Follow up: Drake Harris reopens recruitment, considering Michigan

Submitted by mzdmv on

To add on to the post from yesterday,

 

Drake Harris has reopened his recruitment and said he is considering Michigan.

Also considering 4 powerhouse schools in the south (Not sure how much I can/should say since it's paywalled)

Info from TomVH on ESPN. LINK ($)

 

EDIT: Reason is because he wants to focus solely on football

dahblue

January 16th, 2013 at 8:26 AM ^

While no one calls it that, they have had an inexplicable run of talented WRs. Of course, they've also had a run of inexplicable criminal behavior from those same guys. Maybe it has something to do with the diva-ness of WRs? Maybe it's due to the common bond shared between MSU and the correctional system? I don't know the answer but they've had a few (and now have Burbridge...I know, grades and whatnot...but he's a player).

CraigMack

January 16th, 2013 at 10:17 AM ^

A guy who shot himself at a club?  Devon Thomas was supposed to be the man and I dont think he plays in the league anymore.  Cunningham doesnt play, Martin returned kicks for the Texans.  Charles Rogers was a great talent but obviously not the most intelligent person in the world.

dahblue

January 16th, 2013 at 1:27 PM ^

Look, I'm a true State hater, but they've had some good WRs.

Mark Ingram, Sr. (not sure if he made it to the league) - served time for money laundering

B.J. Cunningham - good receiver (crime free I think)

Plaxico Burress - good receiver (likes to shoot himself and wears sweatpants to the club)

Andre Rison - burning down the house

Charles Rogers - loved by Matt Millen and the sweet, sweet cheeba

I can't explain it, but they've had some talent.

BlowGoo

January 16th, 2013 at 1:00 AM ^

Wolverine? No way! Even if he does in fact want to go football only, he would still want a program with solid basketball cred just in case...
... Oh, RIGHT! Now I get it!

Bring it on, Drake! Football. Basketball. Whatever.

We've got you covered, man!

Rather be on BA

January 16th, 2013 at 6:39 AM ^

I hope you're right.  Just something about about commiting to MSU so early, the positive comments about OSU and now a bunch of southern schools also being on his list makes me feel like Michigan isn't in the cards for him.  Hope my gut is wrong, long time till signing day, yadda yadda.

Elmer

January 16th, 2013 at 1:36 AM ^

Dantonio isn't good at landing big time recruits, but his staff is effective at identifying solid players.  He was successful against RichRod, but the party is over.  If you haven't notice, we have a new head coach who beat MSU in his 2nd year.

As for Dantonio, I have to stick up for him a little.  At least he didn't learn how to cheat while under Tressell.  Really sad how Buckeye fans celebrate a fired cheater. Pitiful.

DenverBuckeye

January 16th, 2013 at 1:52 AM ^

You guys needed a last second field goal to beat them at home in a down year for them when they had no QB.

And Tress broke rules. It's not okay, but I appreciate him for the things he did right while he was at OSU. You guys celebrate Woodson like the second coming and he probably shouldn't have been eligible. In my mind, both are fine. They've both done more good than almost anyone. And honestly, throwing the "OSU celebrates a cheater" thing out doesn't change his record against UM. At this point, just accept it and move on.

roosterbaan

January 16th, 2013 at 2:02 AM ^

why are you commenting here? because honestly, what you are saying has nothing to do with this thread. oh, and in case you didn't know, anytime someone starts with "not to [insert action here], BUT" that always means you are in fact performing that action.

sort of like, "i'm not racist, but..."

gotta love ohio state trolls

DenverBuckeye

January 16th, 2013 at 2:10 AM ^

Asked an honest question about a comment directed at MSU and was then called pitiful for my fan base liking a former coach. Sorry, didn't realize I had stumbled into MLive instead of MGoBlog.

And the reason I started with "Not trying to troll" is because many users here see my username and neg me before reading all of my comment. Seems to be the best way to show that I'm trying to have legit conversation and not get attacked.

justingoblue

January 16th, 2013 at 2:27 AM ^

and the question was fine. In fact, I'd love to give you an in depth rundown, but a) it's late and b) I'm probably not the guy to give a great answer in the first place. In light of something great, this is what I'll add:

It seems to be very, very hard to sustain success by out-scouting everyone; that's why Peterson and Patterson are such hot commodities in the coaching world. Losing nearly every recruiting battle with Hoke is a big problem for Dantionio (and is a problem he didn't have before 2011), regardless of how well he can gameplan or coach players on sound/very sound defense. They might not turn into the scrubs everyone around here is hoping they will, and they might not lose seven in a row on this run, but it does seem the smart money is on MSU trending downwards relative to Michigan.

profitgoblue

January 16th, 2013 at 10:10 AM ^

Its unfortunate, but you have two things working against you:  (1) MGoMembers are always going to be leery of a Buckeye based on past history, and (2) Buckeye viewpoints are generally viewed under a microscope and picked apart.  It means that you have to choose your words wisely.  Not that you didn't, just giving a little unsolicited advice (in case its helpful).

All that said, I still have a hard time understanding why any Ohio fan would have any affection for Tressel.  He screwed the 2012 team worse than any coach has screwed one team in years and years.  By committing what essentially was purgery, he ensured that they would not get a chance to see how "good" they really were this year by competing in a bowl game (probably against Alabama?).  I'll never understand the cheers he got when he returned to the 'Shoe, and I lost any respect I had for Gordon Gee when I heard they were allowing him back for that celebration.  Personally, if I were a Buckeye fan, I would be disgusted.

Magnus

January 16th, 2013 at 5:12 AM ^

You're right that it doesn't change his record...except that it does.  The 2010 season was vacated by the NCAA.

Also, your boy Troy Smith was suspended because he was found to have taken $500 handshakes.  You can make all the accusations you want about Woodson, but no such history exists.  Aside from that, the recruiting bump that Ohio State got from playing ineligible players was potentially enormous.  Take Maurice Clarett, Troy Smith, Terrelle Pryor, etc. away from Ohio State, and how many more games do they lose?  How many top recruits say "Eh, I'd rather play for Alabama or Florida or USC or Michigan?"

UMgradMSUdad

January 16th, 2013 at 7:44 AM ^

Dantonio wasn't the lead recruiter for his services, Izzo was.  He was committing to MSU to play basketball, with football as his second sport (even though by NCAA rules his scholarship would have counted for football).  That's why his shift of focus on football is so huge and has Spartans (rightly so) worried. He was coming to MSU primarily because of Izzo.

Magnus

January 16th, 2013 at 7:49 AM ^

Yes, he was coming to MSU primarily because of Izzo/basketball, but he's generally thought to have a higher upside in football...which is probably why he re-opened his recruitment and wants to concentrate on the football field.  He's a 6'4" guard who's not an elite basketball talent; there probably wasn't much of a future beyond the MSU hardcourt.  Conversely, he's a 6'4" wide receiver with elite skills on the gridiron; the potential there is quite significant.

Victor Hale II

January 16th, 2013 at 7:52 AM ^

Honest question: What all did he do "right" that wasn't predicated on him being adept at rule-breaking and/or ignoring any signs of violations going on around him?  I mean, did he do anything above and beyond what other football coaches do?

 

To be fair, when watching interviews with him, I always thought he was very gracious and respectful toward his peers and opponents.  And I certainly took note of how respectful he was toward UM and The Game.  He certainly put on a good front, hence the "Senator" moniker.

Michael Scarn

January 16th, 2013 at 2:15 AM ^

No, I'm not that worried about him.  He's a good coach, but never going to take them to the next level.  They simply don't have the alumni monetary support for the football team to keep up with any of the big boys.  He'll sputter along with a couple 9 win seasons here and there, sometimes with a few more losses and once in a while a 10 win season.  There will come a time when every Michigan fan won't even hate him anymore, they'll just pity him.  A man who hates Michigan with every fiber of his being, but is ironically limited in his success because his school doesn't have the things about Michigan which are at the root of that which he so hates (tradition, a huge fan base, money, facilities, a world class education).  

backtoblu

January 16th, 2013 at 10:41 AM ^

I think the "typical 9 win season, sometimes a couple more or sometimes a couple less" pretty much sums up Carr.  Difference is we DO have all that monetary support and reputation and they don't.  A lot of us wanted him out of town those last couple of years but MSU seems like they'd be perfectly happy with that kind of record.  I don't see them ever getting to a point where they realistically expect to compete for titles or BCS games, so maybe averaging 7-9 wins a year will be good enough. 

 

I think a lot of the college world is like that but if you want to roll the dice on finding an elite coach who will take you to elite, 11+ win status on a frequent basis, you have to pay up and you have to be willing to roll the dice.  Fortunately for us that mentality pretty much eliminates MSU from being a serious threat.

BiSB

January 16th, 2013 at 2:24 AM ^

The RichRod years gave State a HUGE opening to level the playing field. They got half of the in-state talent. They got a couple of years of greatly increased visibility. And they got a couple of easy wins against their hated rivals. But they squandered the opportunity, and find themselves coming off of a 6 loss season, with Michigan having firmly re-established its recruiting and visibility advantages, especially within the state. Even the Spartans I know see this as signs of a return to the status quo ante.

Sure State played Michigan tough this year. But just because one team consistently plays another tough doesn't make them a strategic/long term threat. Otherwise you guys would have to consider Purdue a threat. They play you tough every year, but there is no question of who wears the daddy pants between your two programs.

Magnus

January 16th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^

There was no Alabama on the 2011 schedule, and Notre Dame was mediocre that season.  The 2012 slate was a lot more difficult.

And none of that has to do with MSU.  If we're talking about games vs. MSU, we lost in 2011 and won in 2012.  That would seem to suggest a progression.

Mr Miggle

January 16th, 2013 at 6:47 AM ^

but wasn't that a particularly stupid question to ask? Of course we would worry more if Dantonio could recruit better. He's proven to be a good coach. How could it be worse for us that he can't land the players he wants?

backtoblu

January 16th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ^

And we had strong years against pathetic MSU teams.  Teams that weren't even bowl eligible more often than they were.  Personally, I'm happy to see that both coaches are competent because that should make for better matchups down the road.  Hoke seems to be trending up, Sparty seems to be pretty much capped out.  Not saying either will dominate but they should just be slugging it out for years to come.  If our talent develops like it should, like they are labeled to be, then we should turn the tide pretty quick and go back to winning most of the games.

dahblue

January 16th, 2013 at 1:32 PM ^

We had strong years against "pathetic" MSU teams, because that's more their standard (ok, maybe not "pathetic", but let's call it "Purdue-esque").  The difference is that RichRod was a major deviation from the norm.  Sparty's norm is Sparty.  Our norm is the opposite of RichRod.  Decades of dominance differs greatly from a 3 year stretch.

saveferris

January 16th, 2013 at 12:16 PM ^

MIchigan is still a rebuilding program whereas MSU is a program that is built and already the playing field between the two programs is pretty level.  As Hoke's recruiting classes mature and move into real playing time, MSU is going to find itself less and less able to compete. 

MSU was fortunate to find a coach that was not completely incompetent at the same time MIchigan was turning into a tire fire and it became a generationally epic win streak for them.  The reality though is that throughout the history of this rivalry, whenever Michigan has it's act together, regardless of who the head coach is in East Lansing, Michigan wins this game about 70% of the time.  Spartan fans who think Dantonio can buck this trend by "coaching up" 2 and 3 star talent to compete with the 4 and 5 star talent of Michigan and Ohio are deluding themselves.

Dantonio is a Tressel-philosophy coach at a program that lacks the recruiting muscle and booster support base to achieve Tressel-like results year in and year out.  The 2008-2011 seasons were an aberration, but everything is going to trend back to the norm.  Dantonio will finish his career at MSU with a losing record to the Wolverines.