mgobaran

January 17th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^

Weird that Georgia would be doing that. They seemed like one of the last bastions of hope in the SEC. Smart bringing his Alabama recruiting techniques over? No way Alabama is riding just success to an 8th straight #1 recruiting class. 

Joined: 09/12/2012

MGoPoints: 22811

Hard-Baughlls

January 17th, 2017 at 2:43 PM ^

This is no secret and something UM will continue to be fighting an uphill battle regarding "perks" with going forward.  If Stanford can be successful, though, UM will be even moreso.

There will always be an Ole Miss, Georgia, UF (under Meyer) upstart that cuts corners, be it bagmen, academics, lack of discipline, etc.  

I am not naive enough to think UM won't play in the "gray" area, but I think since the Fab 5 fallout, and with the football program being under Lloyd's guidance and now Harbaugh, you won't see straight up rule breaking here.

We need to believe that the draw of playing for Harbaugh will outbalance the quick perks other schools are willing to dish out.  Saban and Meyer will continue to be successful and win and cut the corners they have historically and that their institutions are comfortable with, so I expect those two, based on pedigree and "ethical" flexibility to continue to recruit at the top of the sport.

If Harbaugh can get top 5 classes at UM, we are fine - he is a superior coach (acumen, pedigree, game theory, talent identification, establishing a system) to anybody outside Belicheck in today's game. 

The quick cheating upstarts will always exist and probably flame out in a few years.  Georgia will be interesting in that Richt was very clean and relatively successful - now add in the cheat factor to get a few elite players and perhaps they make the leap to challenge Bama in the SEC. However, Kirby hasn't proven much as a coach, so a couple meh years with elite classes and the kids not interested in playing school will find the next hot thing dishing out benefits.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 6637

Ecky Pting

January 17th, 2017 at 3:57 PM ^

Alas, from Ann Arbor, you gotta go to Ohio to find the nearest Waffle House. There are four on the UGA campus and 9 within Athens city limits. It's all about the hash browns, yo!

Joined: 09/06/2013

MGoPoints: 4655

BursleyBaitsBus

January 17th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^

I wonder if something is fishy here like with the Wilson recruitment. UGA is the new UCLA with regards to being thorns in Michigan's side. Oh wait nvm UCLA is still a thorn with respects to DTR for 2018. Blahhhhh. 

Here's to UGA underperforming again like usual next year to wear off that new coach "luster."

Joined: 01/20/2016

MGoPoints: 12434

Yooper

January 17th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^

it was obviously a big surprise to the staff.  Somebody-Webb I think-made a comment to the effect that there is more to the story that will come out after signing day.  This may be more fuel to that fire.

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 11276

Rabbit21

January 17th, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^

An alternative explanation is that Collins has family up in Michigan and this was a good way to package going to see them.  There was also the fact his dad is a huge Michigan fan and this was a way for him to make Dad happy.  Once you get down to it, maybe he doesn't want to leave the South and he may have always felt that way.  I just don't think the number of unofficials was very determinative in his case.  

Joined: 11/12/2009

MGoPoints: 30359

Jkidd49

January 17th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^

even if they are different kind of WR's you can't help but see the trend to Georgia and think this is the case.  I assume the same thing about Ellis Brooks and Willie Gay even tho they too are very different kind of LB's.

Joined: 01/30/2012

MGoPoints: 5147

Guy Fawkes

January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^

Me too, Dave, me too. Especially since DPJ, Black, and Hawkins I feel are better than Collins right now. Add in Crawford, McDoom, Johnson and the TE's and Collins is no more than a luxury.

Joined: 09/28/2016

MGoPoints: 1716

OwenGoBlue

January 17th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^

Between Crawford, Black, DPJ and TEs there's a ton of size to throw at already. But it would be nice to add another height monster. I really liked the Martin vibes in the summer (all the M recruits at The Opening lobbied hard for Harbaugh to recruit him). If we get one of Nico/Martin it's a hell of a way to close out at receiver.

Joined: 04/03/2016

MGoPoints: 31529

GoBLUE_SemperFi

January 17th, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^

Urban Meyer has an in-home scheduled for Thursday, also.  Kid's stock is on the rise and sounds like he was very impressive in practices at the All-American game.  Maybe the renewed interest doesn't have anything to do with Nico.

Joined: 12/21/2015

MGoPoints: 3513

MichiganMan14

January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^

Georgia has a lot of hope to sell. Weather and other things. Michigan has unmatched academics and tradition. I think the fact that we have a ton of recievers over 6ft2 also hurts. We don't have a monster like Nico...but Hawkins....Black...Ways...Harris and Eubanks are all big body receivers. I love Nico as a recruit and think the world of him. His recruitment has trended away from us for a while. That being said if we end up with Martin...we will get a hell of a football player. That kid is not a consolation prize. He can play the game. If Nico is trending away...Let's get Oliver. He is a player and has done well against top competition in a slew of camps. He will have a chip and puts me in the mind of bigger and more talented Drew Dileo. Oliver has very good hands and route running and should stand out on special teams. In terms of the roster spot...the bang for your buck with Oliver is big and he will suprise many.

Joined: 02/21/2012

MGoPoints: 19111

UMProud

January 17th, 2017 at 1:06 PM ^

Not sure if our tradition counts as much to recruits as it did in years gone by. They want to know how quick they will play, will they win and get a national spotlight and will they the school help them get onto the NFL. Also what the school can do for them after football is a hot button.

Joined: 12/18/2014

MGoPoints: 2705

Glen Masons Hot Wife

January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^

Hope we didn't blow it with OM... Was a bit disappointed when we seemed to cool on him... I thought he'd be a great addition to the class.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 3685

Trip McNeely

January 17th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^

I think the coaches are just covering them selves. They feel things trending away with Nico, I'm sure we still have a shot at him but need to have a backup plan if things don't work out. Plus if we get both, yeah thats a lot of recivers and only one ball, but there have been rumors of Nate Johnson wanting to transfer so it might be that too. Either way I like it after watching Hunter Renfrow tourch Bama, Martin reminds me of him a bit watching his film.

Joined: 02/26/2015

MGoPoints: 355

TakMacYamada

January 17th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^

Given the coaching changes, the renewed interest could also reflect a preference on the part of Pep Hamilton for someone with Martin's skill set. 

I agree that it's also indicative of some shakey movement on Collins, but I don't think it's an accident that Pep is doing an in home this week. 

Joined: 01/08/2015

MGoPoints: 41

Don

January 17th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^

Lest anyone conclude otherwise from the OP, I don't think Webb is saying that interest in Martin means Nico is gone; to the contrary, he said this morning that we're still in really good shape with him.

Myself, I've never counted Collins in the class anyhow, and since we've already got DJP and Black, I'd be happy with a glue-fingered slot who catches everything thrown in his direction.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148411

Don

January 17th, 2017 at 3:30 PM ^

I listen to Sam in the morning for a variety of reasons, among them his recruiting contacts and information. I never go on twitter unless somebody posts a link here. I don't care about the predictions stuff, even though he's right far more often than he's wrong.

If you prefer another source of U-M-oriented information, fine... I'm not among those negging you, either. Some people like Sam, others Lorenz... it's all good as far as I'm concerned.

Joined: 06/30/2008

MGoPoints: 148411

ColeIsCorky

January 17th, 2017 at 2:18 PM ^

I did. If you can't follow Sam after a 17/18 yr old didn't follow through with what he predicted (not guaranteed but "predicted") would do, then you probably need to stop following recruiting so closely. "Nothing in recruiting is a straight line" as Sam Webb would say. Besides, if you seriously believe Sam Webb was trolling at this point, you clearly either haven't listened to the reasons for why that prediction was there in the first place (speaking of Najee) or you just look for someone to blame for your severe disappointment.

It's like predicting the weather. Living in OKC, it's a huge deal when winter weather (snow or ice) makes its way to the city - the amount of hype was comparable to the Najee Harris recruitment to Michigan I could argue. This past weekend, all predictions were saying OKC would get a major ice storm. Schools were cancelled in prepration, many employees of businesses and also businesses themselves closed. Again, this was in preparation of what was expected to happen. And what did happen?

Well, let's just say kids weren't sliding around on ice anywhere enjoying the fun. Roads were clear. No power outages. No disaster. Nothing. Does this mean we should never listen to weather guys again (since basically all Oklahoma meteorologists predicted the same thing)? Well, I guess that's for you to decide as to whether you can handle the idea of someone predicting something wrong or not. I say no. I say let's just define that as "weather." Sure, we can gripe about it, but I'll be tuning in to Channel 4 like I would a "Buckle Up" post on this here blog the next time a winter storm is predicted because I understand that weather is not something meteorologists are in control. Just like recruiting is not something Sam Webb is in control - all he can do is report and project, which is what we love him for in the first place (most of us at least).

Joined: 11/15/2016

MGoPoints: 4627

MichiganMan14

January 17th, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^

Renfrow is a very reliable guy who gets single coverage by a backer or zone coverage. He is a mortal in an offense full of freaks. He is a good player but no where near the individual athletic talent that Martin is. Martin is a legit reciever in his own right and can win one on one battles against top DBs. Renfrow is not asked to do that. He eats in the slot and benefits from really obvious pick plays to get open lol.

Joined: 02/21/2012

MGoPoints: 19111

Blue in Paradise

January 17th, 2017 at 12:43 PM ^

I have no problem getting Martin instead of Collins. Hopefully Grant Perry's situation turns out ok- if not, we are a bit light in terms of Slot receivers. Even if we lose both, not the end of the world.

Joined: 08/14/2016

MGoPoints: 36901