Will Johnson #1 player in Michigan visits OSU
Will Johnson visited OSU yesterday. He is the top player in the state, a high 5 start with a .9937 rating on 247. All of the CB’s point to UM but I haven’t heard anything recent. All players are going to take visits, we still feel good he is coming, right?
December 13th, 2020 at 10:02 AM ^
He gone!
December 13th, 2020 at 10:45 AM ^
Here is a free 247 article from Sam Webb. https://247sports.com/college/michigan/LongFormArticle/Michigan-football-recruiting-Will-Johnson-Ohio-State-Dead-Period-Visit-Grosse-Pointe-South-Domani-Jackson-Deon-Johnson-dad-Jim-Harbaugh-extension-Negative-Recruiting-156690913/Amp/?__twitter_impression=true
December 13th, 2020 at 3:39 PM ^
OSU where he gets a chance to go to the NFL or the dumpster fire that can't even fire a lame duck coach. Easy choice.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:09 AM ^
No. Why would he come here, seriously? Who the heck is gonna be his head coach, who’s gonna be his position coach? How’s this team gonna look? I would absolutely take a look at osu and the fact that he is, he’s obviously interested and they have a much much better program than us. If he wants to go there he will, his dad said as much
December 13th, 2020 at 10:23 AM ^
Dax Hill played the entire year without a position coach and we might lose him. What a complete mess.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:23 AM ^
Well he’s a high school junior. So he has over a year to decide and have those questions answered.
December 13th, 2020 at 12:03 PM ^
Well, at least we have a vaccine now Chicken Little!!!
December 13th, 2020 at 4:13 PM ^
"if he wants to go there he will, his dad said as much" isn't quite the QED you think it is. trust me on this.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:09 AM ^
It'll play out 1 of 3 ways:
1. He comes to Michigan and plays like a 3 star
2. He comes to Michigan and transfers after his sophomore season
3. He doesn't come to Michigan.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:20 AM ^
Also let me add
he goes to OSU sits till jr year plays like a 10 star
December 13th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
Or... goes to Bama and plays like a 15 star and wins a national title.
December 13th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
I hope option #4 is: has been a Michigan fan his whole life, and comes to Michigan. Shuts down opposing teams beast receivers, and opens up blitzing linebackers and keeping the ball in opposing qbs hands long enough for the d line to disrupt. Michigam goes back to a top 15 defense.
Fingers crossed.
(With 2020 almost in the review mirror, and am trying to be possitive about things. I will let you know how that goes.)
December 13th, 2020 at 10:12 AM ^
The instate schools are tire-fires and Columbus is only 3-4 hours from AA. I wouldn't feel good about it.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:13 AM ^
There are some very sad people on this planet. Most of them either post constantly on Mgoblog daily or they cast doubt, doom, and gloom with their peers! I’m glad I have a hobby. Heading to the lake, have a great day non-insiders, gloomsters!
GO BLUE!!!
December 13th, 2020 at 12:25 PM ^
Logged in to upvote this. Positive energy. We need this. Sadness is like coronoavirus... spreads very easily and can, in some cases, be devastating.
December 13th, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
Yeah lot of sad losers on here love being snarky negative. Like I know we're in the dumps right now but I don't need to shit on the program 5 times a day on the internet.
"Group bitching syndrome" I call it. They feed off of each other's whining.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
Since the OP failed to do so, this young man is a 2022 prospect. I’ll let the others add all of the positives, that happen to actually be for us in his recruitment.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:24 AM ^
OP also failed to add he’s a legacy recruit.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
This is a very sad board these days.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:30 AM ^
They have had a over a decade to get this thing right with coaches and administrators. They failed us so how should we feel?
December 13th, 2020 at 10:48 AM ^
Also a pretty sad program these days. Slightly better than Tennessee. Yay. I know that was the goal when we brought Harbaugh in. Hey can you just make sure we don’t crater like Nebraska?
December 13th, 2020 at 11:16 AM ^
Tennessee would wipe the floor with this Michigan team. Yeah, I know you were talking about the program as a whole, but still.
December 13th, 2020 at 1:10 PM ^
Would you prefer the Michigan or Tennesee's record over the last 6 years?
Yes, JH has not gotten Michigan to the playoff, and is currently on a terrible year.
But...since hired he has done better than what has happened at Tennesse, Texas, FSU...and other programs that are below their high potential.
December 13th, 2020 at 5:28 PM ^
It's pretty sad that people constantly compare us to all the shitty bluebloods and not the good ones. But that's where we're at these days.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:21 AM ^
Cheer up fellas. Basketball starts B1G season this afternoon!
December 13th, 2020 at 10:24 AM ^
So many trolls on this board.
December 13th, 2020 at 1:39 PM ^
HEY! I resemble that comment.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:24 AM ^
Who knows anymore. Keeping up with recruiting feels like a cat following a laser pointer.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:36 AM ^
I suspect the general malaise is that recruiting doesn't matter considering how the program is run.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^
High school kids, for the most part, commit to coaching staffs - not schools. And when there's uncertainty at the HC position other schools will absolutely negative recruit the hell out of players in an effort to flip them. This is not news and Michigan does it just as aggressively as every other school in the country.
Now assuming this young man is reasonably bright and assuming his parents care about his future he would be insane to NOT take visits to other schools right now given that our HC position (and the corresponding position coaches) are anything but a sure thing next year and beyond.
I would expect almost every recruit we have that's worth a shit to talk to other schools they had on their pre-Michigan commit list and many to visit them. Wouldn't you if you were one of them? And if your son was a recruit wouldnt you advise him to do the same?
And before anybody weighs in with what an awesome experience going to Michigan is remember I'm an alum and absolutely LOVE Ann Arbor. But we're discussing elite athletes here who select colleges, for the most part, with a completely different set of criteria than most us did when we decided where to go to school.
Until our HC situation is locked down, one way or the other, this is going to keep happening. No reason to get upset over it. And this isnt "doom and gloom" negative posting, it's reality.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:40 AM ^
How would you know? I have direct information in an article from a 2021 top recruit that debunks your whole premise. This is a classic old perception from Pluto! Give me a break. Commits to a coach not a school. I’ll skip over your next 10 posts.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
How would I know?
Because I actually recruited for Michigan for three years and still have contacts in our athletic department as well as Ohio State's.
But given that you're not going to read this cause it's only post #1 of the next 10 somebody else will need to tell you about me.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:41 AM ^
there are recruits who prize the school as much/more than the coaching staff, or at a minimum, the coaching staff is only one part of the equation. additionally, the coaches might be the big deal at one school, a big draw card, but at a different school the school itself is the more important draw card.
case in point, our 2021 son had offers from places that had a wide variance of school attractiveness versus coaching attractiveness. one other piece of great advice we rec'd early on in the process from one school's starting LT (who turned down an offer to U of M), was this: pick a school that if, heaven forbid, you were injured and were never going to play another down of football you would still be happy attending and getting your degree.
also, any kid who has that many stars is going to play and the pros are going to want him, period, end of story. whether he plays at U of M, ohio, mississippi state, tulane, wherever, he will get plenty of notice.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:55 AM ^
Absolutely there are which is why I said "for the most part" and not "every single recruit in all situation", as your son is a great example.
I would add however that my guess is there's a pretty direct correlation between the athlete's potential ability to play in the NFL (star rating) and their propensity to select staffs over schools. Higher the ranked recruit - the more likely they are to want to go to a staff that provides them the best chance to be drafted highly.
If not then how do you explain the recruiting dominance of Ohio State and Alabama because I can tell you the academic experience at both schools, especially for athletes, aint much to write home about.
December 13th, 2020 at 1:05 PM ^
Yes, OSU and Bama are putting more guys in the NFL than Michigan.
However, since JH arrived Michigan is doing better than only a very few schools in putting guys in the NFL. Unless it is a recruiting battle with OSU, Bama, and a very few others, Michigan has pretty good argument with recruits on getting a healthy number of guys to the NFL.
Not arguing that JH should be extended, just pointing out that Harbaugh's record has some bad and also some good. In the good column is getting guys into the NFL.
December 15th, 2020 at 1:50 PM ^
I think OSU has a better academic program than Bama. It is a pretty comparable football academic program. Urban instituted 'Real Life Wednesday's' and stressed life after football - after the NFL - and he won over players and parents with an approach that OSU would change their lives... Compete for Championships at the Natty and always B1G level... get a minimum to higher draft position... get 2-4 NFL years of change your life money at a minimum and by the time you are 30, you are at worst set for life and your adult career. Parents love it and it resonates with players.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:08 AM ^
Pluto isn't a planet Jerry.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:26 AM ^
How exactly does an article about a top recruit debunk the theory that most kids commit to a coach, not a school?
December 13th, 2020 at 10:41 AM ^
OSU is an NFL defensive back factory right now so can’t blame him.
December 13th, 2020 at 10:45 AM ^
He’d be stupid not to visit and consider them. They’ve been sending corners and safeties into the first round of the draft every year for the last 4-5 years.
Just being objective, but if you aspire to play in the NFL, if that is your primary goal, then you should go to OSU over Michigan right now. That’s not being a Debbie Downer or being a bad fan. That’s just looking at the facts. They are a better program, top to bottom. More talented, better coached, and have a much higher volume of alums going to the NFL and making plays.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:12 AM ^
Although I agree with this, Johnson sounds like the rare 5 star who is considering factors beyond getting to the NFL, and his father is clearly pushing him to us as well. Johnson didn’t sound that excited about his trip in his comments after his trip.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:00 AM ^
Just because someone recruited for Michigan in the 1920’s or 1930’s and has contacts will not refute the truth coming straight from the “mouth” of soon to be committed recruits. Some people have people that they know inside of the program and it doesn’t make them an insider. This visit was a scheduled visit and it isn’t like we didn’t know about it. However, who wouldn’t allow their intelligent young man whom happens to be an elite athlete to visit other elite programs? It happens all the time. Here’s a tidbit from the other day, enjoy and for all Wolverine fans, alums, contributors, whatever you may be, have a great MICHIGAN day! Be blessed and never believe any of us are bigger than our athletes. We are blessed to even be allowed to watch young men play a,”GAME!” Let’s not take ourselves so serious that we believe that we’re the reason why our sports teams are successful.
https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Article/Michigan-Recruiting-Insider-podcast-Donovan-Edwards-West-Bloomfield-Ron-Bellamy-Oklahoma-Decision-Date-December-16th-156486475/Amp/
December 13th, 2020 at 11:10 AM ^
You obviously didn't skip over the next 10 posts of Mgrowold.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:39 AM ^
He also obviously didnt actually read (or comprehend) my initial post as he basically restates everything I said regarding the reasons kids would be taking visits right now to alternate schools in his "rebuttal".
I think he took offense to my stating that kids commit to coaching staffs, not schools, because everything else he just wrote echoed what I said oddly enough. And if you ask 1,000 recruiters if kids "for the most part" (my exact words) commit to schools or coaching staffs I feel very confident all 1,000 would say yes, "for the most part" they do.
By the way, this particular poster somewhat answers a philosophical question I've always had. Do stupid people know they are stupid? I mean think about it, their cognitive abilities are their only standard of reference so while the rest of the world (or in this case MgoBoard) realize they are idiots I'm guessing they do not. Which must really suck if you think about it - short people know they are short, blind people know they are blind, deaf people (like I basically am) absolutely know they are deaf so we adjust our expectations accordingly but stupid people just wander around blissfully unaware they are stupid.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
Thank you Don. Great read and it does answer my question fairly convincingly.
BoCanHam is on "Mount Stupid" and has no idea he's there.
December 13th, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
i can affirmatively state that i know i'm not very smart, which might blow your hypothesis. but i do think there's a bigger philosophical question: 
December 13th, 2020 at 1:04 PM ^
Irish poet W. B. Yeats wrote "The Second Coming" in 1919, and the poem includes this line:
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
Writer, poet, and enthusiastic drunkard Charles Bukowski wrote something very similar:
“The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
December 13th, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
Bukowski 100% right. It all comes down to ability to critically think. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, most people aren't intelligent enough to get past cannon fodder status. Studies on estimated average IQ are pretty shocking. Until you go to Walmart, then it all makes sense.
December 13th, 2020 at 12:00 PM ^
Try not to get so wound up about this. Your posts here are borderline dickweedian.