Can Harbaugh Be This Smart?
With Harbaugh being the most pronounced advocate for the camps did he just eliminate much of the competition for recruits going forward? How many parents are going to let their kids commit to coaches that have shown they rather ensure a vacation, than ensure the best interest of kids across the country.
Frankly, there's very little vagueness in terms of what programs voted for and against satellite camps. Also, the general sentiment amoungst players was/is for the camps continuing (We all saw DJP's twitter post).
So, thoughts?
They have friends that if affects. They have also already gone to camps that are going away, so they can personally relate to the effects of this rule. All it's going to take is a few 5* recruits saying they won't consider schools that supported the ban. It costs a recruit nothing if he already knows where he wants to go. Really, 5* recruits would risk nothing. It's not like SEC schools, et al., are going to stop recruiting them.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:25 AM ^
April 11th, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^
Point of view I think the ruling benefits Michigan. It's not like we need camps to identify and recruit elite talent, we have the resources and national prominance to do that already.
As has been said 1,000 times already the ruling hurts only the kids attending the camps and to a lesser extent the smaller schools.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
April 11th, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
Frankly, there's very little vagueness in terms of what programs voted for and against satellite camps. Also, the general sentiment amoungst players was/is for the camps continuing (We all saw DJP's twitter post).
It would be interesting to see what the split might have been in the Pac-12 and Big XII in particular though. I tend to think that there were some very mixed opinions in these conferences, and indeed, we've seen that a couple of their schools rely on similar camps to a certain extent, like WSU did in order to better access the California talent pool.
I've been wondering about this. The decision hurts every member of the PAC 12 except USC and UCLA. (Cal and Stanford are hurt less than the other 8). Every member of the Big 12 located outside of Texas is hurt by it as well. For anyone who is interested in politics or group dynamics this offers a fascinating study.
I suspect there are fewer Leach types than we'd like to think.
For good reason, this board tends to elevate the Pac-12 and (to a lesser degree) the Big XII in terms of how they behave as compared to the SEC. Here they were acting in the same self-interest just with putting up barriers to other conferences getting exposure to recruits in CA and TX.
Those conferences are doing a great job of letting the SEC carry the water on the backlash.
Except, as pointed out (and not just by me), it isn't in the interest of conference schools outside of those specific states. It hurts them. Leach goes over it in detail in the SI article featured in the post on the board.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
I think smart leaders analyze the potential downside of their actions, the potential benefits, and do a cost-benefit analysis. The smart part about the satellite camps was that there was very little downside to them. Theoretically, he risks (maybe):
- Pissing off the NCAA
- Pissing off some of his coaching peers
Those are minor downsides. The NCAA has plenty of distractions, and little appetite for a real fight. So that's not much of a downside. And pissing off some of his coaching peers? I think we could ask Jim Schwartz about how much Harbaugh cares about that. And the upsides have been great - he got the entire country talking about the program, got to build relationships with coaches and h.s. kids, got to teach some football, and got to make the SEC, ACC and Pac12 look like whingy little dipshits.
So yes, I think Harbaugh thought ahead. I suspect he'll have a few other ploys in mind - the main one being building a football monster in Ann Arbor.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:44 AM ^
April 11th, 2016 at 12:38 PM ^
April 11th, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^
April 11th, 2016 at 12:36 PM ^
He didn't "make them look like crybabies". He downright exposed them as petty, sociopathic machines.
As pointed out, Harbaugh has self-interested reasons for doing camp tours (namely exposure and recruiting), but they are of mutual benefit to small schools, coaches and recruits. The SEC basically had the NCAA shut them down for no reason other than they didn't want them. That's stabbing their own recruits in the back just to keep them under control. A lot of people Not Harbaugh are pissed for their own reasons.
IF there's a recruiting advantage to that fallout, hey, whatever. I think Harbaugh saw it coming, but I don't think he went out of his way to Batman the SEC into this position. For starters, who here thinks the SEC will face any real backlash over it? No, I speculate that he just doesn't give a shit what they think. He had a good idea what'd happen, the NCAA predictably banned it because they're fuckheads, move on to the next idea. He's going way too fast for them to keep up, but the only way he maintains that insane speed is by not dwelling on the personal agenda of a bunch of assholes.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
He is this smart. Although, I don't know that he's planned all the ramifications out ahead of time the way they're falling into place now. If this really blows up, with lawsuits and recruits boycotting schools advocating for this rule and even current "student athletes" getting involved, this could very well tear down the NCAA as we know it. If they dig their heels in on this issue, they have no chance when the lawsuits come, and they will come. They thought O'Bannon caused them a headache. Wait until they walk right into the trap of someone proving that they do not care about the opportunities of students to obtain these scholarships that they are banking on to "pay" players instead of making them employees.
As far as Harbaugh goes, I don't think he really cared to think that far ahead or trap the NCAA on purpose, but he's well on his way to doing just that if things keep progressing the way they are now. Harbaugh simply is advocating for the game of football and for it to be taught and shared with everyone. He is fighting for football. That's the big picture for him. Football is under attack in his eyes, so he's fighting back. Sure there's the recruiting angle, and the trying to win games angle. There's the competition angle. But that's all a part of his genius. He has this big picture goal of fighting for football to be shared and enjoyed by all, and in meeting his macro goal he likewise meets his micro goals of recruiting the best talent he can, engaging in fierce competition, staying in the forefront of everyone's mind, building a winning program, and winning championships.
Genius. Brilliant. The epitome of leader and best.
I think your take is dead on. This wasn't a trap. It was all about football. One man figuring out the best way to evaluate the most prospects possible, so he could to find the players he needs to win. Remember he's "Yours in football."
What I don't understand is why any of the smaller conferences voted for the ban. They seemed to have an awful lot to gain by working camps at bigger schools.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:48 AM ^
Hindsight is 20/20, but does anyone think that if he didn't allow any recruits to "commit" to Michigan during the Summer Swarm tour last year, this would all be an issue? I feel that's really what triggered it. If there were no commits, we'd look back at the camps and not think too much about them recruiting-wise for last year's class, so you could kinda argue it had no benefit, and maybe they'd still be allowed.
April 11th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^
I don't know, but I don't think that's a very realistic scenario. So Harbaugh sets up a camp series, but he prevents any attendees from committing to Michigan? If you go, you're off-limits to Michigan? And if that were the case, then a lot of players might not see the upside of going, so what's the point?
April 11th, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
that oppose the camps, the SEC and ACC, but only a handful of coaches have actually been quoted one way or the other about it in terms of supporting their continuation or ban. Regardless, I think only really dialed in prospects and their families will take serious note about the organizers of the NCAA action banning summer camps, so from that standpoint, I don't think i tmatters much who helped kill them.
We all do things in our own self-interest, so the idea that recruits will boycott or actually go to camps in Michigan backed by Coach Harbaugh while shunning those in the Southland because they are sponsored or run by ACC or SEC coaches doesn't seem too likely.
As we all know, Harbaugh is an instigator without fear of offending anyone's POV. And based on how reads the terrain of response and pubic opinion, he will respond accordingly. Just like he was as a Michigan quarterback, you take what the defense gives you and then you strike. Harbaugh operates from that way of thinking. And it's the best way to deal with certain issues, especially this one.
He doesn't need to publicly respond to this, because others are doing that for him. He can sit back and wait. To me, that's the best and most appropriate strategy.
April 11th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^
Too much thinking (which actually means none) going on here.
SEC didn't like them. ACC didn't like them. Notre Dame didn't like them. Big 12 tags along on coat tails.
They tell NCAA: Jump or we're gone. NCAA says, "How high?"
Harbaugh planning for this?
Nope. Welcome back to the NCAA Jimmy. The SEC will NOT let this thing get away from them.
They and their little partners will leave the NCAA before that happens, and probably will anyway.
Some parents and recruits might care a little, but even fewer will care enough to where they decide not to commit to schools that oppose satellite camps. And they probably won't be the top recruits, either.
When a guy like Saban flashes his five national championship rings and countless first round draft picks in a top recruit's face, and he says "you have that potential too," that's going to be extremely hard for any kid to ignore. The allure of winning multiple national titles and going to the program that puts countless players in the NFL every year would make most anyone forget about whether or not Saban likes satellite camps. Yeah it sucks to not have those camps, but at the end of the day, those kids have to think about themselves and their futures. No one else's.
And I wouldn't blame those kids for one second, either.
NCAA
Obstructionist Coaches
Harbaugh
We need to email the NCAA Board of Directors and Mark Emmert at [email protected] to express our displeasure. If anyone has emails for the board please share.