1. We aren't the only elite program to bring in top notch lineman.
2. Its not as easy to as you think to sell a new offense that hasn't been seen on the field yet. The coaches sell recruits on the pro-style offense but all they can witness is Denard. Put it like this, if I'm a restaurant, a pretty darn good mexican restaurant. I then start sending out ads about changing to a pizza parlor. Our ads show the elite chefs we have, the top of the line ovens, and ingredients from Italy. But then I tell you you have to buy pizza from us every week for 4 years. But sorry, you can't taste the pie until 2013. Would you sign up for that kind of commitment? Its a tough sell no? so imagine a kid with plenty of offers (offers that are pretty good pizza parlors already) and having to pick UM. Folks have to take the blinders off and realize that its not as confusing as you think why a skill position kid won't jump so quick to commit to UM. Once we have a few years under our belt, I'm sure kids will be jumping, not yet though.
Deion is one of a kind, no doubt but he is not the only CB to have played that way. Adam Jones, Champ Bailey, Chris McAllister, and a number of CBs have played a similar style. You don't have to be the very best athlete but you truly have to be gifted and have a solid D around you. Deion played with fast, blitzing defenses where split decisions by the QB are heighten. Of course you'll get burned, the best corners get burned playing corner, but the same can be said when you blitz because Its a calculated risk. You said yourself that Lewis made some unbelievable plays on D and you'll have a time or two where he'll get beat but thats football. I believe the coaches see the intangibles Lewis. Of course they'll coach him up so he understand when to take risks playing back but I really don't see the coaches tweaking his style because its obvious the coaches want playmakers, ball hawks on D
you have to also note there are two types of corners; The Deions of the world and the Revis of the world. The Revis type of corners pride themselves on the ball never being thrown their way so they stay in the hip pocket, where as the Deions want the ball to come their way so they can make a play and get the O the rock or take it for 6, so they play a little off and lean on their recover speed. Your critique for Lewis though may be true, shouldn't necessarily be seen as a negative. Some guys are gifted enough to play CB the way he does. He’ll just have to learn when to play that style and when to stay in the back pocket.
You can play 5 tech and be on the weakside. 5 tech just means the DL is lined up to the outside shoulder of the OT. Now not sure if playing the weakside for UM means you are 4 tech (heads up with OT) or 5 tech so that's why I asked
I don't where all the "too skinny/too small" comments been coming from lately. Perhaps folks forget these are HS seniors and 90% of seniors coming in are all under weight and could use the strength and conditioning program once on campus. On a side note, is Strobel still projecting to the weak side?
Treadwell will commit to UM once there is only one WR spot left. Pure guess, but I see him and his recruitment very similar to LTT. LTT held us ad an early favorite but didn't want to commit as early and wanted to enjoy the process. But that changed once we had commit-a-thon in Feb. I see treadwell playing out the same.
Maybe its just me but my criticism was directed towards the community taking RDT's updates as gold, even going as far as quoting him in other blogs. I also would like to see the updates come back but if they do I would just encourage the mgo community to maintain perspective with his info - Damn double post
Maybe its just me but my criticism was directed towards the community taking RDT's updates as gold, even going as far as quoting him in other sites. I also would like to see the updates come back but if they do I would just encourage the mgo community to maintain perspective with his info
I have a feeling that Treadwell is more like Tuley-Tilman is respect to yes he would like to take visits and see other schools but I truly believes he wants to goto UM. It may take another WR commiting for him to also commit to secure his spot, similar to LTT committing when we had the run on OL committing. Pure guess though
From what I hear we'll likely take 3-4 DL, likely two DT and two DE so I see it as very likely to take both Webb and Poggi, especially since I see Webb is more 1 tech and Poggi versatile enough to play multiple positions across the line. On a side note, when did folks anoint RDT as the czar of recruiting knowledge? I have nothing wrong with his posting but he is quoting from "insiders" just like anyone of us can and folks are taking it as truth. There has been no reporting of our coaches saying we are full at DT. I think we need to be careful because some fans have a habit of running with rumors that have no veracity, which makes the entire fanbase look like imbeciles to other fans and even recruits. (i.e. Farrell/Isaac)
I think you and others are failing to realize is we are transitioning to a completely new offensive philosophy in which TEs will be a vital component and we have zero proven depth. Similar to UM taking 4 LBs last year, we need to have talent and depth at the TE position. We currently have Moore (who will be gone after this yr) and Miller on the roster, neither of which has demonstrated (up to this point) they are ready to step right in and contribute. AJ williams is a great addition but he is more of a blocking TE, Funchess will be a stud but needs a yr or two to get his body right for college, but neither are really the true dual threat Borges wants in his offense. The coaches want 3 in this class and I completely agree, we need to provide instant depth and talent to the position if we are going to really reap the benefits of the pro-style offense in 2-3 years, esp since anything can happen (injuries, potential not realized, etc). I don't know why its so difficult for you and others to see this, glad we got coaches who do.
its still early so I wouldn't judge the kids offer sheet at this stage. Think about Standifer last yr when we offered him and who he held offers from.....
I'm just as geeked as the next man but can we stop with the megatron 2.0 phrasing I think that gets thrown around too easy nowadays. Respect the man, Megatron is 6'5'', runs a 4.35 and catches everything. Blackmon is the top receiving coming out, 2X college football Receiver of the yr and no one is calling him megatron 2.0. I'm just saying this to bring us back in the frame of reality and lets see what we got before throwing lofty comparisons. A kid can only improve his speed so much, .hundredths of a second is the usual improvement.
but I wouldn't have argued if he was tossed from the game. We can't really judge intent, but it was a pretty hard foul that didn't get close to the ball.
I think folks are getting too caught up in the number of LBs in the class. I will say something that folks don't want to hear, we simply do not have the talent at the LB position to compete at big-ten/national championship level. Think about it, we had a RS Fr and a true Fr starting at 2 out of 3 LB positions. That tells me the coaches felt talent wise, those were the best of the bunch. That is why we took so many LBs, its not a matter of depth for a possible 3-4 move but more so getting a depth of talent at the position in general. So lets stop the 3-4 talk, both Hoke and Mattison has stated its a 4-3 over so there you go.
Lets make sure the facts are straight. There was mention of a 4star recruit, who is currently committed to another school that was contemplating a visit to UM NEXT WEEKEND (the weekend of the 20th). This 4star recruit did not want his name out there for various reasons that are unknown. It was not Goodman because his visit was known to be this weekend, the 13th. Muller came out quickly after the allstar game to reaffirm his commitment to Rutgers. There was no "secret visitor", it was a target who was thinking of visiting but wanted to remain a secret until he decided to visit.
The fact is no one knows who the target is, no one really knows if he will still visit. So why don't we just focus on what we do know, we have '12 and '13 targets coming in this weekend that would do wonders for our program. I hope we just leave the posts that focus on speculation to the other boards.
I know fan is derived from fanatics but Damn. I assume we are all of a mature age, so I ask what is the obsession with this topic? Do you grown men shake, smell, and weigh your presents for the 5 days before Christmas too? We will all know where UM will go by tonight can't we all just wait til then instead of having 50 different threads about the same topic?
Why does it seem like we always have a question about the 3-4 being our base defense? Baltimore has played both a 3 and 4 man fronts and have had success with both. Chicago bears have had success with a 4 man front, and greenbay with a 3 man. It really doesn't matter the scheme as long as the kids are taught the proper technique to succeed as a great defense. I really think taking 4 LBs has nothing to do with scheme and more about accepting a commitment from Ross as the 4th because we couldn't turn him away and we just need to improve the overall talent of the LBs
not enough points to post in a new thread. but thought the article was interesting considering the tremendous job Hoke has done in his first year and coming off a big needed win off a lost. Listen to the vid as well and Herb's story on Stoops and similarities we hear with Hoke.
Garnett realizes we are likely to take just one more OL and with it being first come first in, he moved his visit up. Either way, I'm glad he's visiting
i wish folks would just leave this kid and this "question" alone. Terry is UM bound for now and thats all we can say. He's an exceptional talent and speaking as a former HS kid who was recruited I can understand how someone can have their mind made up but why he want to take visits. The situation will play itself out with and without our repetitive opinions of what Terry is doing or thinking. Regardless of what we think this is Terry's life, let him live it as is and play it out. We have excellent recruiters in our coaching staff thus we are at a luxury of having a few kids interested in playing for us. Sometimes our arrogance and ignorance of a fan base clouds reality that Terry is a young adult about to make possibly one of the biggest decisions at this point of his life and there are many things he has to consider or he was like me and just wants to enjoy the ride even though he may know how the ride will end. Either way leave him be. No one knows his thoughts and drawing baseless conclusions framed as "opinions" is a wasteful use of time and can only harm our chances of keeping him because it only shows one side of our fan base, one that only thinks for the better of self than others wants and desires.
I guess reading comprehension is not your strong suit. Back to the subject, reeves would be a great get. I can totally respect where he is coming from with the mixed feelings, just have to wait and see if that bridge can be strong again.
If you build up lofty expectations you are bound for disappointments. I assume the bbq built stronger ties with the commits and non-commits and we just have to be patient. On a side note, not sure if this was posted anywhere but seems we are making strides with payton.
http://www.maxpreps.com/m/article.aspx?articleid=6ef3dde9-01b8-e011-a48…
I agree, coaches are human and will make mistakes. But bad decisions are judged based on outcomes. Hoke is open to criticism, but when some folks on the board go after him for offering a kid solely because he isn't ranked by scout and without seeing the kid play a down for UM yet is not worthy criticism, just my take
I don't believe the coaches are relying on what Scout/Rivals/ESPN says about a prospect in order to offer a kid. When the coaches offer kids who happen to be ranked high, we as a fan base trust that they are evaluating talent appropriately by interviewing the kid and looking at game/camp film and not be naive to only offer a kid because he's a 4 star per Rivals, correct? So why is that any different with Olson? Clearly the coaching staff likes him and if that means they accept his commitment, I’ll trust it. We won’t know if this was a sound move or not until 2015 I would guess. I just hate seeing our fan base downing a kid or the staff when we don’t have the resources and knowledge of the kid’s ability or the staff’s intuition. I know faith is hard but let’s get it together folks.
you're talking about two guys who are both 4 stars, one is "ranked" #11 DE the other is #13 according to scout. The coaches look at film and live games and see who is best for the defense they are trying to employ. I can't really say at this stage one is truly better than the other, I trust the coaches to prefer one kid to project better to their system.
the only recruiting tactic is showing a quality kid a quality school to receive a degree and play ball on saturdays. If Dunn wants to commit to blue he will, if Garmon wants to commit he will. Both are top notch backs and we'll be good either way. There is nothing different about what we do from any other school in the country. The recruits have communicated via Allen Trieu and Tom that the staff is not applying pressure, the kids committing does that in itself.
"i would love to see the OLine and DT addressed"...its not like Hoke and his staff haven't offered quality kids on both sides of the ball, we just have'n received commitments at a flurry pace compared to other positions. Tom's weekly address quite a few quality prospects that we are in good standing with. I think we as fans need to really breath, back in early spring we we worried with the lack of commits, then it shifted to gaining commits too fast. I trust the coaches to eye talent and to get them blue, all will work out in due time.
Iowa n WI had success against them. My point is there were many other reasons their teams succeeded against us, we can't hinge on their scandalous practices n forget how we looked on the field. Don't get me wrong I'm salivating at the thought of the consequences they will face, but I'm not ringing the "ineligible players" bell as loudly as others are. I'm ready to see our squad demolish them between the white lines.
the kool-aid sippers that are Ohio and that university are some of the most hypocritical, asinine fans across any sport and I agree that I can't wait for some of their chickens to come home to roost. But on the flip, lets not get crazy, they have had our number the last few years. 11 on 11 we were beat on the field. If it comes to fruition that players were indeed ineligible for receiving improper benefits then they should get punished to the fullest extent. But cmon, lets not be that kind of fan base who use the "ineligible players" scapegoat with our struggles against them. I see this as motivation to assume control once again as the peak of the Big Ten and their dirty laundry is finally being exposed.
The difference is the kid is 215-220 and in the backfield playing a 3 technique . Scout has him running a 4.65 so even if he is a tweener he can play LB and play well. I just believe the ceiling is higher on him they say a Godin.
The kid is an athlete. Coach Meyer said it best when he commented about recruiting athletes who are strong, fast and quick, you can always coach them up once on campus. He's being recruited as a DE, listed at 220 but some of his highlights show him playing a 3 technique and pushing guys into the back field. He can make tackles in space based on his punt coverage. His body is built to add weight, I think he would be a quality addition as a DE, especially if we can get his teammates in the fold.
Kats are quick to give up on any possibility that Zeke will commit to us. Who knows, maybe he visited Auburn and realized UM was the home for him. We don't know, lets find out. We are quick to assume with so little to base it on. Now I understand why a lot folks thought the sky was falling after 15 practices.
"But actually watching the spring game itself turned out to be another story, as Boise’s defense ruled the 21-13 final. Quarterback and Heisman finalist Kellen Moore finished 5-of-14 for 50 yards in three series — almost statistically identical to Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson (who finished 5-0f-14 for 68 yards in Michigan’s scrimmage)."
Point is, the spring games across the country weren't beautiful, as they never are. The Defense will usually rule and QBs will struggle. Lets all just relax.
Recent Comments
1. We aren't the only elite program to bring in top notch lineman.
2. Its not as easy to as you think to sell a new offense that hasn't been seen on the field yet. The coaches sell recruits on the pro-style offense but all they can witness is Denard. Put it like this, if I'm a restaurant, a pretty darn good mexican restaurant. I then start sending out ads about changing to a pizza parlor. Our ads show the elite chefs we have, the top of the line ovens, and ingredients from Italy. But then I tell you you have to buy pizza from us every week for 4 years. But sorry, you can't taste the pie until 2013. Would you sign up for that kind of commitment? Its a tough sell no? so imagine a kid with plenty of offers (offers that are pretty good pizza parlors already) and having to pick UM. Folks have to take the blinders off and realize that its not as confusing as you think why a skill position kid won't jump so quick to commit to UM. Once we have a few years under our belt, I'm sure kids will be jumping, not yet though.
Deion is one of a kind, no doubt but he is not the only CB to have played that way. Adam Jones, Champ Bailey, Chris McAllister, and a number of CBs have played a similar style. You don't have to be the very best athlete but you truly have to be gifted and have a solid D around you. Deion played with fast, blitzing defenses where split decisions by the QB are heighten. Of course you'll get burned, the best corners get burned playing corner, but the same can be said when you blitz because Its a calculated risk. You said yourself that Lewis made some unbelievable plays on D and you'll have a time or two where he'll get beat but thats football. I believe the coaches see the intangibles Lewis. Of course they'll coach him up so he understand when to take risks playing back but I really don't see the coaches tweaking his style because its obvious the coaches want playmakers, ball hawks on D
you have to also note there are two types of corners; The Deions of the world and the Revis of the world. The Revis type of corners pride themselves on the ball never being thrown their way so they stay in the hip pocket, where as the Deions want the ball to come their way so they can make a play and get the O the rock or take it for 6, so they play a little off and lean on their recover speed. Your critique for Lewis though may be true, shouldn't necessarily be seen as a negative. Some guys are gifted enough to play CB the way he does. He’ll just have to learn when to play that style and when to stay in the back pocket.
I grew up with the Sullys and good friends with them now and I can say with 100% confidence that this is not the case.
I have a feeling that Treadwell is more like Tuley-Tilman is respect to yes he would like to take visits and see other schools but I truly believes he wants to goto UM. It may take another WR commiting for him to also commit to secure his spot, similar to LTT committing when we had the run on OL committing. Pure guess though
From what I hear we'll likely take 3-4 DL, likely two DT and two DE so I see it as very likely to take both Webb and Poggi, especially since I see Webb is more 1 tech and Poggi versatile enough to play multiple positions across the line. On a side note, when did folks anoint RDT as the czar of recruiting knowledge? I have nothing wrong with his posting but he is quoting from "insiders" just like anyone of us can and folks are taking it as truth. There has been no reporting of our coaches saying we are full at DT. I think we need to be careful because some fans have a habit of running with rumors that have no veracity, which makes the entire fanbase look like imbeciles to other fans and even recruits. (i.e. Farrell/Isaac)
I think you and others are failing to realize is we are transitioning to a completely new offensive philosophy in which TEs will be a vital component and we have zero proven depth. Similar to UM taking 4 LBs last year, we need to have talent and depth at the TE position. We currently have Moore (who will be gone after this yr) and Miller on the roster, neither of which has demonstrated (up to this point) they are ready to step right in and contribute. AJ williams is a great addition but he is more of a blocking TE, Funchess will be a stud but needs a yr or two to get his body right for college, but neither are really the true dual threat Borges wants in his offense. The coaches want 3 in this class and I completely agree, we need to provide instant depth and talent to the position if we are going to really reap the benefits of the pro-style offense in 2-3 years, esp since anything can happen (injuries, potential not realized, etc). I don't know why its so difficult for you and others to see this, glad we got coaches who do.
its still early so I wouldn't judge the kids offer sheet at this stage. Think about Standifer last yr when we offered him and who he held offers from.....
guess we'll know shortly
I'm just as geeked as the next man but can we stop with the megatron 2.0 phrasing I think that gets thrown around too easy nowadays. Respect the man, Megatron is 6'5'', runs a 4.35 and catches everything. Blackmon is the top receiving coming out, 2X college football Receiver of the yr and no one is calling him megatron 2.0. I'm just saying this to bring us back in the frame of reality and lets see what we got before throwing lofty comparisons. A kid can only improve his speed so much, .hundredths of a second is the usual improvement.
Commit is typically short for verbal commit. Why would Kozan verbally commit now, he would just fax his LOI. Thus its a 2013 kid.
If it was Kozan, i don't think Steve would phrase it as a "Commit" coming
but I wouldn't have argued if he was tossed from the game. We can't really judge intent, but it was a pretty hard foul that didn't get close to the ball.
I don't think this is an update if its based on a rumor.
I think folks are getting too caught up in the number of LBs in the class. I will say something that folks don't want to hear, we simply do not have the talent at the LB position to compete at big-ten/national championship level. Think about it, we had a RS Fr and a true Fr starting at 2 out of 3 LB positions. That tells me the coaches felt talent wise, those were the best of the bunch. That is why we took so many LBs, its not a matter of depth for a possible 3-4 move but more so getting a depth of talent at the position in general. So lets stop the 3-4 talk, both Hoke and Mattison has stated its a 4-3 over so there you go.
Lets make sure the facts are straight. There was mention of a 4star recruit, who is currently committed to another school that was contemplating a visit to UM NEXT WEEKEND (the weekend of the 20th). This 4star recruit did not want his name out there for various reasons that are unknown. It was not Goodman because his visit was known to be this weekend, the 13th. Muller came out quickly after the allstar game to reaffirm his commitment to Rutgers. There was no "secret visitor", it was a target who was thinking of visiting but wanted to remain a secret until he decided to visit.
The fact is no one knows who the target is, no one really knows if he will still visit. So why don't we just focus on what we do know, we have '12 and '13 targets coming in this weekend that would do wonders for our program. I hope we just leave the posts that focus on speculation to the other boards.
not enough points to post in a new thread. but thought the article was interesting considering the tremendous job Hoke has done in his first year and coming off a big needed win off a lost. Listen to the vid as well and Herb's story on Stoops and similarities we hear with Hoke.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7163847/brian-kelly-notr…
if he was selecting his school by tossing all 11 schools in a hat and picking one, yes, it would be 9.1% but thats not the case now is it?
holding a ball while fielding a punt is a common technique/drill used by most college and pro teams.
we have 5, they have 3, dunn leaves = we have 6 they have 2.
not so OT but we also have 5 of the top 15 in Ohio, two more than osu (perhaps 4 more if Dunn flips).
http://recruiting.scout.com/3/2012_Ohio.html
i wish folks would just leave this kid and this "question" alone. Terry is UM bound for now and thats all we can say. He's an exceptional talent and speaking as a former HS kid who was recruited I can understand how someone can have their mind made up but why he want to take visits. The situation will play itself out with and without our repetitive opinions of what Terry is doing or thinking. Regardless of what we think this is Terry's life, let him live it as is and play it out. We have excellent recruiters in our coaching staff thus we are at a luxury of having a few kids interested in playing for us. Sometimes our arrogance and ignorance of a fan base clouds reality that Terry is a young adult about to make possibly one of the biggest decisions at this point of his life and there are many things he has to consider or he was like me and just wants to enjoy the ride even though he may know how the ride will end. Either way leave him be. No one knows his thoughts and drawing baseless conclusions framed as "opinions" is a wasteful use of time and can only harm our chances of keeping him because it only shows one side of our fan base, one that only thinks for the better of self than others wants and desires.
I agree, coaches are human and will make mistakes. But bad decisions are judged based on outcomes. Hoke is open to criticism, but when some folks on the board go after him for offering a kid solely because he isn't ranked by scout and without seeing the kid play a down for UM yet is not worthy criticism, just my take
I don't believe the coaches are relying on what Scout/Rivals/ESPN says about a prospect in order to offer a kid. When the coaches offer kids who happen to be ranked high, we as a fan base trust that they are evaluating talent appropriately by interviewing the kid and looking at game/camp film and not be naive to only offer a kid because he's a 4 star per Rivals, correct? So why is that any different with Olson? Clearly the coaching staff likes him and if that means they accept his commitment, I’ll trust it. We won’t know if this was a sound move or not until 2015 I would guess. I just hate seeing our fan base downing a kid or the staff when we don’t have the resources and knowledge of the kid’s ability or the staff’s intuition. I know faith is hard but let’s get it together folks.
I think Tom addressed each prospect in his weekly update
you're talking about two guys who are both 4 stars, one is "ranked" #11 DE the other is #13 according to scout. The coaches look at film and live games and see who is best for the defense they are trying to employ. I can't really say at this stage one is truly better than the other, I trust the coaches to prefer one kid to project better to their system.
the only recruiting tactic is showing a quality kid a quality school to receive a degree and play ball on saturdays. If Dunn wants to commit to blue he will, if Garmon wants to commit he will. Both are top notch backs and we'll be good either way. There is nothing different about what we do from any other school in the country. The recruits have communicated via Allen Trieu and Tom that the staff is not applying pressure, the kids committing does that in itself.
"i would love to see the OLine and DT addressed"...its not like Hoke and his staff haven't offered quality kids on both sides of the ball, we just have'n received commitments at a flurry pace compared to other positions. Tom's weekly address quite a few quality prospects that we are in good standing with. I think we as fans need to really breath, back in early spring we we worried with the lack of commits, then it shifted to gaining commits too fast. I trust the coaches to eye talent and to get them blue, all will work out in due time.
the kool-aid sippers that are Ohio and that university are some of the most hypocritical, asinine fans across any sport and I agree that I can't wait for some of their chickens to come home to roost. But on the flip, lets not get crazy, they have had our number the last few years. 11 on 11 we were beat on the field. If it comes to fruition that players were indeed ineligible for receiving improper benefits then they should get punished to the fullest extent. But cmon, lets not be that kind of fan base who use the "ineligible players" scapegoat with our struggles against them. I see this as motivation to assume control once again as the peak of the Big Ten and their dirty laundry is finally being exposed.
Is Ross being recruited as a WILL? I know RJS and Ringer were seen as more MIKEs and SAMs.
The kid is an athlete. Coach Meyer said it best when he commented about recruiting athletes who are strong, fast and quick, you can always coach them up once on campus. He's being recruited as a DE, listed at 220 but some of his highlights show him playing a 3 technique and pushing guys into the back field. He can make tackles in space based on his punt coverage. His body is built to add weight, I think he would be a quality addition as a DE, especially if we can get his teammates in the fold.
Kats are quick to give up on any possibility that Zeke will commit to us. Who knows, maybe he visited Auburn and realized UM was the home for him. We don't know, lets find out. We are quick to assume with so little to base it on. Now I understand why a lot folks thought the sky was falling after 15 practices.
NBC sports quotes about Boise St. spring game:
"But actually watching the spring game itself turned out to be another story, as Boise’s defense ruled the 21-13 final. Quarterback and Heisman finalist Kellen Moore finished 5-of-14 for 50 yards in three series — almost statistically identical to Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson (who finished 5-0f-14 for 68 yards in Michigan’s scrimmage)."
Point is, the spring games across the country weren't beautiful, as they never are. The Defense will usually rule and QBs will struggle. Lets all just relax.