can make one guy miss...it could be a huge gainer or a TD.
Delio is a return specialist. So he knows how to make guys miss tackles. He has decent speed and he can catch and hold onto the ball. He might just be exactly what RR is looking for.
with 2- and 3-star players, I don't know why that's not possible at Michigan. People are freaking out before we've had any evidence on the field of how good these recruits are going to be. If we go 5-7 the next two years then there'll be reason to say the sky is falling, but until then there's no sense in panicking.