Ty Isaac transferring from USC
IIRC, we were his leader for a bit. Was a 5-star RB; do we take him if we don't get Damien Harris? (He played sparingly last year in his freshman campaign -- I'd imagine he would have to sit out a year unless he gets a waiver. 40 carries for a 5.9 YPC average and 2 touchdowns as a 3rd/4th string backup last year.)
#USC tailback Ty Isaac confirmed that he's been released from his scholarship and will to transfer closer to home. Story coming.
— Chris Swanson (@ChrisPSwanson) May 14, 2014LOL at Mike Cox. If you think I only use stats, you're mistaken. And even if that were the case, guess what? Mike Cox, who I wanted to play more, was a 7th round draft pick and spent last year in the NFL. Vincent Smith did not. Fitzgerald Toussaint went undrafted. Michael Shaw is out of football, AFAIK. So if you want to throw Mike Cox in my face, I'm fine with it - because there's evidence outside of "Magnus says so" to back me up.
Your point about Green just doesn't make sense. You're bashing him and the coaches for not panning out, but then you're saying Mike Weber should be pursued and the coaches are foolish for backing off on him a little bit. It's just contradictory.
I'm questioning their judgement. Sure - Weber is even more unproven than Green or Smith by a longshot. The point is not about Green vs. Weber at all. There is nothing contradictory in the distinct, but related points:
1. The '11 and '12 RB recruits have not had any success at RB.
2. The '13 RBs (Green and Smith) do not look like standout players early in their careers, especially if you take into account Green's ranking. (The coaches seemingly prefered some other backs to Green though, FWIW.)
3. '14 recruiting looks suboptimal. The fact they backed off and now are doubling back trying to make up lost ground with Weber seems like it could have gone better. Yes, Harris threw them a cruveball, but there was no reason to back off Weber when it's a)wise to hedge your bets and b) grab 2 RBs after you skipped the position the year before. They made a mistake in how they handled it and are now paying the price. They made a similar mistake with OL recruiting the previous year - turning guys away because they were confident in what they had.
Looking at the RB situation from a number of angles is not positive - production of the current guys, evaluation of talent, number of commits (0). The story is in it's early chapters but the start of it doesn't sound like a fairy tale ending is forthcoming.
Also, Bri'onte Dunn probably made a poor choice by going to Ohio State, but it's not clear whether Michigan made a poor choice by recruiting him. I believe he will be a redshirt sophomore this fall, and he was behind Carlos Hyde (a senior and the 2nd back taken in the NFL Draft, IIRC) and Jordan Hall (another well established senior). Again, you're writing off a young guy who was blocked by NFL talent and passed by some extremely talented youngsters (such as Dontre Wilson and Ezekiel Elliott). Both of those guys averaged over 8.0 yards/carry. For all we know, Dunn might not be able to get on the field because he only gains 7.0 yards/carry. It's way too early to tell about him.
Bri'onte Dunn reaaaaaally wanted to visit Michigan, and I believe we would have flipped him had he done so. Someone on the board at the time (claiming to have inside access to Dunn) shared that Urban told him that his scholarship offer would be revoked if he visited Ann Arbor. So imagine being in that situation at 17/18, pressured like that from Ohio's new coach...he clearly made the wrong decision for his football future, but really the safest he could've at the time. No doubt he would've been better off at Michigan, but honestly I'd take both DGreen and De'veon ahead of Dunn.
Ironic that OSU fans bash Hoke's "commitment" policy - I don't recall Hoke ever threatening to revoke offers for non-committed recruit to take other visits.
Jeez people. I said it's fair to QUESTION Hoke & Borges talent evaluation base on the returns SO FAR. I didn't say fire the guy and that all these kids should be thrown to the scrap heap.
KEEP HOKE. FIRE BORGES!
Oh we did that? Swell then.
So we should question Hoke's running back recruiting because his freshmen and sophomores were running poorly behind a crappy offensive line? Got it.
These are guys that ARE NOT in that OL situation, yet they've been passed over by others who are the same age or younger.
Yes, OSU and USC are talent-rich schools, but Dunn and Isaac were the guys Michigan chose to pursue -- harder than any other RB in the country --. So far, it looks like those were not accurate evaluations. While geography probably has a good deal to do with that, it's another piece of circumstantial evidence that their judgment in regard to RB recruiting is far from the best. These guys don't appear to be the impact superstars that would support the level of effort of our coaching staff.
That doesn't mean they suck, only that they might not be as good as our coaches thought.
By no means am I saying the OL doesn't deserve blame. But Green and Smith not seperating themselves from people like Hayes and Toussaint. Again, not to say Hayes and Toussaint suck either (they are 4-star recruits), but they were brought in by Rodriguez and don't seem to fit the profile of what Hoke and company have been seeking out.
Not sure if serious Green, Smith, and Isaac have all played for only one year and 5.9 ypa is pretty darn good.
Isaac, the guy Michigan prioritized over any other back in the country, wasn't even the best RB in his class, at his school. This is not sucking, but it is not being an elite 5-star caliber difference-maker either.
I'm sure these guys can still be very good players, but after 1 year we know they probably aren't superstars. We can't rule out that they aren't bust yet either.
He had a fine season for a freshman year objectively speaking, but his numbers weren't good (OL can be blamed) and not better than his mediocre teammates (OL can't be blamed) and inferior to his 3-star classmate's. Ron Dayne, TJ Yeldon, Marshall Faulk -- he's not any of these guys that came in and stood out as freshman. Beyond the ranking/hype, there's nothing to point to in regard to Hoke landing productive talent.
Tell Ty to bring Su'A Cravens with him to A2 and we'll let bygones be bygones.
If I were a top tier RB, I wouldn't be going to ND. Isaac could do very well in a Theo Riddick role, but if he wants to be a runner, I would think the Nuss' system would be a far better fit.
I think a really, really big question is, does Michigan want Isaac? It is interesting to note that he did NOT have a 'Bama offer.
Are you kidding me? We are in ZERO position to "do we want" a kid with a 5.9 YPC average and a former five star. The more important question is, "does Isaac even consider a team that's produced one 1,000 yard RB since 2008.
That's not true at all. I'm not saying I agree that we don't want him, but it's entirely plausible that that we might not. We are already tight on scholarships as it is, and Isaac is far from a sure thing. He would only have one year of eligibility beyond Green and Smith.
Is that worth it? Maybe, maybe not. But it's certainly not a no-brainer that we recruit him again. I think the coaches would rather take a 2015 RB, and we seem to be in decent shape for some good ones.
but it does not seem like M goes after these guys once they have decided otherwise and spent a year elsewhere.
Perhaps baggage accumulates and notions become preconceived and an unwarranted sense of entitlement comes with the kid. Best to let the ship pass and sail on inti the night.
So he's transferring for the very reason all of us message board fans were screaming at him to not go there in the first place?
really want to be here. The door is open for them now. Is been open. Seems like they are a perfect fit. I'm sure others schools offer better "perks" while Michigan offers tradition, a world class education, and a program destined to great. The decision seems simple.
If Issac wants to be here, make the offer.
you make it all sound so very simple and portray it as an easy choice. As if everyone in the world agrees that UM offers tradition, a world class education and a program destined to be great.
Many of these guys have very little interest in the education (despite what they claim) and I think you could find a LOT of people who would quite rightly dispute your assertion that we are destined for greatness, as if that's just our god given right to be great here at UM. We haven't been great for a LONG time and I haven't seen a great deal of evidence pointing in that direction of late either.
If I'm be brutally honest, I actually find it more shocking when top teir recruits pick us now than vice versa. In the past that wasn't the case for me, I thought all of them would choose UM and was genuinely shocked if any said no. For the last number of years that has changed for me.
I think it's about time people realize the days of relying on the UM name to get top teir recruits is over and we're going to actually have to be comeptitive if we want to start landing the top flight guys again.
Go after him! RB is a position of need and Isaac is a good one! Damien Harris is no guarentee and who knows with Weber. Redshirt him and let him learn the system as he will have to sit the year out anyways. Michigan was a top contender for him and Jackson is still the RB's coach, so why not bring him in?
Here's an article about him transferring: LINK
Says his mother is sick. That could grant him a hardship waver to play right away. Obviously though, that's not the thing of most importance, as he states he "wished he could stay at 'SC" in the article.
Still no favorites according to the article. But if you're looking at big schools around Joliet, you're probably looking at mostly B1G and MAC, maybe some B12 or SEC teams like Mizzou though.
Gotta think Northwestern, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, MSU, Iowa, Mizzou get looks. Possibly even OSU, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, all of which besides OSU are within about 5 hours drive.
Brian notes above that ND won't get him because USC won't release him to a team on the schedule. Wisconsin has a good history with RBs, Illinois is pretty close to home (I know they aren't right next to Chicago, but they are still close relatively). I'd guess those are the two programs he looks at most and he could play right away at (Wiscy still has Gordon, but ran two backs a lot last year and Gordon is likely gone after this year if he repeats his success). I'd like him to consider Michigan, as he'd bring a different type of back to Michigan than Green or Smith, but I also don't really consider another Sophomore RB to be a huge need for this team relative to other things.
Joliet is an hour south west of Chicago. It's probably about 2 hours from Champaign and 1.5 from Evanston. Means Madison is probably ~4 hours
Not the biggest one, but right now the top RBs for all we know could be a converted WR (Hayes) or 2-star recruit (Johnson). We all have hopes for Green and Smith, but I have the sense that they are RBs that are particularly dependant on the OL creating holes for them. Isaac MIGHT be a guy who creates a little more for himself(?)
Just imagine what it would be like if we had a good OL coach... we might even get two linemen drafted in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. Yeah, I know, that's just a silly pipe dream.
There seems to be a lot of negative shit going on here. Funk was doing something right with those two guys over the course of the past three years. The O-line is a complicated area where chemistry is very key. The down years in recruiting O-line studs (I hate to mention RR's name) created a terrible depth situation.
I would tend to have my glass half-full and think that Funk will mold the current kids into a cohesive unit.
Hoke has exhibited an ability to get some highly ranked kids and the addition of Nussmeier should assist in the future.
But again, who knows what goes through the minds of 18 and 19-year old kids when they visit various campuses?
I swear there was a diary or article here not long ago that examined the impact of youth/inexperience at the tackle position vs. the interior OL, and the data indicated that it's more damaging to be young inside and experienced outside versus the reverse. Don't know who wrote it or when, though.
I think our issues at C have been a significant factor in our OL struggles. Makes me appreciate just how good Molk was even more than I did already.
transfer. It's time for Michigan to take a RB back from them. It's college football Hammurabi's code. Eye for an eye and running back for a running back, I say!
where does justin fargas factor into your equation?
I think Justin Fargas (Antonio Fargas' son a.k.a. Huggy Bear) is my whole equation. He left Michigan for USC. Now, let's hope we take Ty Issac from them. I was really pulling for him to go Blue and was sad to see him go to the dark side that is USC.
Fun Fact - my wife was good friends with Fargas in HS and they still chit chat on facebook. I always ask her to end it with "Go Blue" but she never does.
welcome ty to michigan
Ty Isaac
We can have both of them we could possibly pick two RBs this year and Issac would take the second RB scholarship.
Looks like there could actually be some interest. Paywalled, so I can't actually read the article.
Lots of questions on whether Ty Isaac has interest in #Michigan. My gut says yes. Discussed in detail here ($) http://t.co/PMti9oRHPw
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) May 14, 2014
I won't share specific paywalled info, but will confirm (since Brian already said in pretty unequivocal terms above) that ND will not be an option.