Outlook on '14 Class and Recruiting Question
Freep link warning.
It's nice to see Wilton Speight taking the Shane Morris role for the '14 class, but I found this quote interesting:
“After this crazy day settles down, I’m going to try to get coach (Al) Borges on the phone, and I want him to get me a list of who they’re targeting and who I need to start working on, because I plan on this class being the top recruiting class they’ve had in awhile. Every day, (I'll) contact as many guys as I can, build friendships and draw trustworthy relationships,” he said. “I think they’re taking 16 (players). Put together a group of 15 guys and myself to be as close to perfection as possible.”
Which leads me to a few questions I'd the MGoCommunity to take a stab at. First, why such a small class? With him in the mix, plus Ferns, and hopefully the McDowell and Hand tandem, that leaves only twelve spots. Also, how do you think our recruiting compares to that of Ohio in terms of raw talent and addressing areas of need?
February 7th, 2013 at 1:09 PM ^
Hand is not coming here. People need to start realizing that.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^
People need to stop throwing around opinions like they are facts.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:46 PM ^
to throw around opinions, even if they are not popular.
February 7th, 2013 at 9:19 PM ^
While it may be an "opinion" that Hand is not going to end up at Michigan, it is a VERY sensible one. I would be utterly shocked if he ended up anywhere other than Virginia Tech or Alabama right now. Does Michigan have a shot? Sure. But, we are WAY, WAY behind right now in his recruitment and that is not merely an opinion.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:13 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
Coach Mattison might have something to say about that.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
How many times did we hear this about Derrick Green?
February 7th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
Yep. I'll man up and admit that I thought UM would never get Green until about 2 weeks before he announced. Surprised the hell out of me that UM landed him. Let's hope he lives up to the hype.
February 7th, 2013 at 8:46 PM ^
Right up until the screen rolled up to reveal a Michigan jersey I thought he would go somewhere else. He kept it close to the vest, not easy for anyone to do with all the attention.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
So, you're saying that he should talk to The Hand?
Sorry. Couldn't resist.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
...personal opinion, but I think tha tit will be very hard to persuade Hand to select Michigan over Virginia Tech. I think it's a race between those two schools, and the local connection is likely to make the difference. I will be very happy if I'm not correct.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^
just like with Derrick Green, right?
February 7th, 2013 at 2:40 PM ^
Just like Laquon Treadwell, Ty Isaac, Jordan Diamond, and Stefon Diggs, right?
February 7th, 2013 at 3:52 PM ^
Only one of those guys chose the local school...
February 8th, 2013 at 9:01 AM ^
...like Derrick Green. Green never professed any significant interest in VT or UVa. Hand has. So your counter is invalid on its own.
As I stated in my carefully craft tit post, I won't be surprised to see Hand select Michigan, I'm just not counting on it.
February 8th, 2013 at 9:08 AM ^
February 8th, 2013 at 10:04 AM ^
Overall, Green listed the Hokies as one of eight schools standing out in an interview earlier this week. The other seven are Alabama, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Clemson, Oregon and Wisconsin.
http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1373887
February 8th, 2013 at 12:06 PM ^
...article. As we know, of those schools none made his final three. So, yeah. Great find, Magnus.
February 8th, 2013 at 12:27 PM ^
"Green never professed any significant interest in VT or UVa."
Virginia Tech was in his top eight at one point, so it all depends on your definition of "serious interest." I don't think "serious interest" has to include the final three. He took visits last July and August to Georgia and Ole Miss, respectively. Does that mean he never showed significant interest in them, either? I mean, he went to VT when they were supposed to have their spring game. To me that's fairly significant.
Oh, and if Michigan has to be in your final three in order to have shown "significant interest," then I guess we can't say that Hand has "significant interest" in Michigan. After all, he only has a top five so far.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
Tha tit should get very hard if you're touching it properly
February 7th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
my thoughts exactly
February 7th, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
Brother, Sister is a great album
February 7th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 1:27 PM ^
Given that we are in his stated top 5 and possess his stated "favorite coaching staff" we seem to be in the strongest position to nab him as any other school at this early juncture. You are just as clueless as the Buckeye fans who seem to think that St. Urban will pull in anyone with 5 stars next to their name
February 7th, 2013 at 5:05 PM ^
"Coach Lawing is my favorite recruiter, but Bud Foster is my favorite coach. He's just a nice guy, and I can talk to him about anything. We barely talk about football. Virginia Tech is close to home, and they're the hometown favorite. Everybody knows that if I had to choose between Virginia and Virginia Tech I would choose Virginia Tech. Of course, they have that great engineering program also."
February 7th, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 6:57 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^
Here's the scholarship breakdown for next year:
http://touchthebanner.blogspot.com/2013/02/2013-scholarship-count.html
You can see that 16 guys are scheduled to graduate.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:18 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 4:58 PM ^
ChopsBusted? He's a cousin of mine.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
Well this is awkward...
February 7th, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^
I know we are not supposed to speculate on 5 years, but I can see 1 or 2 maybe in that group that may not hang around?
February 7th, 2013 at 1:33 PM ^
It is not really speculating to say that because attrition is and will always be a given in college football.
It would be speculating to say __________ and __________ are going to leave.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:02 PM ^
I think of "attrition" separately from 5th year seniors:
Attrition - John Doe, Jr LB, threw a kid through a window last night at charlies and was kicked off the team.
Whereas the 5th year discussion is much more specific and relies less on chance. Speculating on attrition is different than speculating on 5th year returnees.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:45 PM ^
Judging by the way Terrence Robinson and Khoury were handled, I don't see how some of those guys find a scholarship for a fifth year...
February 7th, 2013 at 1:30 PM ^
Isn't Jones a prime candidate to not get a 5th year (since we need to free up 2 schollies by Aug), thereby reducing the initial number of available spaces to 15?
February 7th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
Wasn't the 2013 class origanally supposed to be a small 15-18 recruit class?
February 7th, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
Yeah...I want to say it was supposed to be about 17 strong about a year ago, so it's clearly inflated quite a bit. The 2014 class is almost certainly going to be bigger than 16, so we'll just have to wait and see how big it gets.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:47 PM ^
Kids are more likely to transfer in this era instead of playing on the scout team for four years. As soon as the writing is on the wall, the player is on the phone. It's just the way things are done now.
Some think it's callous, but if a coach is honest with a player, as Hoke is, he is actually doing everyone a favor. The kid goes somewhere he can play, and the team gets another scholly. When it comes to scholly counts, Michigan is "playing the game" like everyone else does, but with one major difference: they are doing it with integrity and honesty.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:50 PM ^
ala the SEC.
February 7th, 2013 at 5:49 PM ^
Does he still have a chance at getting a redshirt for his freshman year? Or was he denied and I missed it?
February 7th, 2013 at 6:09 PM ^
Nothing has changed in the Gardner situation.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:19 PM ^
Hoke needs more 2014 commits. I am in withdrawal after yesterday.
February 7th, 2013 at 1:42 PM ^
Was one 2014 commitment yesterday not enough?
February 7th, 2013 at 1:49 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 3:38 PM ^
Know what else comes in pairs?
February 7th, 2013 at 5:01 PM ^
Garden hoses?