Jay Harbaugh's letter to recruit's girlfriend

Submitted by RED DAWN on

Naseir Upshur 4 star TE from Philly

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Danwillhor

March 25th, 2015 at 4:28 PM ^

recruiting. Good down smoo....nasty. It's nasty. I pray for two things wrt this: 1) We're not alone in this practice. 2) This practice dies tonight. For everyone. Though, I know it's common to "get the gf on board" & nothing new. Hearing about it & seeing it are different things.

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Reader71

March 25th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^

Well, this is the first thing Harbaugh has done that I hate. I suppose it had to happen some time. I just wish it had been something else -- this is fucking bush-league, amateur-hour, creepy, and undignified. Recruiting makes me sick. Its partly other schools doing stuff like this that made me choose Michigan. I dont like that we're doing it. Even as an 18-year old hotshot, this stuff turned me off. Makes the adults look like something less than successful professionals in their field.

Joined: 08/30/2009

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Bodogblog

March 25th, 2015 at 4:54 PM ^

I agree that wasn't the greatest either.  And the setting of the table for the kid was going beyond as well.  Didn't really work, obviously.  At some point the recruits are going to get some bit of "dance for me clown" attitude.  Hey let's see if I can get Harbaugh to send something to my girlfriend.  

Anything to win, any effort expended.  But I think you've got to be smart about it too, in terms of hurting your own "brand" (yes I dislike that term too after Brandon but couldn't think of anything better after 3 seconds of trying).  I hate this even more than I did 10 minutes ago.  

Joined: 06/08/2010

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CJRockford

March 25th, 2015 at 4:45 PM ^

This is one of those times where you need to step back for a few minutes and then come back and read it again before sending. Like when you want to send an email to your boss telling him what you really think, but then realizing that if you do you'll get fired and won't be able to use him for a reference. I may be speaking from experience here



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Boogeyman

March 25th, 2015 at 4:58 PM ^

Isn't as creepy as what some of the people on twitter post to recruits. The stuff ppl post remind me of the guy who sent Alex a letter on BMS trying to get him to marry his daughter.

Joined: 12/27/2014

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bronxblue

March 25th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^

This feels unnecessary by the staff. It's hard enough to reach HS athletes; getting their girlfriends on board seems like a recipe for issues.

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Steve Lorenz

March 25th, 2015 at 5:31 PM ^

Truth be told, I look at this stuff as kind of weird myself, but it's just part of what the game has become. With all the extra staffers/competition out there, you're not just trying to win the kid, but the family, the dog, everybody. 

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Reader71

March 25th, 2015 at 8:24 PM ^

I think the question is what kind of kids is this stuff resonating with? What kind of kid does this sway? A lot is made of the Michigan Man ethos, and this sort of childish stuff seems to run counter to that. I dont think young Dierdorf, Harbaugh, Morris, Brady, Wheatley, Hutchinson, Edwards, Hart, et al would find this compelling. I'd bet a lot of them would find it offputting and frankly scary. The guy who does stuff like this is the one who is going to get the best out of me, is going to lead me to continue the winningest tradition in the world, is going to prepare me for the NFL, is going to prepare me for life? We were all young kids, a lot of us punks who fucked around way too much, but on the field we were all business because we were taught that was the way to success by the man in charge. Harbaugh is certainly that type of coach, but it doesn't seem to jive with this style of recruiting at all. Sure, they'd give us the hard sell, but even then the old men were all business. This isn't that.

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Blue Balls Afire

March 25th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^

I think you're right.  I seem to recall reading on several occasions, going back years, that coaches in the recruiting game try to influence girlfriends in addition to parents and coaches-- anyone who might provide an edge with the recruit.  In fact, the best recruiters are renowned for getting close to people around the recruit.  Not condoning it, because I hate recruiting in general (and I hate myself for being interested in it), but it happens all the time, I think.

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Danwillhor

March 25th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^

as I mentioned above its not a new thing to get the gf on your side. My OMG MILES NO sorry involves exactly that but it was face to face stuff back in the early 90s, IIRC. Way worse than this but he was technically doing his job. He got the bf to Michigan out of Florida. I still get chills when I think about her telling the story of a naive teen being sold B.S. & creepsauce by none other than our own Mad Hatter just to get her bf up here. Recruiting!

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MichiganMAN47

March 25th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^

We don't have the full context here. For all we know the recruit has mentioned his girlfriend as an important factor in his decision making, and that she may want to visit as well. We just don't know the relationship between Jay and the recruit. It does come off weird, mostly because we don't have the entire story. I will reserve my judgment.

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