andrewgr

January 18th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^

Based on composite rankings, Michigan's only top 150 recruit is Reese, who checks in at #77.

Half of the class is ranked #500 or worse.

There's no good way to spin that.  Michigan is coming off of two very good recruiting years, so the sky isn't falling, but they certainly can't afford another year like this one in next 3 years with the way OSU and PSU are recruiting.

Blue4You

January 18th, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^

Ruckert and Michigan tight end commitment Mustapha Muhammad are on the same team in Hawaii, but Ruckert said there is no reason to trash talk with Muhammad about their future rivalry game, the Buckeyes and the Wolverines.
“I don’t know why they call it a rivalry,” Ruckert said. “I think we’ve won the last [six] in a row and [13] of the last [14]. So I don’t see it as a rivalry.”

Bulletin board material...

canzior

January 18th, 2018 at 1:19 PM ^

uses his TE's a lot, and that's what they've been selling recruits. Also they can just say "hey, our WR's suck...who else would we throw the ball to? This years "Percy Harvin (as brought up by every single announcer in the last 10 years during an Urban Meyer coached game)can only catch so many passes!"

Scarlatina

January 18th, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^

HIstorically, tight ends are not heavily involved in the passing game with Urban's offense, but most expect that to change this upcoming season with OC Kevin Wilson entering the 2nd year of his tenure with new starters at QB and TE. Based on Wilson's history as an offensive mind, he will readily use tight ends if a star player emerges (e.g. Jermaine Gresham).

This year's starter at tight end, senior Marcus Baugh only had 304 receiving yards and 5 TDs, but will probably still get drafted. NFL teams do seem to highly value college tight ends that can block at a high level, and are still athletic enough to be involved in the passing game if needed (i.e. Nick Vannett [3rd round; #94 overall], and Jeff Heuerman [3rd round; #94 overall]).

mgobaran

January 18th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^

24/7 has a bunch of Michigan guys rated stronger than their composite ranking. Let's hope 24/7 is right! I would be interesting to see where our class ranked if they used just the 24/7 ranking, instead of the composite.

 

GoBLUE_SemperFi

January 18th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^

I am actually very pleased with this class.  I've seen a few comments made by individuals here, "I've been telling you since Novemember, that this class was going to be bad".  Which is interesting, considering that I have been hearing for well over a year that this was going to be a smaller, more of a "maintenance" class...that was never expected to be in the top 10.

Cdat33

January 18th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^

Mayfield - 126

Hayes - 140

Not to bad I'd say. It would be nice to see a few of the remaining targets decide on the good guys and this class will round out rather nicely. 

Cdat33

January 18th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^

Mayfield - 126

Hayes - 140

Not to bad I'd say. It would be nice to see a few of the remaining targets decide on the good guys and this class will round out rather nicely. 

UMxWolverines

January 18th, 2018 at 12:55 PM ^

Are we the only fanbase that posts updates to when a recruit thats already committed to us gets bumped from a 4 star to a 5 star as if it makes any difference on the football field? All it is trying to increase site traffic for them.

LeCheezus

January 18th, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^

No.  This is basically what every single 247 team site constantly discusses.  I can't say for sure about ESPN or Rivals but I would surmise it is similar. 

The reason this "matters" (it doesn't) is because all of the "studies" (articles) that say recruiting matters (shockingly written by pay subscription sites) use final rankings to draw their conclusions. 

CarrIsMyHomeboy

January 18th, 2018 at 2:49 PM ^

Even if this bump has zero impact on the concentration and caliber of incoming talent (about which, I'd agree), it seems silly to think that there's zero value in good publicity. Such things -- and this is an unsurprising characteristic of "hype" -- can be overstated, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be stated at all.

Mike Damone

January 18th, 2018 at 1:12 PM ^

awesome, because it sounds like this move was driven by his strong performance during the prep for the U.S. Army All American game.

By the way - this is our first 5 star recruit at LB since when?  I have no idea.  Woodley playing one year at pseudo-LB doesn't count.  Would be interested in a history lesson here...