Emil Ekiyor on the verge of decommitting

Submitted by Maizen on

Per the recruiting roundup from Sam this morning as well as an update on his board. Essentially confirms what guys like Wiltfong and Lorenz have been saying for weeks. He'll be at Bama next fall. Another big loss for OL recruiting.

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Tuebor

October 25th, 2017 at 1:47 PM ^

who gets to define rational?  In fact the very founder of this blog told us that 8-4 was the worst case scenario for this season.  So is Brian not a rational person?

 

http://mgoblog.com/content/preview-2017-heuristics-and-stupid-prediction

 

 

 

Plenty of "rational" fans thought we'd destroy MSU and PSU going into the season and well that didn't happen.

 

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/athlon-um-game-game-predictions

 

 

 

Joined: 03/14/2011

MGoPoints: 17467

Tuebor

October 25th, 2017 at 3:26 PM ^

Kinda the exact same thing we said about Hoke year 3.  RRod didn't leave enough talent.  At some point somebody needs to coach up the talent we do have and win some rivalry games and games against top 25 teams on the road.

Joined: 03/14/2011

MGoPoints: 17467

TrueBlue2003

October 25th, 2017 at 4:49 PM ^

very near worst-case scenario territory? QB injured, top WR injured, defensive weaknesses identified and exploited, no answer at RT, monsoon shortens a game in which we got off to a slow start.  Pretty much all the things that could have gone wrong, went wrong.

Brian was slightly optimistic, so his worst-case of 8-4 was probably more like a 10th percentile event, but even with all the problems we've had, we're still likely hitting that 8-4 record, mayyyyybe 7-5 if we can't get the job done at Maryland.  And 7-5 would be and was from the beginning probably a 3rd percentile event which could have more reasonably considered worst-case.

Also, zero rational fans thought we'd destroy PSU.  That was a topic almost weekly in the offseason and it was an easy indicator of irrational thinking when anyone clung to the fact that we beat them badly last year, yet ignored all the many, many data points between now and then (how much better they became, how many players we lost, where the game was located) and declared absurdly that we'd destroy PSU.

Joined: 01/05/2010

MGoPoints: 38075

The Mad Hatter

October 25th, 2017 at 4:52 PM ^

God doesn't hate me that much. But I agree that we are pretty close to the worse case scenario for this season. Speight would have gotten better and Black could actually catch passes thrown directly into his hands. Other than the OL our problems are depth and youth, more so than talent. And I think we beat OSU this year. Because I have to be optimistic about something in this world.

Joined: 02/17/2015

MGoPoints: 112109

The Fan in Fargo

October 25th, 2017 at 5:33 PM ^

The only way this team beats OSU this year is if they can convince themselves that they are going to be ruthless one game out of the year and finally beat the shit out of someone. If they can get fired up enough and keep the momentum the whole game, they'll actually be using some small doses of adrenaline. I'm not a medical doctor but if you don't believe me, then maybe sit your know it all ass down for a few minutes and watch the replay from last saturday. Yeah kids, that was adrenaline from the Penn State players. To come out swinging like that and withstand the Michigan retaliation, takes an extra gear of some kind. Jim said it best in the post game interview. Penn State was hitting on all cylinders. That's motivation creating and releasing adrenaline for maximum focus and poise. Motivation and swag baby. Who's got it? Not the Michigan offensive line, that's for damn sure.

Joined: 09/04/2016

MGoPoints: 1877

Inman

October 25th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^

I know we need lineman and he's suppose to be good, but I'm not gonna get worked up or give much thought to someone who might not ever play for Michigan.

Joined: 10/20/2017

MGoPoints: -99999796

Occam's Razor

October 25th, 2017 at 12:40 PM ^

He's a guard, so one of the few positions we can afford to lose out on. Reese will probably decommit as well, but we're also pretty stocked at  LB for the near future luckily. 

2019 recruiting is going to have to make up for the 2018 class big time. 

Joined: 10/23/2017

MGoPoints: 7178

Occam's Razor

October 25th, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^

It's a small class. You can rant all you want on MGoBlog, it doesn't change the fact that 2018 is just not going so well on the elite prospects front. 

Tyler Friday and a couple WRs are the only ones we're in on. It sucks b/c OSU is killing it on an annual basis and now PSU is rising up the ranks with hype. 

It is what it is for 2018. 

It just makes it that much more important to be competitive on primetime when all the eyes are on the program. 

 

Joined: 10/23/2017

MGoPoints: 7178

Occam's Razor

October 25th, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^

2018 is a clunker for Michigan. 

It is what it is. Idk what more you want. 

I would love to get a top 10/5 class this year., but it's not looking likely. 

Frankly, it's just tiring at this point to be fretting over all the problems with this team every single day. 

Just accept it and root for the team to improve. Improvement is the only way to revert the program issues in recruiting and perception. 

 

Joined: 10/23/2017

MGoPoints: 7178

gmoney41

October 25th, 2017 at 1:32 PM ^

If we were winning we would be glossing over the cracks of this team. We are still 5-2 and can salvage a decent season, but in 4 of the 5 wins, we have looked putrid, and I have a hard time seeing how this gets better. We all understand we are young, but I see young players all over the country that seem to catch on quick. With this staff, we should have no "clunker" years in recruiting. The excuse making and wait til next year bs is annoying. I'll support these guys to the death, but they don't get a pass from criticism. Can't keep losing guys like this.

Joined: 07/13/2009

MGoPoints: 3938

Whole Milk

October 25th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^

What would you like to be done about it? And how should we do it? I will be the first to admit that I am not happy about the turn of this season, and I am not happy that our current recruiting class isn't wowing me. I am not making any excuses, is this what you want to hear? If so, did that do anything to benefit the program? If not, what more would you want?

I feel like our staff and our players are working as hard if not harder than any group in the country. Effort doesn't always equal results, but there is literally nothing else that can be done about it. If things aren't going well for the program which transitions down to us as fans, that certainly sucks, but some random guys on a message board "not giving a pass from criticism"  is doing absolutely nothing positive to benefit our program.

Joined: 09/01/2015

MGoPoints: 2257

gmoney41

October 25th, 2017 at 1:59 PM ^

i can't disagree with anything you said, and I don't have the answers. I will support these guys and keep hoping they improve, but my confidence, especially offensively is fading fast. That's just the truth. I've been a fan for 35 years and last Saturday was the first time I have ever turned a game off in the third quarter. I never thought that would happen, especially with a Harbaugh led team.

Joined: 07/13/2009

MGoPoints: 3938

lilpenny1316

October 25th, 2017 at 2:18 PM ^

There's a reason why Tarik Black was ahead of the other WRs.  He played in a pro-style offense.  He knew and understood route trees.  That's also why Grant Perry is an asset.  If we still had Chesson and/or Darboh, we would be fine on offense.  But we are trying to teach young WRs on the fly, which is hard to do.  That's why DPJ is running more routes now and should be vastly improved by bowl season.  That's why Nico is finally seeing the field.  It takes time at that position.

 

Joined: 11/19/2009

MGoPoints: 61836

Couzen Rick's

October 26th, 2017 at 8:48 AM ^

I could see a domino effect. When you have a legitimate passing attack defenses won't stack the box with 8 guys, opening up the run game (granted this is very dependent on OL play). Mix in passes to the TEs and it's not hard to see a functioning offense. Rising tide lifts all boats, you need one core competency to build off of on offense.

Joined: 12/22/2014

MGoPoints: 15994

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

October 25th, 2017 at 8:10 PM ^

recruiter and developer of talent that Urban is. Urban runs a complex HS offense and prepares some shitty game plans, but he relies on a great roster of athletes performing a reliable scheme. He executes extremely well on that basic strategy. I was hopeful that JH could recruit at the same level and kick Urban with better scheming and game adjustments, but the talent gap is too wide and a Urban is raising the recruiting stakes even higher.

Joined: 11/01/2012

MGoPoints: 18049

Maizen

October 25th, 2017 at 12:52 PM ^

Have you seen the OL play? Michigan can't afford to lose any highly ranked OL at this point. And with Bredeson and Onwenu already going to juniors next year, it's important to bring a highly ranked interior player in this class to get them ready for when they leave. You bring in as much talent as possible every year and let the kids sort it out on the field. Having the attitude of "oh we don't really need so and so" is a recipe for disaster.

Joined: 08/15/2015

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