Players we might poach from Miami?
It's far too early to determine how the Miami scandal will play out in terms of the NCAA, penalties, etc. But it's not too early to wonder to what degree Michigan might benefit. At minimum, the scandal will damage Miami's current recruiting class (now ranked among the top five).
As noted in previous posts, four-star RB Wes Brown is down to Miami and Michigan. He was said to be a Miami lean -- but that was before the scandal broke. So that could be great for M, especially since Brown is from the program that gave us Blake Countess (and that also boats Brown's friend, Stefon Diggs, a blue-chip receiver still considering Michigan). Beyond this, however, are there any other top Miami recruits/leans that might now go M's way?
And assuming Miami gets hit USC-style, many current Canes will be permitted to transfer without sitting out a year. Were any current Canes big on Michigan? Or would this be a non-starter for Michigan, given its stringent transfer rules? This year M did take a transfer from Hampton. Yes, he'd previously been an M player. But still.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:27 PM ^
who do you think we are, Al Golden?
August 17th, 2011 at 1:31 PM ^
August 17th, 2011 at 1:34 PM ^
His name escapes me, but he said he wanted to go to Miami and then had to go to Hawaii or San Jose State or something.
He's supposed to be really accurate so he might be a good fit for the west-coast offense Borges is implementing. Could be a force for us.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:41 PM ^
I hear grades might be an issue.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:49 PM ^
(Most of) our helmets have wings!
August 17th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
Tremendous.
August 17th, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
I believe he's looking specifically for schools that only have one story buildings. Not sure what that's all about.....
August 17th, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^
Is anyone else a little apprehensive about getting recruits from Miami? I mean, how did Miami get those recruits? Just doesn't seem worth the risk.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:38 PM ^
See Purdue player Robert Marve.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:20 PM ^
That competes with this stuff?
August 17th, 2011 at 1:37 PM ^
Dallas Crawford, Antonio Kindard, and Their Kicker were all freshmen that had committed to us before being poached by Golden.
The scandal might send one or two running back.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:05 PM ^
pardon the pun?
August 17th, 2011 at 2:10 PM ^
I'm not seeing a "Their Kicker" on the roster
August 17th, 2011 at 2:24 PM ^
The kid changed his name to "Their Kicker" but the roster has not been updated to account for the change. (see, e.g., The Artist Formerly Known as Prince, Ochocinco, etc.)
August 17th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^
Don't leave Metta World Peace out of this party!
August 17th, 2011 at 2:26 PM ^
Matt Wile says, "who gives a shit?".
August 17th, 2011 at 2:47 PM ^
Matt Wile? Who is he? Oh! You're talking about "Our Kicker." Now I follow . . .
August 17th, 2011 at 2:18 PM ^
Kinard was still having clearinghouse issues as of a few days ago, FWIW.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:40 PM ^
I'd have to think the coach's #1 choice at RB would be Dunn. But, if Brown entered the picture, things may get interesting.
EDIT: I forgot completely about Dallas Crawford. He'd be a possibility if he still likes Michigan and his loyalty wasn't only to the previous coaching staff. But, I doubt that.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:38 PM ^
Wouldn't mind seeing Dallas Crawford coming back up north.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:46 PM ^
I remember him talking a lot of sh*t about Countess during and after the All Army Game. Seemed pretty classless, however he is young and that can change with some good coaching/mentorship.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:59 PM ^
I got the impression that RR prioritized Crawford more than Hoke did -- that Hoke wanted a player other than Crawford. But maybe that was just spin.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:08 PM ^
That is a definite possibility.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:09 PM ^
As I recall, Crawford was the first recruit to say he would go elsewhere if RR was fired, long before Hoke came into the picture.
August 17th, 2011 at 3:43 PM ^
“The character of the kids in the program and everybody who works with those kids on a daily basis, because character wins in life and character wins on the football field. The character teams are the ones that play together, the ones who stay together, the ones who are accountable to each other and we are going to be a program that is going to be accountable.” ~ Brady Hoke
Not saying this is why he didn't want Crawford, but maybe it is.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:26 PM ^
Crawford was indeed being a dillweed about Countess. I liked Crawford as a player, but that incident along with a couple other tidbits make me glad he went elsewhere. I don't want him back.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:33 PM ^
What did he say?
August 17th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
"I'm a dillweed."
August 17th, 2011 at 10:57 PM ^
We need a fresh influx of dreads. Not many of the new commits have them...
I was more excited about Watkins than Crawford back then, and I think Yuri Wright would be the best CB to add if any.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:43 PM ^
If I were a kid considering either OSU or Miami right now, I'd (obviously) be seriously concerned.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:51 PM ^
A reasonable concern, Samber. But it's probably less applicable to players in the current recruiting class. According to Golden, none of the recruits have been on campus. Then again, this assertion does seem rather odd: I'm pretty sure every Michigan commit first visited Michigan. But Miami lands 20-odd top recruits who've never visited the school? Hmmm. Methinks Golden will come to regret his words.
Regardless, guys like Brown and Diggs remain uncommitted. So there's no reason to assume they're on the Miami payroll.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
I'm pretty sure Magnuson didn't visit before he committed, but then visited shortly after. With recruiting moving earlier and earlier, before kids can take officials, you'd have to expect some commits before visits are taken. Especially those from far a way. With Miami it's wierd though because I would guess most of their commits are in state, or even from Miami.
August 17th, 2011 at 3:12 PM ^
He committed on his visit.
I think the last players to commit before seeing Ann Arbor were DTs Perlie Graves and Jones during the early RR era - and they both decommitted as you know.
August 17th, 2011 at 4:05 PM ^
that none of the recruits had made official visits. That doesn't mean they never took an unofficial. And if a booster is giving them enough money to cover travel expenses anyways, then that quote by Bolden is meaningless.
August 17th, 2011 at 4:44 PM ^
Well, if that's what Golden meant, he's making a ridiculous and counter-productive point. An unofficial visit probably produces more graft than an official one: fewer guidelines, less oversight.
August 17th, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
He probably meant for official visits. They had "family day" last Sunday with a lot of of their commitments on hand.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:49 PM ^
Would love to snag Wes Brown. I'd take him over Dunn.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:54 PM ^
How come? They're both great, evidently. But which one is the best fit for Manball? From what I gather, Dunn is more of a bruising power-back, whereas Brown is a bit smaller and shiftier.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:59 PM ^
Brad Nessler can say "Wes is MORE!!!" so that's better.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:06 PM ^
I have a friend named Wes Brown, he is certainly not a running back, but we do call him "Weezy baby".
I think that makes the decision prettttty clear.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:36 PM ^
Why do we need a bruising power back? What we need is a good back.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^
I think most analysts like Dunn more than Brown. I think Dunn is a clone of Anthony Thomas, which would obviously be a good thing.
August 17th, 2011 at 10:26 PM ^
But the A-Train doesn't share a track with any other back.
August 17th, 2011 at 1:57 PM ^
Why would we take any of these people?
August 17th, 2011 at 2:00 PM ^
August 17th, 2011 at 2:03 PM ^
We poached Kalis. Nobody took issue with that.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:39 PM ^
Buckeyes did....
August 17th, 2011 at 2:29 PM ^
It's not that anyone's putting all the kids under the same umbrella. It's just that none of those kids are OMG SUPERSTARS and they're probably not worth the risk. Let them filter elsewhere, turn into mediocre/decent players, and move on.
August 17th, 2011 at 2:43 PM ^