McGovern offered by Alabama - 5th UM OL Target w/Ala Offer

Submitted by ypsituckyboy on

Per Allen Trieu, Alabama has offered IL OL target Colin McGovern. That makes five UM targets/commits who have Alabama offers - Bosch, Dawson, LTT, Lisle and McGovern. Rivals doesn't show Fox with one, but I'd be willing to bet he'd have gotten one had he stayed on the board. So five probably would've turned to six. Plus, it's likely Pocic will receive an offer from Alabama.

As much as I hate Nick Saban, the man obviously has an eye for talent so I'm pumped that he's essentially concurring on Hoke's evaluations. I'm loving that Hoke is identifying top tier talent early and building relationships before talented recruiters like Saban can weasel their way in. This OL class is going to be formiddable a few years down the road.

VermontMichiganFan

February 23rd, 2012 at 9:50 AM ^

Saban is probably the best recruiter in the country.  And one of his biggest strengths is the OL- so I agree- seeing AL offers for the OL we recruit is great validation that they are legit players- maybe even moreso than the number of stars they have or their rankings.

Glad to see the focus on the men doing the dirty work with recruiting!

Magnus

February 23rd, 2012 at 9:50 AM ^

I don't think it's a coincidence that Alabama offered McGovern/Lisle after Bosch, Dawson, and Tuley-Tillman went off the board.  It seems likely that those three guys were ahead of McGovern/Lisle on their list, and now they're going after their backup plans.

ypsituckyboy

February 23rd, 2012 at 9:55 AM ^

I know Alabama has had terrific success identifying and cultivating DL talent and that Saban is primarily an expert on D, but how much OL talent have they identified/developed? I'm not a big NFL guy, but can't thing of many Alabama O-linemen in the NFL.

Magnus

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:02 AM ^

I'm not sure that Alabama's linemen really translate to the NFL these days.  Alabama gets big, hefty guys to pave the way for the run game.  Since the passing game is so important in the NFL today, more and more teams are stressing the agility and footwork of pass blockers.  Alabama might have a 330 lb. guard who can destroy a defensive tackle and send Trent Richardson on a 50-yard run, but if he can't keep up with Justin Tuck on an inside pass rush, then he might not be that valuable at the next level.

Wisconsin has had great offensive lines in recent years, too, and many of those guys don't go on to NFL success.  They have had a few guys (Joe Thomas, Gabe Carimi, etc.) get picked high, but Wisconsin's guards and centers seem to be no-names despite rolling over the Big Ten in recent years.

VermontMichiganFan

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:16 AM ^

Fine with me if the top college guys you want don't project well for NFL.

Molk will be a low draft pick and he was so big for us!  Sure I want guys to go pro and play well- since that helps build up the program and helps with recruiting- but when recruiting players their NCAA potential is vastly more important than how they project for NFL

tenerson

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:22 AM ^

Exactly. Anymore you are seeing the lesser skills tackles get taken in the draft as interior linemen because of their agility. Look at Kelechi Osemele this year for example. He's an all Big 12 tackle and he will likely be drafted to put him on the interior. That's starting to happen more and more in the NFL because the majority of these 330 lb guys can't move like teams need them to. That also why I think Molk will be just fine. 

kmedved

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:29 AM ^

Other than Andre Smith, none of Saban's Alabama O-Linemen are playing significant roles even for bottom feeders in the NFL. (Per Pro-Football-Reference's draft checker).

And even Smith is generally considered to be a bust - just a guy who has a job because of the team he plays for.

WolvinLA2

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:43 AM ^

To be fair, both of Alabama's starting tackles could be first round picks next year. They both would have been early round picks, at least, had they gone this year. Their left tackle (I think he name is Barrett) was the Outland winner this year, and their RT is DJ Fluker who is just a monster.

VermontMichiganFan

February 23rd, 2012 at 9:58 AM ^

So Alabama's ideal situation was essentially our OL class that are already commits- gotta love it!

Also love seeing Alabama offers for our guys more than MSU ones- if we want to win NC's then we need to be a top recruiting team and that means going up against top recruiting powers and winning those recruits.  Take care of business with the top MI recruits, and pluck top regional guys from OH etc., then go anywhere to get the top talent that fits your system- glad to see we can do that so effectively- especially it seems with OL recruits.

bluebrow

February 23rd, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^

Some teams like Florida are doing, moving into Michigan territory.  It's no coincidence after Michigan nails it in '12, and now nearly have '13 filled with all studs.  I would say that at this point Michigan and nearby OLmen are going to be really interested in a place like Florida or Bama.

DonAZ

February 23rd, 2012 at 9:57 AM ^

Let's assume Michigan tends to hold its own or wins many of these head-to-head offer contests with Alabama.  What a terrific message to other recruits out there.  To be viewed as on-par with a powerhouse like Alabama (and by extension the SEC) implies a nice turnaround from the recent past.

Noahdb

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:17 AM ^

Look at teams like USC and Oklahoma for the best pro OL prospects. They feature pass-happy offenses, so it's easy to project those guys. 

Alabama did have Andre Smith, but he was called the best OL prospect since Orlando Pace when he came out of high school. Probably not hard to "develop" a talent like that.

VermontMichiganFan

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:22 AM ^

Are most players that ultimately end up at Center in NCAA recruited as such- or do they develop OL into centers during their careers more often?

Are players recruited to be centers- or compete for it and end up as OL if they don't pan as a center?

Magnus

February 23rd, 2012 at 1:56 PM ^

Centers aren't nearly as valuable in high school as they are in college and the pros.  If you have a center who can plow his way through the defensive tackle, great...but what about the inside linebackers, tackles, and ends that he's NOT blocking?  Meanwhile, if you put your best lineman at tackle, then you have a chance to get the edge and break longer runs.  One mauler at offensive tackle can destroy his man AND make it difficult for linebackers to scrape over the top because they get caught in the wash.

WolvinLA2

February 23rd, 2012 at 10:56 AM ^

In terms of other. OL targets with SECOND offers, Cam Dillard just got offered by Florida, to go along with offers from Arkansas and Miss St, among others. He's putting together a nice offer list, and he might fill our quota at center.

BrokenRhino

February 23rd, 2012 at 1:54 PM ^

It is great to see so many of our Commits with Alabama offers and it seems to me that we are winning our fair share of these head to head battles. MSU doesn't have a hope until next winter when they are picking up the scrubs left by UM, OSU, and ND. We are starting to show that we are one of the big boys again and makes it easier to get higher up on the ratings list. If we have top recruiting classes we get a littel more benefit of the doubt. It starts with recruiting and I trust in our coaches to get us the rest of the way. 

 

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