If Danny O'Brien goes to Tennessee......
So, for those of you who follow recruiting far more than I do, I remember the staff telling a potential star DL recruit not to visit because they were hitching their trailer to Pipkins and O'Brien. We obviously have Pipkins. However, if Danny O'Brien picks Tennesse, is there any word on the staff pursuing other defensive tackles (or making a call back to whomever that was they initially denied). It seems we'll have some spots available now and it still seems a position of need. Has anyone heard anything?
September 23rd, 2011 at 1:50 PM ^
I may be wrong, but I never thought UM was really in with Pittman. He seemed like one of those Ohio kids who dreamed of going to OSU and, when he saw the charred remains that Tressel left behind, jumped to MSU because Dantonio talked his program up as OSU-lite.
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:03 PM ^
There have been persistent rumors about grade issues with Pittman.
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:32 PM ^
If you can't get into college go to State?
September 23rd, 2011 at 4:44 PM ^
TomVH made it clear that the UM staff felt confident on Pittman. They backed off somewhat, possibly to slow play him.
September 23rd, 2011 at 1:35 PM ^
I think the staff held off on Schutt because they were waiting for either O'Brien or Pipkins to drop (not both).
September 23rd, 2011 at 1:40 PM ^
Pipkins committed before Schutt tried to visit. And I think the staff knew they were getting down to closing the class out and needed to choose wisely. They obviously wanted O'Brien more than Schutt, but in the end they wanted Wright, Darboh, Payton, etc. more than they wanted O'Brien.
I'm always weary of kids going somewhere else and people saying we cooled, but I actually think this time we did cool on him.
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:01 PM ^
if memory serves Schutt tried to visit just before Pipkins committed which caused a lot of angst on this here blog because we didn't have any committed DT's in this class at the time. Pipkins then committed and the "Schutt, you can't visit" story made more sense.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:47 PM ^
Pipkins committed at the BBQ the weekend before Schutt tried to visit. It became public that he committed later that week.
Pipkins and Schutt both were being recruited as nose guards (1 tech) and Pipkins committed first, leaving Schutt out in the dust. Danny O'Brien is being recruited as a defensive tackle (3 tech).
The numbers are thin and Payton is close to committing, leaving three spots left for players like Wright, Darboh, Garnett, Banner, etc. O'Brien must've not been as valuable as some other players being recruited.
September 23rd, 2011 at 1:47 PM ^
Pipkin announced only a few days later and O'Brien was supposedly not close to a decision, It seems pretty clear that Pipkin was their priority and they knew he was coming by that point. If they truly wanted one more DT I doubt very much they would have turned down Schutt for the possibility of O'Brien. More likely seems they would have preferred for O'Brien to wait until they knew they had a spot for him. Other positions were clearly a higher priority.
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:05 PM ^
PIPKINS.
And he told the coaches he committed before making it public. The coaches told Schutt "No" because they already had Pipkins in the fold. Only the public did not know it yet.
Confirmed by TomVH.
September 23rd, 2011 at 1:48 PM ^
IIRC, they significantly preferred Pipkens over the other DTs they were recruiting.
September 23rd, 2011 at 1:56 PM ^
Everyone needs to understand that if there is any position group on the team that Hoke understands, it's the D-Line. If we've cooled on O'Brien, it's for good reason.
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:04 PM ^
Seriously, going back a few months all the coaches said they were only taking one interior linemen. The only people who said they would take more were analysts. I don't think they "cooled" on him for any reason other than his spot got taken by Pipkins.
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:31 PM ^
Just met Gardner and Gallon at Briarwood. They stick out like sore thumbs in their M gear. Just told them goodluck tomorrow on my way to the MDen. Nice kids! although, I think they all try to be around us fans. Go Blue!
September 23rd, 2011 at 2:38 PM ^
It's safe to assume we'll move on to the 2013 class in looking for DL talent. And that's not a bad thing, because we could use a number of top prospects. For the last 4/5 spots, we need to get the best finish possible. That doesn't seem to include Danny O.
And as weak as our DL depth is, so is our OL depth.
September 23rd, 2011 at 3:09 PM ^
...he is an in-state kid, we shouldn't have to beg. If I can dust off an old Brady Hoke chestnutt and say..."THIS IS MICHIGAN." When Hoke is done, kids will be lining up to come to Michigan. O'Brien has been a little to diva for me. Some kids seem to like the chase a little to much. It's like hanging around a bar after 2pm with a girl you already dropped a few dimes on. If it hasn't happened by now, it's not going to happen.
September 24th, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^
2pm is early... keep trying
September 23rd, 2011 at 3:32 PM ^
D-line is the least of our concerns
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:23 PM ^
Who are our potential interior lineman?
<br>
<br>At nose
<br>- Pipkins - highly rated, lots of potetial, but haven't we had highly rated DL's who took several years to develop before?
<br>- BWC - isn't the scuttlebut that he rally isn't a nose tackle?
<br>- Quinton Washington and Richard Ash - really the only way I can see not taking a versatile interior lineman who could play either position is if one of these guys were really stepping up in practice. Since neither of them is redshirting and our d-line hasn't been that strong, I would think we'd hear so ething about one of them if thiis was the case
<br>
<br>3-tech
<br>- BWC - he's improving, but banking on him is a litt,e scary
<br>- Q Washington - hurts depth at DT
<br>- a host of freshman DE-DT types - i think we are hoping one can step in at SDE too - if we're gonna be bankin this much on freshman, I'd love to have another number in the mix
<br>
<br>On defense - I don't see any position we are thinner at
<br>
<br>On offense, I could see the argument that we are thin at WR especially if you consider Stronum an unknown, but I have to say, I still feel better about WR next year than interior defensive line
<br>
<br>Similarly with no one stepping up at running back, I could see the argument there too, but I continue to think we'll see a running back step up.
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:45 PM ^
Here's what I think about this. I agree that DL will be the weakest part of the defense, maybe the weakest unit on the team (unless we have OL injuries). However:
-This will be mitigated by the fact that we bring back all three starting LBs (and most backups) and 3/4 starting DBs.
-Roh and Black have been looking good, so whoever it ends up being, WDE should be a strength as well.
-I'm not ready to give up on Q and Ash. Richard Ash is a redshirt freshman. It's not all that surprising he's not seeing the field since all of the players ahead of him are older than him. Q is getting PT, despite being a college DL for only about a year so far. Give him this season to get some experience and the offseason to get some good coaching and he'll show strides.
-Heitzman and Rock exist. I have no idea what to expect out of those guys, but they seem to get ignored completely and it's possible that after a year of watching and learning they're able to at least contribute next fall.
-Ditto for Kenny Wilkins.
-Brink, albeit a walk-on, will benefit a lot from his PT and he's a guy who could come back in 2012 fifteen pounds heavier and be a force. At 265 with no in-game experience he's a C+ DL. At 275-280 with a year of regular reps he'll probably be a B/B+ DL.
September 23rd, 2011 at 11:16 PM ^
on Brink is a bit high. Hopefully he grows into a contrbutor but he hasn't done anything with his PT
September 23rd, 2011 at 9:48 PM ^
What's with all the white space? Is that a special effect?
Stay on the positive
September 23rd, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^
If he wants to go to shitty Tenn go ahead. Then he can watch Michigan kick ass in the Rose bowl and see what could of happened. Good luck with that ugly orange. Winged helmet always wins!!! But seriously choose Michigan.
September 24th, 2011 at 1:51 AM ^
Know you what you speak "of"...
| Date | Opponent (record) | Result | Score | Site | |||
| 1/1/2002 | vs. | Tennessee (11-2) | L | 17 | 45 | @ Orlando, FL | Citrus Bowl |
there is no shitty in Tennessee until this loss is avenged and more. Arrogance is best served cold. It's the least appealing trait of Michigan fandom...and never deserved.
srsly...
September 23rd, 2011 at 4:27 PM ^
Who is left on the DL after Marin departs? Big WIll and a bunch of guys the coaches don't talk about. I don't know but Hoke tell us the game is won in the trenches and then we only have one DL recruit in this class, seems odd. I have a feeling O'Brien is a silent commit. Just my 2 Lincolns
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:00 PM ^
so... i presume Mario Ojemudia switched to punting, Pharaoh Brown to FS, Strobel to SS, Wormley to FB, Godin to KR and Pipkins to water boy?
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:16 PM ^
Well I did hear somewhere that we experimented with our towel boy at wide receiver.
September 23rd, 2011 at 6:50 PM ^
I was thinking DT not DL. I thought Ojemudia and Brown are DEs not DT? How is Ojemudia at 220lbs supposed to play DT?
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:04 PM ^
OK, but you said DL.
Anyway, we have four commits in this class who could play DT and two in last year's class, plus 4 others once the current seniors leave. Let's not get dramatic.
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^
Seriously, we have verbal commitments from 6 defensive linemen in this class, all of which are highly sought after. Pipkins is a top-50 DT, and has proven over and over how good he is. Strobel, Godin and Wormley will call come in 265+ as true frosh, most of them ready to play. I'd say there's beef.
September 24th, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^
Danny O'Brien is coming to Michigan. Found out from a friend of his family
September 25th, 2011 at 12:09 AM ^
I go to school with Danny. He's always wearing tennesee stuff and doesn't really talk about Michigan. Everyone assumes he's going to tennesee