MOAR ESPN!!! UM "in the drivers seat" for Hand and Peppers...
Again, title says it pretty much says it all. Rundown of the 'top ten' recruiting battles.
A bit discouraging to see how many of the players have interest only in Southern schools. Pretty emblematic of why the B10 is a pretty weak conference right now.
OTOH, very nice to see Michigan feature prominently with two of the top guys in the country.
EDIT: Insider content
Not going to give too much away, but Lorenz posted encouraging news on 247 this week on Hand. His Dad apparently loves Michigan.
Your avatar adds to the humor.
/s right? Please be sarcarm
We have evidence otherwise. http://mgoblog.com/content/rating-raters-reviewing-recruiting-services-success-and-bias
Other than that, I like 247
I thought you were going to say, "other than that, I like whoever else has positive information about Michigan."
Alabama has put together their dominant run based on elite defensive players and elite offensive linemen. M doesn't quite have the haul of elite defensive players but look like they're becoming quite the magnet for elite talent. Can't say enough about how great this staff is at recruiting, especially trying to pull guys into a struggling B1G
Uhhhh.... Alabama has put together their dominant run based on elite EVERYTHING through any means possible.
I posted something similar at The Den on Wolverine Nation a short while ago - I don't believe we're in the driver's seat for Hand. A number of other services outside of ESPN have him going to VT. TVH usually has great stuff and I have no doubt that Hand is legitimately interested, but I think if he had to make a decision tomorrow it would still be VT. At best we'd have a 50/50 shot. From reading his comments, it clearly sounds like Michigan and VT are his top two choices at the moment, but it's to say that either is truly in the "driver's seat" at this point in time.
I think you can somewhat say that we're in the driver's seat for Peppers, but that's tentative too. He still hasn't visited Stanford yet, which is supposed to be his other presumptive favorite.
I like how things are shaping up so far, but we're still some time away from getting any real clarity on whether Peppers or Hand will be part of Team 135.
We might still be behind VT for Hand at the moment but that gap seemed to be wider a few months ago, and there's a lot of time left for Michigan to convince him. Of course, that also means there's time for others to convince him, but he's been a sought-after guy for a good while and seems like he's already done a lot of the winnowing.
VaTech was also thought to be in the driver's seat for Derrick Green around this time last year. It's not VaTech I'm worried about, it's one of the SEC schools making a strong push. They are the recruiting equivalent of Kim Kardashian right now, both in terms of looks and reputation.
Given that both Hand and Peppers seem to be very serious about academics (or at least, way beyond just the usual lip service), I wouldn't be as worried about the SEC swooping in.
I don't know if it's safe to assume that a kid who is serious about academics won't end up at an SEC school. He could go to Alabama and get a 4.0 there. Also, Florida, which Hand is considering, is a decent school academically.
But you're right in the sense that Stanford is probably a bigger threat for Peppers than the SEC is.
The B1G has way better academics then the SEC, But sadly not all the guys playing sports in college care about academics and having an impressive degree. Instead they prefer their best shot going pro. Michigan is in the top twenty rankings by US news for all around academics, the best academic school in the SEC is Vandy(Not a big football threat). I wish nowadays recruits would care more about academics, it would give the B1G a boost!
April 20th, 2013 at 12:09 AM ^
Kids who are actually serious about academics are generally interested in learning, not just getting a high GPA without trying. That would kind of defeat the purpose. GPA doesn't show up on your diploma, the name of the school does.
GPA goes on your resume though. I know we like to har har at SEC academics and rightfully so but Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, etc. are widely respected public schools in the south, based on local reputation, if you're looking to work in that region.
Based on GPA. That doesn't mean much at all. A Michigan degree says more than a 4.0 at second-tier academic institution. To put it another way, no one says, "Sure you went to Harvard, but you only had a 2.6 GPA."
Whether we're talking about hockey, football, or basketball, most talk about academics is eyewash. I've heard that assertion plenty over the last decade, and most often the kid ends up at a school that isn't even in the same universe as UM from an overall academic perspective. Remember Myron Rolle? He put UM recruiting geeks into a state of euphoria with his stated desire to go to medical school; after all, how could any kid who wants to become a doctor turn down UM? Lots of people thought he was a slam dunk to be a Wolverine.
He went to Florida State and ended up a Rhodes Scholar.
I'm not disputing that Hand and Peppers have said academics are important to them, but saying that doesn't necessarily lead to choosing Michigan. Unless they are extremely unusual kids, their primary goal is to play in the NFL first, and they'll base their choice on which school they think will best help them reach that goal.
April 19th, 2013 at 10:35 PM ^
They are the recruiting equivalent of Kim Kardashian right now, both in terms of looks and reputation.Pregnant and slutty?
I know all about the Pimp Hand, but the Pepper Hand seems... really legit...
Can someone help me with the Brady Pallante situation? He isn't listed a commit on rivals or ESPN. Is he a preferred walk on? The thing that throws me is that Scout has him listed.
He accepted a grey shirt scholarship so he will not count against our scholarship number until next year. That could be why he is listed on some sites and not on others.
...so he'll count for next year
He accepted a grey-shirt scholarship. From my understanding of it, he has to pay a semester of tutition out of his own pocket (or wait a semester I suppose) but after that he is on scholarship for the winter term of his freshman year.
Most experts have Hand with a top 2 of VT and Michigan. Peppers has a top 2 of Stanford and Michigan.
If you want to play that game...
Michigan is 4-6 in their last 10 bowl games.
We have won the B1G twice in that span.
Also Va Tech has won the ACC 4 times in that span.
You can't play that game. It's not all about recent success, or else we would not be recruiting at the level we are. It's about coaching staff, and Hand's favorite coach is Bud Foster. It's about proximity to home, and Hand is from Virginia. It's about so many other things, saying "We're Michigan Fergodsakes", while a great rally call, is a cop out and just dumb to say in this instance.
Not sure why threads for paywalled articles are allowed. If information is shared it's a violation, and if it isn't, what's the point?
Proximity isn't a big difference. I've driven from NJ to both UM and the VT area, and depending on where in Jersey he is and how fast you're going, we're talking about the difference between roughly a 10 hr drive vs. an 8 hr drive.
As someone from NJ, 10 hour drive from NJ to Michigan is about right. A little on the quick side, but accurate.
Also keep on mind, Peppers, who is from NJ, is not considering VT. His top two are us and Stanford. Hand, from VA, has a top two of us and VT. And both these top two's are assumed based on what people have been saying, not the kid's official top two's.
Yeah, I got confused by a comment above incorrectly stating that Peppers was interested in VT due to proximity.
Great job pointing that out!
I have literally never hear anyone refer to Michigan as UM!
It's not like we have it trademarked or something.
EDIT! I see where the confusion is! According to the University:
"The preferred way to refer to the University of Michigan in abbreviated form is U-M, with a hyphen"
He just forgot to put the hyphen in there and thus completely addled your brain.
Upvoted you for use of word addled
"dumbass" modtag?
I watched a video yesterday were Hand said he needed to correct people and that VT was not his favorite school, just that Bud Foster is his favorite coach, that if he were just a regular guy he thinks they'd be good friends. His praise of UofM was the most effusive and he said we had 'an amazing coaching staff.'
Could you post a link please?