OT-Will RR try to recruit Michigan?
I hesistate to bring this up, but I think it is an interesting question that I don't really know.
On one hand hand his coaches have had to establish some relationships with local coaches like Wilcher. His staff probably had some preliminary contact with many of the current class of kids. I would think he would have plenty of "remember me" phone calls over the next few weeks.
On the other hand he has much more talent rich states closer to him in Texas and California and why waste resources in Michigan where Hoke and Dantonio look to have this thing pretty locked down.
My guess is maybe a kid or 2 that is a borderline Big Ten recruit he may steal this year or next(but not steal any Michigan recruits) while he still has some ties and then basically leave the state.
Still think Dorsey is an obvious fit to Arizona.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:04 AM ^
I would imagine at some point that he would make a kid from the state of Michigan an offer. He'll probably continue to recruit Ohio and Western PA as well. His primary recruiting grounds will probably be TX, CA, FL and I would imagine he would want to keep someone on the previous Arizona staff around that has connections in Arizona. It will be interesting to see how well he recruits out there.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:06 AM ^
He can try, but he won't do well.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:09 AM ^
December 9th, 2011 at 10:12 AM ^
1. Michigan does not have good depth.
2. Texas is closer
3. I think he is going to go international with his recruiting. Canada bitches.
December 9th, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^
you mean Mexico
December 9th, 2011 at 3:54 PM ^
Slot ninjas from China. The real deal.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:40 PM ^
China??
December 9th, 2011 at 10:23 AM ^
There are not many spread offense high schools up here so I don't think Rich Rod will ever really pay too much attention to Michigan since it isn't in his backyard anymore. QB to watch that could be really good in a spread type offense though is the freshman qb at Cass Tech, Jayru Campbell. When he graduates I can see him being a pretty desired recruit, so maybe Rich Rod will be back up here
December 9th, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^
He couldn't even recruit Michigan while he was here
December 9th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
I wouldn't expect it to be his regular stomping grounds. Az/Cali/Texas/Fla will be though!
December 9th, 2011 at 11:03 AM ^
Rich Rod didn't recruit Michigan when he was at Michigan fergodsakes!
Three years ago, I went to the MHSAA Dream Team awards to watch my nephew accept his. It was a great group of athletes from all across the state. RR was the keynote speaker and Frank Beckmann was the Master of ceremonies.
I was excited to hear RR talk and I wasn't disappointed. He was a great speaker, really engaging. He told a story about how geese travel south and what they do as a group to get there. He related it to football and team concepts. Really good stuff.
Anyways, after his speech they asked each kid to step up to the podium as they read their bios. Every one of those kids had impressive accomplishments on the field and most of them in the classroom as well. As they accepted their trophy, Frank Beckmann took the opportunity to tell the audience which school they planned to attend. Not a single one of those kids declared Michigan.
A majority of those guys went to MSU. William Gholston was among them. By the way, he was a really nice kid to talk to.
Is RR going to recruit Michigan? I don't think so.
Go Blue!
December 9th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
I don't understand why you think this is trolling.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
In William Gholston's recruiting class (2010), Michigan got Devin Gardner, Jeremy Jackson, and Austin White (plus Ricardo Miller, but he was from Florida). It sucks that Gardner - arguably the #1 QB prospect in the country - wasn't on the dream team, but Rodriguez did offer Gholston, Rob Bolden, Dior Mathis, C.J. Olaniyan, and a couple others.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
He recruited Michigan, but changed the focus of our summer camp to make it more exclusive. Coaches who had been coming for years apparently weren't invited if they didn't have an elite-level prospect. This ruffled some feathers. Another example of RR just not being very good at some of the interpersonal aspects of the job. The coaching fraternity is pretty tight-knit and if you rub some coaches the wrong way, word will spread.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
in AZ, TX, CO, and CA. There are plenty of good players in that area and it's going to be a lot easier to attract kids who are a reasonable distance away. If and when he builds some success at Arizona, then I'd think it will be easier to convince HS players to go further from home.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:11 AM ^
I forget if Dyson Blades transferred high schools, but if he's still around Michigan, I'm sure he and his brother will get offers. I hear they're a combo package.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
Sure, RR has some recruiting ties here. However, he's now very close to both CA and TX, not to mention being in AZ which is comparable to MI in talent. Nevada has decent talent, as does Colorado, and Utah produces a handful of UA level kids every year. He'll also continue recruiting the Southeast, since that was his main area from his last 4 stops.
If there is a guy he really likes in Michigan, he'll recruit him, but I doubt he spends much time there at all.
December 9th, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^
This to me is the key. There just aren't a lot of players who can help you in the state of Michigan, and they are all being pursued by two in-state programs that just won ten games this year. If RR wants a guy I'm sure he'll offer him, but I think we're more likely to see him coming into Ohio where there is a lot more talent and poaching the occasional under the radar guy (a'la Omameh, Roundtree, Ryan, etc.) if he does look to recruit the midwest on a regular basis.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:23 PM ^
He better hurry because I hear Hoke is building a fence around Michigan. /s
December 9th, 2011 at 1:31 PM ^
...how will all of the Ohio recruits get in?
December 9th, 2011 at 1:43 PM ^
How much did RR try to recruit the state of Michigan prior to his arrival at U-M? I would imagine that answer would be not much.
I can't see that changing now just because RR coached at U-M.
Let's face it, it's not like RR had a great relationship with high school coaches in the state of Michigan while he was here.
December 9th, 2011 at 1:37 PM ^
RichRod didn't recruit Michigan when he coached AT MICHIGAN, why would he try to tap the market now? High school coaches in the midwest don't like him...
December 9th, 2011 at 2:09 PM ^
Time to exploit that pipeline to Grand Rapids Community College.
December 9th, 2011 at 2:35 PM ^
much of Michigan recruits when he was here (FL obsession), so why would he now?
December 9th, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
He couldn't even recruit Michigan when he was here.... I don't imagine him having morte success trying to recruit kids from here when he coaches 3,000 miles away at a non-local school.