If you were negative recruiting against Michigan today....what would you say?

Submitted by mGrowOld on

There has been much talk recently on the board and in the media in general about the whole negative recruiting issue.  Many of the kids we actively recruited said that Hoke did not engage in this tactic while many of those same players reported that other coaches they met with did.   Lets face it - recruiting at its core is simply sales.  The salesman (Head Coach) trying to "sell" the recruit on the virtues of signing on the line that is dotted (I'm looking at you Alec Baldwin) so they will attend your school and play in your program for the next 4-5 years.  And having spent the better part of the last 30 years of my career in sales and sales management I can definitely tell you there are two schools of thought regarding negative selling.

School #1 states you NEVER mention your competition during your sales pitch.  That the merits of your offering should be enough to sway the buyer and besides, why waste your valuable time with the client talking about the other guy.  This would seem to be the current Hoke approach.

School #2 believes if you can clearly identify your opponent you go for the throat and use whatever means necessary to discredit their value in the eyes of the buyer.  Turn on the TV or radio during an election and you'll see first hand this approach in all its negative glory.  Coaches negative recruiting against us in the past used Carr's health (allegedly) and RR's potential termination as means of negative recruiting against Michigan's potential players.

But what about today?  What could you say if your were head up against Michigan and were going negative?  About the only thing I could think you could use was our poor NFL draft showing recently.  Auburn, for example, if going negative in the battle for Diamond, could point to a very strong NFL presence in the last few drafts while we have no one since Brandon Graham drafted very high.  And the reasons don't really matter nor does the number of players we used to place high in the draft under Carr.  We have done poorly recently in grooming players for the NFL and I wonder if that isn't a big underlying reason why we are losing out on some of these last big name recruits.

What do you think?

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Amutnal

February 4th, 2012 at 1:48 PM ^

U are correct in that the morbidly obese reference was for Borges, not Hoke, although I didn't explicitly say that.
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<br>And again, I was just suggesting that being overweight might factor in the decision process if recruits are torn between two schools. Imagine Borges walking into your house if u were a recruit and tell me his weight doesnt leave a negative impression on some level?

Joined: 02/05/2011

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bronxblue

February 4th, 2012 at 1:42 PM ^

I'd buy that if not for the fact that it's not the other coaches at schools all hit the gym 3 hours a day and look jacked.  I mean, I saw a list of the top recruiters in college and most of them look, um, well-fed.  And while guys like Saban and Meyer look like they work out a bit, but Hoke doesn't look like a Mangino/Weiss; he's just husky.  

Joined: 11/22/2008

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snarling wolverine

February 4th, 2012 at 6:15 PM ^

Their obesity is an indirect turnoff for some recruits. It's like a job interview. All other things being EQUAL, an employer chooses the well-groomed, fit candidate over the 350 pound, sloppy one.
I would not assume that 17-year-olds' thought processes are identical to those of grown adults working in human resources.

Joined: 12/14/2011

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scmaize

February 4th, 2012 at 11:08 AM ^

"Ann Arbor gets cold in the winter, and you'll freeze your butt off."  That's about it, and it only works for warm-weather schools, not our Big Ten competition.

Joined: 01/07/2011

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LIZARD4141

February 4th, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^

There isn't a large population of good looking girls at UofM,  and most are lesbians.  80% of the male population are guy's who are 5' 7'' or shorter and they like soccer.  They also have a inferrior complex because they are small and are geeks.  They spend their friday nights playing video games instead of doing keg stands and chasing tail.  A large percentage of the students will think they are better than you because their parents are wealthy,  but the only reason that they got accepted in the first place was because their parents are alums.  Brady Hoke will require you to attend class.  Attending class sucks.

Joined: 12/09/2011

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bronxblue

February 4th, 2012 at 1:31 PM ^

If I'm an academically-rigorous school like NW, ND, Stanford, etc., I'd say:

  1. Highlight academic rankings.
  2. Talk about options after football.
  3. Point out athletic successes along with strong classrooms.

If I'm another Big 10 team:

  1. Coaching transition.
  2. Same conference, so still benefits of competition.
  3. Show "them" if they were slow to recruit/felt disrespected.
  4. "Arrogant" fanbase would spit you out.

SEC/ACC/Pac-10

  1. Proximity to home.
  2. Weather.
  3. Coeds.
  4. National success.
  5. NFL success.
  6. Why play with the junior leagues where everyone is slow.

Not saying any of these points are true, but those would be my arguments.

Joined: 11/22/2008

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aawolverine

February 4th, 2012 at 2:17 PM ^

the university exposed children to the direct care of a pedophile for 6 months, while they figured out the best way to bury bad press and cover their ass. Kind of an icky PSU type situation that doesn't shine well on the entire organization.

Joined: 04/01/2009

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uminks

February 4th, 2012 at 8:30 PM ^

I like the recruits we already have in the 2012 class. Sure it would have been nice to add a few more OL, but if they don't want to play for Michigan, then best of luck to them elsewhere.

 

 

Joined: 11/10/2009

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