Will Johnson taking OV’s to USC & possibly elsewhere
Will Johnson is taking an OV to USC & the Bama sites are reporting they are trying to set up an OV with him & Jackson together also. A few mods on other UM sites are worried because they say Michigan hasn’t been able to get Jackson to OV to Michigan with Johnson, but Johnson has already set up the USC visit & working on the Alabama visit, both with Jackson.
I wish news like this made me feel any sort of emotion anymore. Now I just shrug at the status quo.
OT Season is the worst, much like Toby.
Hes listed as the primary recruiter for Jackson, so these visits with him are a necessity.
Whatever. Doesn’t even register anymore.
Maybe he just wants to take free visits and enjoy the experience while he can?
That's what Derrick Alexander did. I know that's going back in the archives, but why would a 17-18 year old pass up a free trip to Cali or Alabama?
or at least just Cali
Walk down sorority row in Tuscaloosa one time and it will quickly become your favorite state in the union
Gotta love those OV "hostesses."
My understanding is that the "hostesses" thing is real. What 17 year old kid at his testosterone peak isn't going to want to go on those visits? Even if the hostesses thing weren't real, what 17 year old kid doesn't want to fly across the country for free and get treated like royalty, get a bunch of swag and meet a bunch of people who are famous or going to be famous?
I'd like to go on a recruiting trip.
Not a chance. They're stuck in the 1950s. They're still perming their hair.
I feel like that's the standard coping response, but in practice this is typically a bad sign
This kid is more Blue than most of the kids currently on the team.
I love the amount of denial needed to even assume this angle.
You do realize that these recruiting visits, especially for 5* types, aren't your garden variety handshake and show you around the dining hall or student gym, right? Throw in the fact that he's hanging with one of his best friends in SoCal and Bama, constantly being solicited everything under the sun a teenager might want.
So yeah... on the most basic sense this is a free visit but I assume it's like you're constantly being sold a timeshare at some pretty great places with lots of tradition that send a ton of players to the NFL with little to no downside. After a while, you might bite?
So for all of the fans here that keep saying that we can't have a head coaching change because it'll hurt recruiting, are you so sure about that???
I hate that argument. You're going to turndown a "better coach", whose to say he will be better but your not trying for a crappier one for a recruit who has never seen the field yet? Makes no sense to me.
Will Johnson taking OVs isn't that strong of evidence for your narrative...
Well, there's no evidence (because it's impossible to prove a negative) that a coaching change wouldn't hurt your recruitment of a guy either, so maybe UM makes a change at HC and Johnson doesn't even consider UM and so the horror of him possibly going on an official visit is never an issue.
Also, last year was weird because nobody really had OVs due to COVID but historically lots of highly-rated guys go on official visits to schools and still remain committed. It's a free trip to a school where they'll wine and dine you for a weekend. And one of the places here is a trip to LA, which is a pretty fun place for a kid to go.
Maybe Johnson decommits and Harbaugh gets fired and, I don't know, Matt Campbell rides in fresh off turning down $70M from the Lions* and saves the day. Or a HS kid who has been largely sequestered to his home state for over a year takes a couple of free trips before remaining committed. Ones doesn't know, but this argument that every possible bad thing could happen will and is due to the horribleness of the HC feels like a stretch.
On all the new coaches thread, there is a large group of JH supporters who claim a coaching change would crater recruiting for 2 years. I believe the judge is pointing out that even though JH was kept around he is basically starting over in regards to recruiting, and hasn't set the trail on fire with top talent. And at the least a new coach would be shiny and still have the possibility of upside on the field. JH is starting over while being a known commodity in not being able to orchestrate a high powered offense.
Meh. Recruiting doesn’t bug me either way anymore. With bagmen, tampering, UM’s administration playing hardball with admissions and classes, the portal, and the NCAA not giving a f*ck it doesn’t matter.
If a kid commits it isn’t binding (I’m fine with that).
If a kid signs and wants to leave it isn’t really binding.
If a kid signs, gets here, and doesn’t like anything or is still being recruited he can/will leave whenever he wants.
There is no more “phew we got him!” Or “ damn, we lost him” moments anymore. It’s very fluid.
I get the feeling UM Won’t play the “gauche” game of trying to get the hot talent and keep it; and other schools don’t feel so limited. And kids aren’t the best judges always of long term results (“ maybe it’s better to stay and get a paid for good degree at Michigan then maybe grad transfer someplace else in case I don’t or can’t make it in the pros…“)
It’s honestly making me somewhat noncommittal about college football anymore.
Duplicate. Sorry. Happens on my phone sometimes.
Dude I heard you the first time.
Wasn't this "The class" JH was going to be lights out on for recruiting? I am honestly asking, I thought for years this was to be projected as his best class talentwise and closing the talent gap?
not sure who said that...or why anyone thought this class was going to be 'the class'
I believe Harbaugh has had two top 5 classes previously....
FYI to all, OP isn't a Michigan fan so there is a slight spin to this info. Johnson is indeed visiting SC, but he is also visiting Michigan 3 times next month. I don't think this is just a fun trip for him out there, but he is still a Michigan commit who is recruiting others to Michigan (though I will add that two prospects he was recruiting - Marquis Groves-Killebrew and Mumu Bin-Wahad - have canceled their Michigan visits). This is a 10% worry thing, not a 90% worry thing.
There is no spin.
What I posted came straight from both the Rivals & 247 sites. How you choose to decide what level of care or concern is up to you.
Someone should apparently tell the mods on the 247 forum to check their own thread because this is literally the second entry to the Will Johnson OV post.
It’s a free trip to Southern California and an opportunity to hang with his friend Domani Jackson. Hell it may help in his stated goal of getting Jackson to UofM.
That said there is always a bit of discomfort in these situations.
Yeah, obviously you'd like your top recruits to only stay at home and try to pull guys in. Like, there's always a non-zero chance Johnson (or any recruit) flips after a nice visit. But that's largely been true forever. I'd also add that this place, like all fanbases, loves to say "I know he's committed to X but if UM can get him on campus then who knows", and for the vast majority of cases the guy stays committed or at least doesn't commit to UM. Especially for this class I wouldn't be shocked if we saw a lot of guys take visits around. It's been such a tough year for a lot of these HS kids I'm sure they want to enjoy the recruitment process.
Have you seen the cheerleaders?
This has nothing to so with Michigan basketball, and is completely off topic. Mods please delete this entire thread!
You spend a lot of time posting negative or concern trolling things on a Michigan blog for someone who is a Notre Dame guy. If you were a Michigan fan I get it, it might be concerning that Will Johnson is visiting other schools. But you just post this here to get a rise out of people for what??
You are 0 for on your statement.
I covered that team, and also other teams in the region, including UM. I still talk to friends & contacts from those places, that’s how I am able to provide info on here that people like yourself scoff at, like when 6 months ahead of it being public I told this board about what Rocco Spindler told the ND staff about his grandfather and how he would be at ND no matter what, and it is always accurate, despite many on here saying I was full of it. Either way, doesn’t matter. It is a fact what the kid is doing, does it really matter who tells you a fact? The if Ryan Day told you 2+2=4 would that be false since he’s an OSU guy?
To hell with Notre Dame!
Always the correct response!
ND sucks and South Bend is a shit hole on the same level (or worse) that East Landfill and Columbus.
Source? I had the misfortune of living there.
So I looked at your post about Spindler and you were right. But what's interesting in light of your concern trolling about Johnson possibly going on OV's is this line:
I posted on here “something happened” with Spindler & ND. What happened was he told ND he was coming. But he still wanted to take his five OVs if/when they were allowed to happen. ND accepted this.
So apparently a silent commit wanting to go on OVs is totally acceptable and not remotely a sign of concern, but a committed player who repeatedly says he's committed and is recruiting other players to said team going on OVs after a pandemic largely grounded all such activities for over a year is a sign of impending doom.
Anyway, congrats on being right about Spindler. I assume you'll post later about how Johnson's uncle once ate an In-and-Out burger in SoCal and ran into Pete Carroll and now he's a Trojan forever.
If i had 5 free OV where everything is paid for I would do the same
This is such an awfully run and beta program. It's sickening. Our decommitted recruiting class is about to rank much higher than our actual recruiting class.
There ae plenty of reasons to take visits.
1. High School coaches want to go to these places too, and if your players take a visit, then they get to tag along.
2. High school coaches, as well as personal trainers, want to cultivate relationships with as many college coaches as possible. (Dashawn Hand's OV was with his HS DC, dad & personal trainer)
3. Younger teammates will also Unofficial during these visits so they can get exposure, introduce themselves to the coaches or just to get their feet wet with. (Again, Hand OV was with 4* Tim Settle, a DL who is now with the Redskins & Matt Burrell 4* OL who played at Ohio State & Sam Houston St. Both never offered by Michigan btw.)
4. Wants to hang out with friends. Elite players spend time with other elite players at camps for years and they all communicate. Group texts, social media...they talk, they tell each other what coaches are full of shit and who isn't. Opportunities for them to get together are limited, so OVs are a great opportunity for that.
I seriously doubt his coach will OV with him to SC and Bama during the season. He has to coach his other kids, and that would be very difficult on a 2 - 3 day visit.
Kids aren't missing school, OV during the season are typically on bye weeks or Saturday morning to Sunday night. Coaches can go. It does a lot more for your program to have a relationship like that than it does to spend Sat & Sun breaking down your next opponent.
Somebody remind him (them) that Alabama didn't allow African American students until 60 years ago.
And today there are far more Black students at the University of Alabama than there are at Michigan (twice as many by percentage). There are many many factors that go into whether a Black student will feel comfortable in his/her college environment.
Screw it. If a high school wants to walk away from a free education, at a world class university, don’t let the door hit you in the ass, on the way out.
We do well vs USC and Bama head to head. Nothing to worry about!