Michigan Pursuing Linebackers
I know many people have been concerned with the lack of interest from MIKE (middle) linebackers so far in this class. But this article (paywall) goes into a little detail on the recruiting situation.
Rivals Paywall link
Michigan is looking at Jeremiah George, a 3-star linebacker from Florida, and are showing interest in Greg Hickman, another 3-star from Florida as well.
I haven't been able to watch film on either and neither offer list is particularly impressive, but I just thought some people wouldn't mind knowing this.
October 20th, 2009 at 4:51 PM ^
would you want to spend your time chasing D Rob, M Shaw, V Smith, Tate, etc., around the practice field all week?
October 20th, 2009 at 5:05 PM ^
here we go again with the 3* recruits of Rich Rod.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:29 PM ^
Pat White was a 3-star player. Just sayin'.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:47 PM ^
was a 5 star...just sayin'
Oh wait, but so was Henne! Now I'm confused!
October 20th, 2009 at 7:24 PM ^
was his fuck lion?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:10 PM ^
The fucklion was initially a top 250 prospect, but moved up to the top 100 after the birdbath.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:14 PM ^
sadly i was only a three star
October 20th, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^
Yeah. Soon we'll be as bad as Iowa's defense, with their average player's star rating at 2.81 to our current 4.00.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:27 PM ^
I know you're being sarcastic (right?), but I really have no problem with 3* recruits. It's just nice to get higher rated guys to make your program look better, really. A lot of 3 star guys end up doing well and have a ton of upside. If Rich likes something in a 3 star, then I trust he knows something most people don't. It's nice to see that they are from florida. I'm guessing the guys are a little quicker and that's why he's taking a shot with them possibly.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:05 PM ^
thanx for the info
October 20th, 2009 at 5:47 PM ^
Does David Harris have any eligibility left?
October 20th, 2009 at 8:00 PM ^
And whatever happened to that Antonio Bass fellow?
October 21st, 2009 at 12:56 AM ^
And apparently some people don't remember the MgoMeme.
October 20th, 2009 at 6:10 PM ^
down to Mike after Ezeh graduates...
October 20th, 2009 at 6:18 PM ^
If the best option at MLB after 2010 is a 5'10 195 lb walkon safety, something has gone terribly wrong.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:30 PM ^
he was being sarcastic at least I hope he is.
October 20th, 2009 at 7:21 PM ^
Unless you have other, newer information, Jeremiah George has NOT been offered by Michigan. That article clearly states that Michigan is showing interest and requested tape of him, but he hasn't been offered.
That being said, I wouldn't mind if Michigan tried to get in on him. He's undersized and has some kinks to work out, but if this kid were 6'3" and 225 instead of 5'10" and 190 or so, he'd probably be a big-time recruit. He has good fundamentals, he's a solid athlete, and he's a good hitter.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:51 PM ^
Yes, that was my bad.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:02 AM ^
"He's undersized and has some kinks to work out, but if this kid were 6'3" and 225 instead of 5'10" and 190 or so, he'd probably be a big-time recruit"
that's a pretty huge "if", Magnus.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:54 AM ^
each kid is an "if" when they come in! they are kids! "like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get" looks good maybe on the outside terrible on the inside, of course it could be great on the inside, one may not look particularly good on the outside but is amazing on the inside. sometimes you just have to be patient and trust the people in control!
October 20th, 2009 at 7:40 PM ^
RR and staff find some diamond in the rough Defensive recruits should the top tier kids fall through. THis team is in need of some serious help on the defensive side of the ball.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:08 PM ^
If M Rob moves to OLB, maybe we'll get Demens, Fitzgerald, etc. to move to MLB?
October 20th, 2009 at 9:13 PM ^
They wouldn't have to "move" to ILB - they already play there.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:17 PM ^
Thought they were OLB's...
October 20th, 2009 at 9:23 PM ^
Nope. They're both MIKEs. The depth chart goes: Ezeh, Fitzgerald, Demens.
Just FYI: the WILL also counts as an inside linebacker (Mouton, Leach, Smith).
The two outside linebacker positions are SAM (S. Brown) and Quick (Roh).
October 20th, 2009 at 9:25 PM ^
Right on. Thanks man.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:32 PM ^
I. Bell and M. Jones to that list as ILB's. Not that they are factors on the depth chart this year but maybe by next year and certainly 2011 they should be.
October 21st, 2009 at 3:51 PM ^
Pretty sure Mike Jones (and maybe Bell) are not ILBs. Mike Jones is listed behind Floyd Simmons on the depth chart for SAM. Bell is a converted safety/linebacker so he would also be a SAM, correct me if I'm wrong?
October 21st, 2009 at 7:08 PM ^
Yeah, Jones is a SAM.
I believe (although I'm not sure) that Bell has been playing WILL. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
October 21st, 2009 at 8:38 PM ^
I just remember an RR press conference a couple weeks back that they were looking to move Jones inside.
And I think you're right about Bell being at Will but I was just noting other ILB's not just MLB's because you listed both.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:06 PM ^
Yeah, I remember him saying that they might move Jones inside. My impression was that it could be a potential position change in the off-season. I didn't think it had already happened.
It's probably a good move. I remember saying that Jones would be a LB in college and a lot of people saying, "No, he's definitely a safety."
Of course, I really wanted Bell to stay at safety, and that hasn't happened... I thought that kid could be a stud safety if he didn't bulk up too much and lose his speed.
October 20th, 2009 at 10:45 PM ^
this guy hasn't been offered by Michigan
EDIT: walked right into that one
October 20th, 2009 at 9:37 PM ^
OT. P.T.I. Does anyone know the name of the guy RR and Stevie Brown were talking about on special teams. O'Henne or something like that. I looked on the participation list and didn't see anything resembling the name I heard in the presser. Thanks
October 20th, 2009 at 9:45 PM ^
Dang he's a senior. Thanks, never new his first name, hope to see him get a JOP in a future game.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:47 PM ^
He's a fifth year walk on senior that's been putting in his time.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
All due respect to Jason Kovacs and crew, but when you're starting walk-ons, 3*s look attractive.
That said, our defensive recruiting really needs to improve, with the DT signing day defections last year, and the low balance of top prospects this year ... needs to be a key focus for 2011.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:01 AM ^
Just sayin'
October 21st, 2009 at 10:44 AM ^
Talent wins. Period. You need it. Now there are a TON of three-stars, so the likelihood of them not working out is high. Also, since there are so many of them, many work out just fine--and face it--if they are a three star and turn into an All American, well ten they have been mis-rated.
We can go on and on, but for me the bottom line is this: I do not believe Rich Rodriguez came to Michigan to constantly have to look for three stars or dimaonds in the rough. He came here to ply his system to Michigan-type talent (and then some). Even the Mighty Barwis has said, "Give me the five stars and I can get more out of them" (paraphrased, of course).
We don't need to go so deep into justifying a roster full of Drew Dileos that we simply dismiss recruiting rankings as if they don't mean diddly. You look at the teams winning the most games, and they have one thing in common: They recruit better than everybody else.
If you think everybody every coach recruits is a "first choice" or someone they REALLY want, you are mistaken. They all take their share of fliers after the first tier guys are all gone or show no interest. And yes, they also look for "fits"
Now, our defensive recruiting must get better--I do think it will--and I also think this class is not one to panic over because our defense is young and allegedly talented. But you MUST recruit defensive players who have played DEFENSE (IMO) because I am a big believer in things like instinct, what a player has been doing for the bulk of his career, attitude, and the direction his (or her) coaching has gone for most of their playing careers.
Much has been made of Rodriguez's winning with "inferior talent"--ummmm, his talent has not been "inferior" within his conference. He has taken so called "less talented" teams to the bowl games with great results from 2004-2007, no doubt.
Butto GET to bowl games and to be a perrenial power in the Big Ten, he will need to get Michigan-type talent (and then some) or he won't make it out of the league.
October 21st, 2009 at 10:53 AM ^
about his inferior talent. But I do agree that we need decent talent to compete year in and year out and reload like USC and Florida. Give it time and a good finish to this season and you will see the recruiting pick up.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:11 AM ^
Don't the recruiting gurus assign stars & ranks based on projection to the NFL level (as opposed to the college level)?
October 21st, 2009 at 1:17 PM ^
the NFL projection is a part of the projection for sure, but not all of it.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:42 AM ^
Wasn't David Harris a 1 star NR coming out of High School, seems he worked out well too.
October 22nd, 2009 at 1:29 AM ^
In the past, it was not uncommon for Michigan and other Big Ten teams to load up on mid-level running back and wide receiver recruits and then move some of them to LB or DB rather than wasting their talent as the #5 or #6 tailback on the roster. Ian Gold is probably the best example of this at the linebacker position, and then Charles Woodson of course at DB. I don't follow the recruiting stuff as much--is this a strategy that Rich Rod is likely to employ, or can we pretty much expect all five of the WRs coming in 2010 to stay on offense?