Sam Webb optimism over Walter Nolen
First - Sam Webb is generally a great part of the Michigan media landscape; he provides lots of recruiting insight, a grounded perspective, and a genuinely fun radio atmosphere each week.
So why does he obsess over a five-star recruit that’s clearly not going to Michigan every year, and then plaster the airwaves and 247 page with “updates” for six months?
Najee Harris, Otis Reese, now Walter Nolan. We get it, Walter has taken a trip to UM and may return. Until Michigan gets its NIL/bag game shit together, which isn’t happening this year, there is no chance he ends up here. Why not cover a recruitment with a realistic chance of success?
[ed: I fixed the title. The answer is because Nolen's visiting michigan twice this fall.]
August 13th, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
It’s almost like he’s paid for clicks or something….
August 13th, 2021 at 2:35 PM ^
This is the answer to anything from a media person that doesn't make sense. Clickz pay billz.
August 13th, 2021 at 3:44 PM ^
Hilarious. It made me think of a line like "Tyrelle Pryor visit: He said it sucked balls."
-how many hits would that have gotten?
August 13th, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^
Keeping people intrigued is kinda rule #1 in the media business.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
LGenius has this correct. Plus, some of the battles like Harris come down to exciting, if disappointing ends. Plus every once in a while, we get a Peppers.
however, I’m so black-pilled on M football now, I don’t bother listening to any MI segment that isn’t about basketball.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
Plus every once in a while, we get a Peppers
And a Gary!
August 13th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
Sam is as much of a fan as he is a reporter. I don't think there is anything duplicitous or calculated in his predictions. When he talks to a recruit and hears positive things he tends to believe more than most.
I'm OK with that. Sam is a 'glass is half full' guy, even when the glass looks fairly empty to others.
August 14th, 2021 at 5:21 AM ^
He also has good connections with the staff, but people complain he wasn't all fire and brimstone about Harbaugh last year. Not sure any other media guy got one-on-ones with a lot of the assistants really besides Jon Jansen, who's basically an official voice of the program.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:39 PM ^
He’s usually pretty clear about the chances of getting the recruit. People choose not to listen to that part.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
Not to mention, Otis Reese was committed to Michigan and seriously liked Michigan even after decommitting. And Najee Harris was literally in the UM registry.
Webb says we have a chance on a guy that IS seriously considering Michigan and people freak out if we don’t get him. As if they’ve all forgotten what “chance” means.
Michigan has a chance with Nolen. Both he and his family have said on multiple occasions that they love the school and that it feels like home. They’ve made trips and want to come back. There are obstacles to overcome (they want to stay in the south) but Michigan does have a chance here. Doesn’t mean it’s a great chance, but Michigan is still very much in this.
August 13th, 2021 at 4:08 PM ^
JonnyH - well said. First of all, recruiting is a soap opera, which is part of the entertainment value. Sam is as good as it gets in tracking down info. If he says something, he knows something. He is not a click-bait guy. I see not giving him credit for calling Jabrill or Dax or Rashan Gary. Only the misses - which he has no control over of course.
Second, the rule with Sam is if he's not talking about someone and they are set to announce - he's not coming to Michigan. Conversely, if he is talking about them, Michigan is in the hunt and that is all you can ask for. Pay attention to those and see where they go. Expecting to win every recruitment, particularly the elite players is going to set you up for a world of constant disappointment. There are 120 some teams and like 30 total 5 stars - a whole lot of schools are going to be disappointed.
Last, Sam has said on his radio shows REPEATEDLY that he doesn't know if Michigan gets Nolen and thinks it is a hard pull. He says it once or twice a show when discussing him. Ignoring this and then saying he is constantly wrong is silly.
August 13th, 2021 at 4:23 PM ^
I heard the University of Michigan is moving to West Virginia next year so that should help.
August 13th, 2021 at 7:18 PM ^
Everyone who gets these of course had a chance....
August 13th, 2021 at 10:43 PM ^
You’re going to lose some recruiting battles. It happens. If Michigan only recruited sure fire guys who have Michigan at the top of their list from day 1, people would be really disappointed in the talent we get. Even more than they are already. You have to... what’s the word... recruit guys. Convince them you’re the best place for them. You win some, you lose some. And yes, that means you’ll get your fair share of 2nd place trophies in the process. So does everyone else.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
What's the point of this post? Which 5 stars should he obsess over? We get at least 1 each yr, so you as a consumer have to figure out if it's worth your time.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
You could ask the same question over many of the fans on this blog. Some people prefer to live with their heads in the clouds than face reality.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
Or you could hate the current coaching staff to prove you're a better fan. Whatever works.
August 13th, 2021 at 4:49 PM ^
I don't hate them. I just think their incompetence meant they should have been looking for new jobs.
August 13th, 2021 at 5:07 PM ^
A large percentage of them are looking for new jobs.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
A thread about Ace, XM, or WD would've been better.
August 13th, 2021 at 3:42 PM ^
Ace, XM, WD, and Sam Webb walk into a bar ..
August 13th, 2021 at 4:24 PM ^
Sam leaves.
August 14th, 2021 at 5:28 AM ^
Pretty sure Ace would be the first one out of there actually.
August 13th, 2021 at 4:26 PM ^
That's what I call a bucket problem.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
Horrible
August 13th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
Not sure what the point of OP is. Najee had a school registration ready to go. Are you not supposed to cover someone who was that close to coming to the school???
Walter Nolen recruiting is still on-going. He even made a visit. Webb has been CLEAR about what kind of chance we have with Nolen. What is the problem?
Webb is right, if you cannot handle following recruiting 5 stars, just stay away. The problem is with the OP, not Webb.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:36 PM ^
These are likely the same people who cry because Michigan recruiting is “too in love” with 3-stars to recruit this blue chips.
Which is it—the staff is not trying hard enough or they are trying to hard and should give up on the Nolens of the world?
Of course, hanging one’s emotional well being on outside forces one has no control over, be it a media person or a football coach or the woman who is not into you, is not recommended.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
I’m not convinced getting the NIL/bag game shit together will make a real difference with the top end recruits. It will potentially get Michigan on par with the elite schools in financial incentives. After that it’s back to the same criteria many recruits use-opportunity to play for championships, development, coaching staff relationships, etc.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^
Sam said on the break during the mgoblog segment yesterday that Walter’s dad said NIL is not the problem. Michigan is fine with that.
This suggests it is performance related, so unless UM shows big improvement this year, probably not getting him. Captain obvious out.
August 14th, 2021 at 1:00 AM ^
With Michigan, it might be performance and development that will help. But he likes Larry Johnson because he is such a good coach, he has a lot of respect for him, but he has never seriously considered Ohio St. And Tennessee is not in any place to say they will develop him. So even if Shaun Nua and Ryan Osborn do a fantastic job this season, that still might not do it for him. It really does look like family is the most important thing to him, and being close to home. But then again, as the moment of decision gets closer, he may start looking at how his development for the pros looks at each school.
Who knows for sure. Truth is, I can't find it in me to be optimistic anymore about him coming to Michigan.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
Why? Because it's a lot more interesting than saying 'lol no chance he's coming here,' and thus generates clicks.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
Najee Harris was enrolled at Michigan and I believe Otis Reese was committed??
August 13th, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
And the way he promoted Rashan Gary, Jabril Peppers, JJ McCarthy, Will Johnson was just pure luck. It’s almost like he is a recruiting analyst.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:11 PM ^
And repeatedly told everyone to chill out when Dax decommitted.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:20 PM ^
And also said Rayshaun Benny wasn't a done deal for msu after he didn't sign in the early enrolling period.
Sam has bad takes and definitely plays off the fans hopium for clicks (money). But if you take what he says with a grain of salt then I think the overall work he does is valuable
August 13th, 2021 at 2:27 PM ^
I’m critical of Sam’s messaging, but he absolutely correctly nailed Dax Hill’s situation in a way I have never seen any other media outlet be correct.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:12 PM ^
Don't forget Dax Hill.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
Sam photo shopped a Michigan shirt on Walter’s Dad.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:50 PM ^
I generally stick up for Sam around here. There is absolutely some 1984 style revision of facts yearly on The Michigan Insider. This is less recruiting stuff and more program insidery stuff that tends to feel very edited by the program itself. I could give a ton of examples, but one of the more recent ones was the Ed Warriner hire was heralded on TMI for an entire offseason as Michigan hiring one of the best OL coaches in the country. He even had old OSU players come on the radio to say as much. This winter/spring after Warriner was let go, all of a sudden it was the analysts and assistance that built the OL's of 2018/2019 and Warriner had "difficulty connecting with the younger players." That is some serious "We are at war with Eurasia, we have always been at war with Eurasia" shit if I've ever heard it. The other was the weird hill he was willing to die on that the offense was 100% Josh Gattis' offense in 2019 when it clearly made some conceptual shifts mid season.
He occasionally sets himself up by doing things like making Al Borges as an expert to break down tape and treating his opinions as fact, which spectacularly exploded in the MGoBlog Roundtable after the 2019 MSU game (Seriously, if you've never listened to that one I highly recommend it, Brian going off on Borges was hilarious even if you disagree with him).
In general - 24/7 is a paid subscription service so he has to put out some kind of content. His posts are orders of magnitude better than what the lackeys post over there, who frequently making 5 separate articles from material out of a single press conference. People also interpret what he says however they want - he frequently uses the phrase "Michigan has a shot" which some people think means 50/50 but usually means "will have a hat on the table." It is entertainment, not a news show, and you have to keep in mind that it's generally his job to stay positive/optimistic about the program.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Regarding Warriner, I don’t see anything revisionist about that. I feel like everyone thought he was a good pickup and liked the hire. It can also be true that after a certain period of time his methodologies could become irritating and negatively impact his relationship with players.
The thing about the Gattis offense was super weird though. The gattis offense the first few games was terrible, and they clearly started incorporating elements from Michigan’s old offense, which worked really well. The insistence that it was the offense from alabama, and not from JH was baffling.
August 13th, 2021 at 4:56 PM ^
Yeah I suppose I didn't put in enough detail for it to be revisionist, but there was nary a whisper of anyone other than Warriner being responsible for bringing the OL up to speed after Drevno. For two years it was "Hey we told you this guy was the best in the business", "he simplified the protection packages that were a mess under previous coaching," "He's one of the few guys that teaches inside zone, outside zone and man run blocking but is opponent dependent on which they run"...until he left and it switched to "Well, it wasn't really Warriner making it good all along." True or not, the dramatic shift felt very guided by what the program wants being told to everyone, which happens on TMI from time to time, which was my general point.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:38 PM ^
Thanks for saying in general that it’s ok to be or remain positive about a program you love. Some people claim to love the program and their hopes are based on other people, and or their views instead of their own.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
clickity clickity
August 13th, 2021 at 1:57 PM ^
You’re an idiot.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
He covers a lot of recruitments actually. You should listen to their weekly podcast.
Silly post.
August 13th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
Just listened to the roundtable last night and he literally added a disclaimer for people like you who want recruiting to be a straight line and the kid to commit to validate Sam's info. His source is Walter Nolen's father, so if he's being told that UM is still being considered, UM is still being considered.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:09 PM ^
CLICK IT OR no meal TICKET
August 13th, 2021 at 2:11 PM ^
Recruiting analysts are like weathermen. They can be wrong all the time but still be considered "experts" in their field.
August 13th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Stick to nachos