Gattis was Scout's 2015 Big Ten Recruiter of the Year

Submitted by Communist Football on January 11th, 2019 at 8:16 AM

This was when Gattis was at Penn State. Allen Trieu's blurb:

The Nittany Lions signed a highly ranked class and Gattis was responsible for several in the group, including highly-regarded cornerback John Reid and wide receiver Juwan Johnson. Honorable mentions go to Kerry Coombs (Ohio State), Luke Fickell (Ohio State) Alex Golesh (Illinois) Terry Smith (Penn State) Brad Salem (Michigan State).

Longer write-up from the PSU school paper.

Gattis, a three-year starter and two-time All-ACC safety during his playing days at Wake Forest, was responsible for securing several notable commits, including highly-regarded four-star cornerback John Reid and wide receiver Juwan Johnson. The first year coach also successfully lured wide receivers Brandon Polk and Irvin Charles and defensive ends Ryan Buchholz and Shareef Miller, all of whom signed with the Nittany Lions on National Signing Day.

“The whole recruiting process is down to relationships,” Gattis said on Wednesday. “Last year’s class came from a lot of different background areas that we were familiar with (at Vanderbilt), and this year, we were able to come in and build the relationships in-state. So you see predominantly, our class is in our footprint.”

“We feel like, within a six hour radius, we could get any kid in the country.”

Following a two-year stint on Franklin’s staff in Vanderbilt from 2012-13, Gattis joined Franklin in Happy Valley and immediately made his presence felt. Freshman wide receiver DaeSean Hamilton finished the season leading the Big Ten in receptions per game (6.3) and fifth in yards per game (69.2), while Eugene Lewis caught a career-high 55 catches for 751 yards. True freshmen Saeed Blacknall and Chris Godwin also contributed mightily in just their first year in the program. Blacknall hauled in 11 receptions for 112 yards on the season, including a leaping touchdown catch against Ohio State, while Godwin caught 25 passes for 321 yards and two scores, most notably his 72-yard touchdown in Penn State’s dramatic win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.

KennyHiggins

January 11th, 2019 at 8:22 AM ^

We got ourselves a good one.  Smart, high integrity guy.  Bama fans I know were sorry to see him go.  Connects well with the type of recruits Michigan wants.

Eli

January 11th, 2019 at 8:42 AM ^

I feel the same way. This dude seems like the type of guy that a lot of recruits will flock to. So far from everything I have heard and read I would want to play for this guy. I feel like the passing game is going to set up for the running game nicely this year. I hope his arrival can contribute to finally getting over the hump against Osu. 

Guy I know, knows a current player from Osu quite well. He told me over winter break, the player came to see him at his former high school where my guy works and coached him. The Osu player said they as players could tell from the first series that our players were scared and wanted no part of them. If this is true, I hope young guys like Gattis, with fresh blood can help bring that confidence level where it needs to be. 

1VaBlue1

January 11th, 2019 at 9:12 AM ^

I do agree with this.  However...  I also believe that the team follows the lead of its coaches.  And I find it plausible that the coaches were somewhat concerned about their ability to pass protect, and to rush the passer.  This concern could lead to some tentative vibes from the players.  And once it started going downhill, we all know things snowballed.

So yeah, I can believe that the OSU players sensed some tentativeness, or caution, from Michigan's players.  Maybe some lack of total confidence in the way they approached the line before the snap?   I can see where a teenage player would then say 'they wanted no part of us, man!'...

bamf_16

January 11th, 2019 at 8:44 AM ^

Lost at Notre Dame = Harbaugh sucks, here we go again, fire Harbaugh.

Won 10 straight = Harbaugh's the guy! He knows what he's doing!

Lost at OSU = Harbaugh sucks, here we go again, fire Harbaugh.

Flipped Dax Hill & signed solid recruiting class = Harbaugh's the guy! What a class!

Lost Peach Bowl = Harbaugh sucks, here we go again, fire Harbaugh.

Lost Mattison & Washington to OSU = Harbaugh sucks, he can't find and keep coaches, the good ones leave, he brings in bad NFL retreads, he doesn't understand recruiting, fire Harbaugh.

Get Gattis = Harbaugh can adapt and change, look at this up and comer, he can recruit! Harbaugh's the guy!

BoCanHam15

January 11th, 2019 at 11:09 AM ^

I hate to say it but can you imagine if, some of these naysayers were, let’s say coaches?  You can check the history of some of our posters and it goes without saying that I’m glad some are just fans.  Fire Harbaugh!  Hell every game I attended last year we won!  8-0 at home and a couple on the road!  We suck!  Yeah right.  Dabo didn’t create a program in four years.  Some of our posters want the world first then give them another undiscovered planet later on.  Trust the process, and GO BLUE!!!

bamf_16

January 11th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^

The problem is that people are too quick to go to extremes. If someone wanted to engage in a real conversation about the future of the offense, I think most/all would suggest bigger changes than Harbaugh (until yesterday) seemed willing to make.

 

But, "they need to ___" introduces a logical or rational thought/conversation whereas, "they need to fire ___" is an emotional rant. Emotion hangs lower on the tree than logic.

MGoGrendel

January 11th, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^

6 hours isn't that far of a radius from Happy Valley.  You can get to Columbus, OH in 6 hours, but you're not going to get "any kid" you want recruiting there. 

That said, I like his confidence!

bamf_16

January 11th, 2019 at 11:58 AM ^

I'd be fine with him staying as Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks.

 

If he's a good position coach who just couldn't cut it as a coordinator/play caller, well, UM found success with an OL coach who fits that description.

Mr Miggle

January 11th, 2019 at 9:13 AM ^

I think this is an important facet of his hire. Gattis isn't just a dynamic recruiter. He's a proven commodity in key recruiting areas for Michigan. Further, even though he came to us from Alabama, in effect, we've taken PSU's best recruiter. Maryland may never be a contender, but Mike Locksley is going to recruit well there. Good for us not to have Gattis there with him.

evenyoubrutus

January 11th, 2019 at 10:02 AM ^

This is why I wasn't freaking out over the assistant coach shuffle this offseason. Harbaugh has always done an excellent job finding assistants. 

We can whine and complain about tempo and personnel but Harbaugh is still one of the most respected coaches in the business by the people who actually matter (his colleagues) and this means that he will never have a hard time finding assistants who want to come and learn from him.

Fezzik

January 11th, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^

I like how he got immediate production from multiple talented freshmen receivers. Maybe "all freshmen wr suck" is only true in an over complicated offense that doesn't take advantage of it's team's maximum talent.

JamieH

January 11th, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^

I'm sure we didn't want to lose Washington, but if the trade is Washington for Gattis, I'll take it for this reason:  I'm pretty sure Don Brown knows a thing or two about linebackers.  But we clearly have been struggling with our WR & downfield passing game.  It sounds like Gattis is equal or better to Washington in recruiting and coaches a position group that we desperately need to improve in.  Not saying we don't have talent there--we clearly do--all of the guys there have shown flashes of big things.  But we need to take the next step in our passing offense and hopefully Gattis is the guy to get it done.  

I mean, in a perfect world we would have both of these guys, but the world ain't perfect, so I'll take what we ended up with.  I'm pretty sure Harbaugh and company will fill in a good defensive coach and as long as Brown stays the D will be very good again. 

People are down on Brown after the last 2 games, but the D was ravaged by injuries and people missing over those last 2 games.  Yeah it sucks that they couldn't adjust, but when you play a high-risk pressure D, you depend on your guys being great, and the reality is, our backups just weren't good enough against the teams we played.   Plus guys like Winovich were playing at who knows what level of effectiveness--I'm guessing he was no better than like 60-70%.  

brax

January 11th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^

For whatever it is worth, according to 24/7, we have improved our recruiting potential. Based on this year's points, we lost:

Washington who garnered 52.85 recruiting points;

Mattison who garnered 45.68; and

McElwain who garnered 8.01.

We gained:

Gattis who garnered 67.37;

Campanile who garnered 46.15; and 

McDaniel who did not recruit last year.