Michigan recruiting by the numbers
2016
Composite Top 100 commits: 6
Composite Top 247 commits: 9
Total # of 4/5 star commits: 13
Total # of 3 star commits: 14
Class Rank: #8 overall
2017
Composite Top 100 commits: 6
Composite Top 247 commits: 14
Total # of 4/5 star commits: 21
Total # of 3 star commits: 9
Class Rank: #5 overall
2018
Composite Top 100 commits: 0
Composite Top 247 commits: 5
Total # of 4/5 star commits: 7
Total # of 3 star commits: 12
Class Rank: #21 overall
2019
Composite Top 100 commits: 2
Composite Top 247 commits: 3
Total # of 4/5 star commits: 5
Total # of 3 star commits: 5
Class Rank: TBD
For comparison, last year OSU signed 13 top 100 players and 20 in the composite top 247. In 2017 they signed 11 in the composite top 100 (five 5 stars) and 17 in the composite top 247.
You constantly rail against recruiting. You extrapolate based on a single negative datapoint, then argue incessantly that your negative assumption is the one indisputable truth. Your shtick isn't new, and you're transparent as hell.
Oh, and as soon as your negative takes are proven absolutely wrong (like about the quality of the basketball and hockey teams right before making deep postseason runs) you disappear completely.
Link?
Stop with that nonsense reply. It's disingenuous as hell. Your Maizen account was caved, the posts don't even exist anymore. But the users herw have a memory lasting longer than 30 minutes, we remember the bullshit you've posted in the past, only for you to disappear when proven wrong.
Wrong again. Here's a bunch of posts from "maizen" in this thread. Just shut the hell up already and move along if I bother you so much.
Ok, I was wrong about all posts being gone. Turns out it was the post history page along with all posts from a few topics. And a lot of what people are talking about, fortunately for you, happened in those. Congrats, you have plausible deniability. And pretending to not be Maizen is still hilarious.
And that whole "if it bothers you shut up and move along" is a two-way god damn street.
Link?
I rail against recruiting because it hasn't been good. UM has accepted 16 straight commitments spanning 3 different classes all of whom are not in the top 247 composite. Only two of those kids are 4 star recruits. Are we going to pretend the teams that are in the CFP every year are recruiting like this just so we can feel better? Maybe if UM actually started to recruit like how they are supposed to, and start beating their rivals, and winning B1G championships there would be something to be happy about. But as it is we've lost 15 of 16 to OSU, 8 of 10 to MSU, and haven't won the conference since 2004. God forbid someone slaps this place with a dose of reality every now and then.
We had two great classes, then one less than stellar one. So why the constant stream of doom and gloom right now? And I do love how you resort to the "telling it like it is" tactic. Until it turns out false, and you disappear. Like I already mentioned.
An ignore feature would be spectacular for this place.
And I said we had two great classes, but that's not an excuse for last years and this years class being below par. Do you think Nick Saban or Urban Meyer says "well we signed a good class last year guess we can take this cycle off." And I don't want to hear anything about rebuilding after all these studs from OUR TWO HIGHLY RANKED CLASSES go pro. Should be reload mode and you better pray the scouting and development of this staff knows something all the recruiting sites don't because PSU and OSU are not slowing down.
Unfortunately there's a vast difference between Meyer's OSU and Saban's Alabama right now. Michigan hasn't been on that level in a LONG time. The RichRod and Hoke eras failing, no need to get into the "why," and being consecutive gave a lot of programs a considerable head start. This shit isn't rebuilt in a day, or even a year. Yes the last class was a step back for multiple reasons. But this class is "meh" for now, but it's only frickin June. A good/great season could easily turn that around. And haven't you already pointed out how this class is set to be smaller anyway? How high do you expect it considering that? And I would argue the defense already is reload capable. And once the offensive line situation is settled, combination of recruiting and coaching, then I think the offense will be too. And all of this is ultimately unknowable until this seasons is actually played.
Slight addendum (the edit function could make a return anytime now):
"Unfortunately there's a vast difference between Meyer's OSU and Saban's Alabama right now."
This isn't meant to compare those two to each other, but most everyone else. Hell, how long did it take Dabo to get Clemson good, then how much longer to get over the hump completely?
Just to answer your question about Dabo:
3 years.
His first “year” as HC was actually midway through the season when he took over as interim when the old HC resigned.
3 years of actual HC work later he won 10 games and his conference championship and hasn’t won less than 10 games since then with only one season where he “only” won 10 games...the rest are all 11, 12, + wins.
HaHa, I bet you couldn't even TYPE that with a straight face!
Even ignoring that Dabo was at Clemson for years before he took over and giving him a pass on his first half year; of course, still recognizing that it made the transition much, much easier than Harbaugh's.
Let's look at it this way:
It took Dabo 4 years to finish the season ranked in the top12, Harbaugh did it his first year. Dabo 5 years to top10, Harbaugh two. Dabo 25 wins his first three years, Harbaugh 28. Heck the only thing Dabo got was a conference championship and they still finished the season #22.
As a matter of fact, how about we look at in a way that would really send you "gotta beat the rivals" idiots into a tizzy. After the 2014 season, Dabo was 2-7 in his last 9 against his "rivals" and had lost games in the previous three years by scores of: 70-33.....51-14.......and 45-21.
Up into that point, he was 5-11 against FSU, USC and Vtech in his "HC" career!
Ok, since this is about recruiting; Dabo must have done it there right?
'11:
TOP 10 CLASS!.......30 recruits at 87.17?....What?....Huh? 9 4/5*s but 20 3*s That Bluey chunks huh?
'12:
No. 20? 89.03?.......hmmm almost the same as Harbaugh's '18 class which was sooooooo terrible.
'13:
No. 15? 88.4?.....worse than the '18 class!
'14
No. 16? 88.69?....still worse than '18.
That got past a consistent top5 recruiting rival (FSU), ran their rival's championship coach out of town and won a CFP.
I would happily be the Clemson of the North for the next few years.
Exactly!..... you "rail"; you offer no specific reasons, possible explanations or reasonable solutions.
Especially when you consider your petulant, know-it-all, offer nothing constructive attitude is exactly the arrogance UofM fans are known for.
So my possible explanation is that recruiting sucks because of YOU clowns.
And my reasonable solution is for you to stop posting until you can objectively look at the good that the program is doing and recognize the accomplishments of the walk-ons and the few stars, BEFORE you "rail".
Yeah, but we’ve recruited better than MSU and that is all that matters to you. So you should be pretty happy
That is certainly one way to look at it. It is the realistic, bottom line, pessimistic stance. Believe me, I get it. I can understand why you'd be frustrated. However, if you chose to, there is another perspective to take.
Winning
When it comes to winning Harbaugh has been here for 3 seasons. He has a combined record of 28-11. In 2015 he went 10-3 and beat a good Florida team in a quality bowl. That was better than expected by most accounts. In 2016, he again went 10-3 and lost to a good FSU team in the bowl. That was expected to be a really good year and was for much of it, but losing 3 of our last 4 was a disappointing way to finish and likely began the beginning of a bit of a recruiting down turn. In 2017 he went 8-5 and finished with a disappointing loss to South Carolina with a bit of an implosion in the 4th quarter. The previous 3 seasons were a combined 20-18. 5-7( 2014), 7-6 (2013), and 8-5 (2012). So, clearly the record has gotten better under Harbaugh.
Rivals
When it comes to our rivals our record vs OSU is 0-3 and 1-2 against MSU under Harbaugh. But, if you look closer it's not as bad as it sounds. Our record in the previous 3 years was also 0-3 against OSU and 1-2 against MSU. However, the last 3 years included our closest lose in double overtime to OSU during the past 6 years, which could have easily been a win if not for a controversial call. And, our combined score against MSU the past 3 years was 64(MSU) - 66(UM) and that also included a final second play we that we lost the game in 2015 on a dropped punt for a touchdown. The previous 3 years against MSU our combined score was 74(MSU) - 29(UM). So, clearly things have improved under Harbaugh's watch against our rivals despite the same record.
Recruiting
When it comes to recruiting (ESPN rankings) Harbaugh's average class raking is #10.6. He had classes of #6 (2016), #6 (2017), and #20 (2018). The previous 3 year average was #21.6. Hoke had classes of #40 (2015), #18 (2014), and #6 (2013). So, again clearly things are improving under Harbaugh.
Trends
Now, there are some parallels that are alarming between Hoke and Harbaugh. The main one being that both started to get worse as time went on. However, Hoke's best year was year #1 and Harbaugh's was year #2. Hoke continued to get worse every year and only exceeded expectations in year one. Harbaugh has only had one bad year and it was expected due to a lot of young players playing. And, Harbaugh's worst year was way better than Hoke's. Both coaches have also had poorly performing assistants on offense they had to get rid of (Borges & Drevno). But, Harbaugh made the adjustment sooner than Hoke.
Conclusion
So, there are absolutely some frustrating parallels between the last 2 coaching regimes, particularly when it comes to winning and recruiting and how they have gotten worse as time has gone on. However, Harbaugh has shown the ability to improve over time and Hoke did not. Harbaugh's down turn was expected due to youth and Hoke should have in theory gotten better over time. And, when you look closer at the record against the rivals things are not as bad as they seem and there is reason for optimism in the future with Harbaugh and at the very lease a wait and see approach for another year or two to see if improvement happens and last year's down turn was circumstance or a trend.
I have to disagree on your assessment against rivals. I'm a firm believer in "you are what your record says you are". Moral victories never count, especially against rivals. The main reason, I believe, for this is because you don't have the exact same team the next year and neither does your opponents. So just because the team played a close game one year in no way impacts the performance of the team the following season. Each season is unique. Sure we all believe/hope the team will be better this season then they were the previous year...but guess what, our rivals are getting better too. They're not just sitting in the stadiums stagnating while we improve.
So coming close doesn't count. Period. And 20 years from now no one is going to be looking back at those games saying "well it was still good cause we were close!". They're going to say "we lost each one of those games".
Harbaugh has to get better against our rivals because A) they're RIVALS but more importantly B) they also happen to be the top competition in our league and will stand in our way of the conference championship and the playoff every single year. So losing to them, close score or not, cannot be acceptable on any level. When OSU couldn't beat us with John Cooper at the helm they moved on to find someone who could beat us...if we don't approach the game with the same mentality then we'll always be playing second fiddle.
Sorry but I don't see how any Michigan fan looks at 2-13 over the past 15 years and can somehow draw solace from close losses. To me it's just one more notch in one of the worst stretches of total domination by our arch rivals in history. Just another year that we weren't good enough.
As far as JH's future goes, I think this year will be very very telling. If he can finally beat OSU, demonstrate an ability to win big games, and maybe even get to Indy then it will be a huge boon to recruiting and should get the ball rolling on the program. If he turns in another 8-9 win season and loses to our rivals again, then I think the program's future trend line will be pointed down instead of up...if that happens, it will only be a matter of time before we're looking for another coach :/
You are also taking the bottom line approach. That only tells you about the bottom line. It's a lazy take. It involves little analysis nor gives you any indication to what the future holds. And, I'd disagree that OSU and MSU are our top in league competition. I think PSU provides more competition than MSU at this point. The reality is MSU is lucky to be 2-1 against us. It should be the other way around and I'm confident we will beat them regularly moving forward.
Now, OSU is another story. I don't think looking back at how things were in the 90's is all that relevant today. The recruiting landscape has changed since the dawn of the internet, recruiting services, social media, etc. UM simply has not been able to match OSU's recruiting since that time. It hasn't under late Carr, RichRod, Hoke, or Harbaugh. IMHO UM can't expect to out recruit OSU with any regularity nor can they hope to beat them more than once every 3-4 years. I'd happily take beating them 33% of the time and is the best I think we can hope for until Meyer is gone. Meyer et al. has recruited at a level that we can't compete with and I don't see that changing anytime soon. We can regularly produce top 10-15 classes with an occasional top 5-7ish class, but Meyer appears to be poised to recruit top 5 classes regularly. But, we have the best coach we're ever gonna get. Our best option is stability and keep Harbaugh around as long as possible to build a roster and depth suited to his style/system. We have done that with many positions with the only real outlier at o-line.
disingenuous. it's not the facts -- everyone knows the facts already. it's the god damn repetition of the facts, and the uncreative recalibrations of the same fucking information we've seen over and over again that rankles.
and personally, it's the bootlicking assumption that any michigan fan should want to replicate the joyless machineball of nick saban or urban meyer because this isn't a game that makes people feel actual emotion, it's just a money-printing competition.
as i said in the "don't feed the trolls" thread that was nuked, michigan fans shouldn't want to be like those nut-fuckers down south or the alabama football corporation.
this blog has enough of a unique culture that we have our own glossary, so let's just add an acronym for "For Comparison Last Year Ohio State" (FCLYOSU) so that this poor michigan man doesn't have to get carpal tunnel every time he gets jealous of the shitbirds in columbus.
I understand the importance of recruiting and the studies done, but looking at the roster is there any position you have a concern?
Personally I don't. Roster looks great. 3 stars.. Hudson, Dwumfor, Milton, Mason, McKeon seem to be doing well. Talent has not been an issue.
Please activate the point function if only for a few minutes so a mod can dock all of bluey’s and send him to Bolivia where he Bolongs.
I don't know. That sounds alot like censorship. You want to nuke him because he posted actual facts that you don't want to see?
The majority of people on this site are fine censoring bluey. If you can actually point to one of his posts with any substance at all (beyond listing our recruits, which can be found by going to any recruiting website), maybe people wouldn’t think he adds nothing to the board but negativity
Bluey, what are you conclusions? I'm assuming it's that the 2018 class sucked in comparison to the previous two? Well...duh. It was a rebuilding year with a lot of young guys playing and a lot of returning players and not a lot of immediate playing time opportunities. This led to very led buzz for the team, particularly on offense. I'm not sure that tells us much other than demonstrates an expected cycle of things. Lets see how '19 and '20 pan out before we say our recruiting is going down hill. One year of a predictable cycle is not at all unreasonable nor surprising.
If you have a completely different take I apologize.
To have conclusions would mean he'd actually care about making this a discussion, which has never been his/Maizen's goal.
Says the guy who's entire existence on mgoblog is reacting to my reactions. As a matter of fact, that can go for half the people in this thread.
Says the guy who waded thru the second page of a post he created to find people who think he's an idiot and personally responds to each one with the same childish antics he did when he was Maizen.
Honestly, I should probably stop calling you a troll. You're not even that good, or that intentional. You're just angry about something (maybe it's a fanatical attachment to the accomplishments of a bunch of college football players wearing a jersey you like, I don't know), and one of the avenues you seem to spend a decent amount of your energy venting it out is this site. Why is beyond me, but I also don't go through my life looking to be unhappy.
So I've said a couple of times I should stop responding to these threads, but you know what? I'm going to keep responding and pointing out when and where you are wrong and/or lazy because it bugs you so much, and since you seem to love conflict, why not douse you with a bit more gas for that fire?
Still curious about a conclusion. That was an honest question.
Don't stare, honey. It's not his fault.
Feel free to find somewhere else to troll you idiot. I mean, you seem to have immense free time on your hands and the internet is so...so vast.
the only valid response to this kind of bootlicking urban meyer worship: "no shit, who cares."
2019>2018
Recruiting is on the rise.
Michigan has plenty of roster talent to win it all. That is all.
That's true. OSU does too. As a matter of fact, it looks as if they have more talent. This means it's on our coach (mostly JH) to scheme around it.
Bluey, maybe you are a troll maybe not.
what I find interesting is that you are making assumptions before the 2018 class ever takes the field for a meaningful snap.
how about we wait for a couple of years before we judge a class?
hypothetically speaking, what if a couple of the 'lower ranked' players end up being All Big Ten players? Maybe they don't. Maybe they end up being scholarship players 80-85. Again, we will not know the answer for a couple of years. The vast majority will red shirt this year and have a chance to develop (which is one of the reasons Harbaugh and his staff are paid so handsomely).
sorry if I trust lifelong football men vs a doucer on the interwebs.
but hey, that's just my opinion
Uh-Oh SLiM, better get a new username and a more subtle trollvibe.
Bluey,
I asked this of you before in another thread and I was ignored. I think everyone gets that you're unhappy about Michigan's recruiting -- I think there are a lot of people in here who feel the same.
My question to you, however, is do you think that continually posting about your disappointment is doing anything to help the situation. Or, are you just assuming the role of "Chief of the Keeping it Real Police?" As others have said, we ALL want Michigan to do better in recruiting, and we ALL want Michigan to do better against its rivals. But, what can be done about these trends?
This snarky, "you just don't like hearing bad news ..." meme that you proffer is somewhat disingenuous, IMO. It's not that we don't like hearing bad news, it's that what possible SOLUTION does Michigan have at this point? This is why I ask. You complain about things -- many of which you're right about -- with your only comment being along the lines of "Harbaugh make $7MM/year and he should do better." Ok, fine. Let's say I agree. What then?
That's what I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around, and why it seems you're taking some perverse delight in not only the collective frustration, but also the ire that you elicit from many on the board. Unfortunately, that's basically the EXACT definition of an internet troll. So as I ask before, how about you lay it out there for us all to understand. Tell us what you think is going on beyond, "recruit better" and then tell us what you think Michigan can and should do about it.
Personally, I am as frustrated as anyone about losing to our rivals. I am happy, not thrilled, with the trajectory of the program -- 2017 knocked things down a peg. But, I also understand from whence the program has come, and believe that our collective patience will be rewarded. Further, I believe that in hiring Harbaugh Michigan went ALL-IN and that if he cannot succeed a Michigan than nobody can or will. If you disagree with this and think that somehow he is holding back the program, I would like to hear your statement. But, with all due respect, simply posting over and over that you're disappointed is getting tiresome.
So please, let us know what you think. Otherwise, why bother?
As someone who generally defends maizen/bluey I must say that was really well stated Sten.
Excellent points all.
Just to respond to your point about our collective patience will be rewarded and if Harbaugh can’t win here then no one can:
I certainly hope we’re all rewarded win the wins we’ve been lacking too, but at this point (since our main rival is just plain better than us at most/all off-field football related aspects of the program) the only hope we currently have is for Harbs to simply work pure magic on the field in order to overcome the paper deficits. So far that simply hasn’t happened at all and therefore my hope/expectations have been bitterly tempered. Ie. I’ll firmly believe he can do it when I see him do it. Just for the record, I don’t count the last two games as moral victories where we almost won. I’m a big believer in you are what your record says you are. Not “you are what your record could’ve been if a, b, and c had played out differently.” Not that YOU hold this belief, but there’s lots of us that do.
But I honestly don’t get where this line of thinking is coming from that if Harbaugh can’t win here than nobody can. Big name coaches have come into programs and failed plenty throughout all of college football. To say that if he can’t no one can is to say that he’s the currently the best coach in all of college football and the greatest coach that ever will be.
Well obviously he’s not the best coach in college football. He’s maybe one of the best 15-20 coaches, but obviously not the best otherwise we’d be beating the best teams and therefore WE would be the best team...so far neither has happened. And for the record, that’s based on his current accomplishments here at Michigan. If we go undefeated for the next decade then obviously he’d be the best coach at that point...but I digress.
Finally, to suggest that there couldn’t possibly be a better coach post-Harbaugh is ludicrous. New young and brilliant coaches are coming up all the time. It’s called life. There’s always going to be the next Urban Meyer/Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney/Pete Carroll, etc. coaching at some no-name small school who then jumps to the big leagues and everyone knows who he is. Why on earth people think that Michigan can’t ever land a coach like this in the future if somehow Harbaugh doesn’t work out is mind boggling.
If the worst case possible scenario happens and Harbs can’t get it done on the field in the next year or two for whatever reason then I hope to god the people running the athletic department don’t hold this opinion. Nothing worse than sticking with a HC who isn’t getting it done just because “well we probably couldn’t get anyone better so why try”.
If Michigan’s AD were to fire Harbaugh, barring repeated awful (.500 or below) seasons and/or scandal, Michigan will be looked at as a toxic program environment by the top coaches out there. First and foremost, is his legacy — he’s our hometown, All-American hero. Secondly, at least to other coaches, is his ability — which is highly regarded. Add those two and I believe Michigan’s only viable options will be young “up and comers” and I don’t believe Michigan will go for that. That’s my point about being all-in on Harbaugh. If he can’t get it done — leaving the definition of “getting it done” for another discussion — I think the CFB world won’t blame him (again, barring debacle and/or scandal) they’ll blame Michigan as a whole.
This is all really a rhetorical exercise though, as I truely believe the odds of Harbaugh being unable to field highly competitive teams that compete for the B10 annually and occasionally get into the CFBP at very low. ‘15 and ‘16 showed the difference, ‘17 was always going to be a struggle due to the roster and even then they were in every game save PSU. I promise you NOBODY in a position of power at Michigan is concerned in the least — it’s the fans with short memories and unrealistic expectations who are.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Harbaugh himself is NOT satisfied, self-assessed and shook things up. Which is even more reason why the powers that be at Michigan aren’t concerned — especially given what the program has just been through. My assertion is far from ludicrous. To say he’s not the best for Michigan because if he was we’d have beaten our rivals is ludicrous given the comparative recent performance and trajectories of the three programs. Again, the only problem with Michigan football at this time is can expectations not meeting up with reality of the roster deficit that have been plaguing Michigan for a decade.
10 years is only 2 full recruiting cycles — especially when dealing with the OLine. While Michigan was floundering, changing HC’s, OC’s, AD and having entire classes devoid of OLinemen and QB’s, our rivals — especially OSU — were cranking along with none of this nonsense. It’s no wonder we’ve got ground to make up.
I'm not so against young up and comers though and I think that's a detriment to this program. This whole "Michigan Man" thing that secretly controls the football program needs to end. It's ridiculous.
Lots of programs take chances on young guys with fresh ideas and it pays off. There's no reason we shouldn't be open to the same approach. Limiting ourselves to "Michigan Men" or old established names is just tying one hand behind our back.
That being said I obviously hope Harbs is able to get the ball rolling because I'd rather win sooner than later, I'm just saying that in no way shape or form is our last and only chance at greatness Jim Harbaugh.
This whole "Michigan Man" thing that secretly controls the football program needs to end. It's ridiculous.
Let me clarify my position a bit, if you will indulge me. I do not believe, nor do I believe that the current Michigan AD/Administration believes, that only a "Michigan Man" should control the football program. What I intended to convey by bring up Harbaugh's legacy as a Michigan Man was what I believe would be the perception of the coaching community from outside of the program looking in if Michigan were to grow impatient with Harbaugh and fire him -- again, barring a debacle and/or scandal.
To me, in Coach X's mind it would go something like this:
"Whoa, Michigan fired Jim, I'd love to coach at Michigan, but, ... they fired their hometown boy, who I happen to know is one of the best coaches around, because he was unable to win fast enough for their liking. Do I really want to go into that kind of environment?! Maybe Michigan is the problem, not their coach."
This is what I think about when people make statements like, "Harbaugh had better get it done this year or else ..." Or else what? That's why I stated that Michigan went ALL-IN when they hired Harbaugh. He needs to be given as much time as necessary (again, barring several complete debacles, and/or scandal) to get the program "back on track" (where ever that is). How long is that? Well, I'd submit that he already has, but to be honest, I don't know as it depends upon what one's definition of success is.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your perspective, success at Michigan is, and always will be, defined by beating OSU -- who just happens to be arguably the most consistently successful football program, perhaps of all time, but certainly of the last 20 years. So, the real question remains, how many loses will Michigan tolerate against OSU before Harbaugh is let go. Again, I don't know. But, what I do know is that Michigan faced a backlash with the coaching community for how it was perceived RIch Rod was treated -- who would want to step into that environment? Brady Hoke, that's who. Why? Because it was like getting a date with a Super Model to him.
All I am saying is that Michigan reached for the stars, and nabbed one. If he's not winning fast enough, or not winning the right games, let's just be patient. Rather than start issuing ridiculous ultimatums lest we find ourselves right back in the mess we just climbed out of -- thanks to Jim Harbaugh.
Surprise Surprise, No answer to a good question from Bluey.
The last 10 years were awful. It feels like the sky is falling because we have done very poorly against MSU and OSU and haven't won the conference since 2004, but the last 3 seasons under Harbaugh have been very close to our historical average.
For the past 70 seasons Michigan has regularly been a 2-3 loss team. Do you realize since the 1948 9-0 National Championship season we have only had 25 seasons with 2 or fewer losses (14 of which came under Bo) and 9 seasons with 1 or fewer losses? An average of just over 1 per decade. For reference OSU has had 9 since 1993 and Alabama 9 since 1991.
It's highly unlikely we are ever going to be an Alabama or OSU. We have a lot of advantages compared to many schools, but still many disadvantages compared to the elite of college football. We don't have warm weather, we aren't the only major school in our entire state, and even though academic standards are lowered for athletes at any school, Michigan classes are difficult for many people (Stanford is still the only major school that has managed to maintain STRICT academic standards and have a nationally relevant team).
But I am 100% aboard the Harbaugh train. He is the perfect coach for Michigan. My reasonable expectations are to compete for the BIG every year, while winning it and making the CFP 2-3 times/decade. We should be beating MSU at least 2/3 times and no worse than 50-50 with OSU. A few bad bounces going our way and some better injury luck and Harbaugh would already be filling that criteria in just 3 seasons.
I think all of these things are achievable and we need to give it time. We aren't going to be a CFP team every single season like some people on here expect. Like many others, I'm also frustrated by the lack of a non-transfer NFL QB playing at Michigan since Chad Henne and the repeated losses to OSU. But things are looking up for Michigan football and I'm pumped for the future under Harbaugh.
Agree with pretty much all of this. I do think we can make it to that elite strata, though it will take time. In OSU's case, sure they do have a natural recruiting advantage, but really their sustained success stems from the fact that the athletic department made two extremely good coaching hires (from a football perspective) in a row--and the second one picked up from the first one while the first one still had the program performing at an elite level. Not many schools manage to do that, in part because successful coaches often remain tenured past the performance drop-off point.
Also many athletic departments fail to follow one good hire up with another one. (Sometimes, of course, the hire seems good at the time but in retrospect is not.) But the fact is that OSU followed one HOF coach in Tressel (if he isn't barred from that thanks to the scandal) with an even better one in Meyer, and Meyer inherited a full cupboard.
For us to get to that level, we need time to fill all the holes in the roster and get to the point where we only play freshmen and sophomores when they beat out very good, and experienced, juniors and seniors.
Very good post.
Personally, I don't expect us to ever reach OSU levels while urban is there. 50/50 with them is a tad unreasonable. Maybe 20/70 considering the way he's recruiting down there.
You are absolutely correct about our historical average as a team. However, after this I disagree with you. We have everything necessary to compete on the same level as OSU, Bama, Clemson, Oklahoma, etc. money, resources, program brand name, facilities, etc. The only thing we’ve lacked that those other teams have had is top tier coaching.
OSU has the same geographical footprint as us and yet they get it done year after year. There’s therefore zero reasons why we can’t as well. Just excuses for poor performance and poor coaching.
Bama wasn’t a powerhouse when Saban took over. They had been pretty bad for a while. Yet he was able to turn them around. Clemson wasn’t winning it big before Dabo took over. OSU couldn’t beat us before Tressel got there.
To win big at the top level of college football takes a lot of factors year in and out. If you compare us with all the top programs out there, the only intangible we lack is good weather. But obviously that isn’t the end all be all since that crap station down south doesn’t seem to have a problem. So with all the intangibles that truly matter being equal, the only factor left standing is coaching. Top coaches make players better, thereby getting over the initial hump of poor recruiting by the previous staff. This improvement in player development then leads to wins on the field and against rivals. Wins on the field then leads to better recruiting. Better recruiting leads to a higher starting floor and higher ceiling for said top coaching to work with. A higher starting floor and ceiling means that each consecutive season the team will be as good if not better than the year prior due to the development of said top coaching (obviously there is going to be some variance with replacing starters and what not and obviously you’re not going to win the natty EVERY single year).
This is what the top programs right now are doing and have done. All it takes is the right coach. Heck, what has Florida (one of the kings of recruiting talent in the whole country) done since Meyer left? Absolutely nothing. USC faceplanted after Pete Carol left. Texas has been trash since Mack Brown retired. Now you’ve also got Washington coming back to prominence with Petersen there.
It’s all in the coach.
We’ll know soon enough is Harbs is the right coach for UM. If he’s not, then let him go and keep looking for the right guy. If he is, then sign his extension as fast as you can.
Your man knows how to bring them out. Well done bluey. Highest thread count full of vitriol since the debut of 3.0.