Ty Isaac - brief update

Submitted by Bodogblog on

Per Sam Webb on the Recruiting Round-up on WTKA (use iHeartRadio), and didn't see any update in the Isaac thread from last night.  Webb says absolutely Isaac is interested in Michigan.  He gained his release to 17 schools, one of which is Michigan (and includes several other unnamed B1G schools), and none of which are Notre Dame or Ohio State.

His guess is that M will talk to him and see if this interest is genuine, and if something happens it will happen quickly.  There is too much risk to Michigan with Harris and Weber to have an extended courtship with Isaac as he debates a lot of schools, and then lose him.  They already know he can play, given how close he was to coming here last time (obviously the coaches liked him then, presumably still do now).  Said Michigan will say "lets' talk turkey", if you want in come on, otherwise they won't linger.  He said Isaac was second on the depth chart at USC as he left.

Also for any that missed the update on the Mykhailiuk thread - Webb says probably not happening, don't bother learning his name.

michchi85

May 15th, 2014 at 10:42 AM ^

I was very skeptical of him coming here, with the current young depth we already have.   Here is the general question for the board...do you want Isaac or a 2015 RB in Harris or Weber if it came down to that?

Bodogblog

May 15th, 2014 at 10:51 AM ^

If the coaches still believe he's as good as they thought a year ago, he was the #1 guy on their board.  If he wants to come you take him.  You explain to Harris and Weber and see what happens, and tell them there's only one spot left.  You don't like them any less, you just had a guy come back to the fold. 

If "we didn't take a RB in the last class" was a big part of the recruiting pitch for both, this would hurt.  But if you take Isaac you have a 5* on the roster in September (I believe, haven't heard officially if he will be a hardship), vs. potentially none if you turn him away and lose out on Harris and Weber.  So the plan makes sense - if you want to come, come now.  Otherwise they won't let a courtship with Isaac get too public.

I Like Burgers

May 15th, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^

I'd take Isaac because if he wants to come we at least get one top flight back.  And he's a somewhat proven commoddity at the college level.  I think the odds of landing either Harris or Weber are slim, so take whoever wants to be here when the opportunity arrises.  I'd still push for whatever 2015 back we can get though.  Love 'em or hate 'em I'm a fan of Alabama's take all the backs you can approach.

AA2Denver

May 15th, 2014 at 11:29 AM ^

I'm not sure how much value Isaac adds to Green, Smith, etc. We have limited scholarships and bigger needs at other positions.

Harris is nearly an Adrian Peterson type talent. Weber is solid too. I'm not big on football transfers. 

I'm not saying I don't want him to play here, just saying...

alum96

May 15th, 2014 at 3:12 PM ^

There is no guarantee on Weber or Harris.  Some of the comments make it sound like we get to choose among all 3.  You take whomever is interested in you from a generally like minded level of recruits ... Weber was ignored by UM for a long time and now we are back trying to get him due to Harris decommitting.  Harris could be in Alabama in 12 months for all we know.  If Isaac wants to come you take him - bird in hand.   Or you could be left scrambling for some 3 star if Weber and Harris both go elsewhere.

MaximusBlue

May 15th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^

Hoke has to at the very least entertain and see how serious Ty is about joining the team. Webber and Harris plan on announcing late, so if you pass on Ty, you risk coming up empty unless you have a great feeling that one or both are coming. If he wants in I say let him in.

Larry Appleton

May 15th, 2014 at 10:44 AM ^

First post!

With Smith and Green in the fold, he'll either have to be open to switching positions (WR possibly?) or redshirting to get a year's separation.  If he's not up for either, I can't seem him coming to Michigan.

DCAlum

May 15th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^

If he was really second on the depth chart, not sure playing time is really the issue here. He might actually be just trying to move closer to home.

 

That said, everybody wants to play and he'd be no exception. He'd have to sit a year anyway, yeah?

Space Coyote

May 15th, 2014 at 10:50 AM ^

He would have some position flexibility and probably be good at many positions, but I think he wants to play RB and I don't blame him, still has pretty good upside there.

If his mom has fallen sick though, a redshirt may be a good option for him. Get him used to his new surroundings, school, playbook, and everything else, as well as gaining a year or separation. But I'm guessing he doesn't want to take that approach.

I Like Burgers

May 15th, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^

The redshirt is a given since he has to sit out a year due to transfer rules.  So he'd enter 2015 as a redshirt sophomore and Green/Smith would be true juniors.

And I don't see anyway he switches positions.  Its not like we're super deep at RB, and there's no guarantee Smith or Green will be any better or worse.  Bring in all the RBs you can and let 'em sort it out on the field.

maize-blue

May 15th, 2014 at 10:47 AM ^

I feel kind of “meh” about the possibility of Isaac transferring in. It could be a positive I guess.

RB depth is a good thing to have, especially when you have good RBs but I feel that there are bigger issues to tackle with this roster then padding the RB depth. That’s why I would like the coaches taking a fly-by approach and getting the deal done if he’s interested or wishing him luck if he wanted to take his time.

Don

May 15th, 2014 at 10:49 AM ^

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/900784/highlights/38273413

I didn't watch the entire thing, but from what I did see it's easily the least impressive bunch of highlights of a 5-star that I've ever seen. He doesn't look particularly quick or powerful or fast, and frequently goes down at first contact. He just looks bigger than most of the guys he's playing against.

Granted, he's had a year of S&C at a major program, and he might be vastly more impressive now. For his sake I hope he is.

Space Coyote

May 15th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^

And I think they were looking at using him as a short yardage back at USC as well.

I don't think he has the footwork to be a great man-blocking type back, but as a one cut type RB, he gets up to speed quickly and has great burst and speed in a straight line. If he's stronger through the legs now, as his build implies, then he'll be tough to bring down if he gets to the second level pretty cleanly.

I thought coming out of high school that he may have more upside as a WR (better feet in space then in closed areas, great straight line speed, can cut one direction). He's grown a bit, so that may be an H-back/WR hybrid, but it seems he wants to stay at RB. He is athletic enough to be good at either though as long as he keeps working on churning the legs and sinking his hips through contact.

Blue Carcajou

May 15th, 2014 at 10:52 AM ^

Really?

Because this was posted on the 247 board:

"Joshua Henschke ‏@JoshuaHenschke 19h

Ty Isaac has ZERO, ZERO, chance of coming to Michigan. So don’t get your hopes up about that one, not gonna happen."

So... I doubt it. The coaching staff seems to be invested Smith and Green regardless so I doubt they'll try to stir the pot. I'd be happy if transferred to the good guys, though.

Danwillhor

May 16th, 2014 at 12:09 AM ^

a fan and decent guy but no cred. We hopped on Twitter around the same time when he was hoping to become a writer about anything UM. He had little following but I was one of them and we mainly talked video games. He is from Australia, IIRC. Anyway, he slowly just gave his opinions and added as many UM connection friends as possible. He then got a small job writing (or some shit? ha) and removed all of the people that were kind to him when he had 20 followers (like myself). He tweeted out about his new job and I congratulated him because he is a nice guy. I made a joke about being "too big for his old followers now" as he had removed us all and he added me back only to remove me again a week later. Decent guy but has ZERO inside info about UM, etc. He went to UM and is a fan.