Looks like Otis Reese might be going elsewhere.

Submitted by Lakeyale13 on
247 Sports now has 4-5 Crystal Balls in the last 7-10 days of Reese flipping to GA. That would be tough losing another of our initial top 3 recruits in the 2018 class. I'm sure Coach Harbaugh will be on any TN and FL kids that might be iffy with their coaching changes already / inevitably gonna happen. In Harbs I trust.

mgoblueben

November 8th, 2017 at 7:58 PM ^

blah blah noise blah Those who stay blah blah. But seriously, stick around and be a part of something special next year or the next. We knew we'd have a down year. But the rising is coming. be a part of it or get crushed by it. Your choice

huntmich

November 8th, 2017 at 9:45 PM ^

This. 

 

Dynasties are not made overnight, and nothing about what Harbaugh is doing makes me question the fact that he is building a dynasty. I get that no one likes watching the sausage made. But it remains true that we have one of the youngest teams in all of college football with one of the best coaching staffs around. 

 

All of our skill players are underclassmen. Harbaugh's first recruits at O-Line will be rising redshirt sophomores next year. This team and this staff are poised to light the world on fire in the coming years. And when it happens, all the pundits will say things like "Michigan is Back!" as if they weren't questioning the process the entire time. And many of you that are now questioning the staff and the team will say things like "I knew Harbaugh was the right choice the whole time!" 

 

We are young and the team's identity is still being built. But we are 7-2, and really damn close to being 8-1. There is no reason to question the direction this team is going. I am enjoying the ride.

huntmich

November 8th, 2017 at 11:06 PM ^

I tried to ninja edit my post but you commented before I could so I'm adding this as a new post:

 

Everyone just remember: Harbaugh has 27 wins in 35 games. Brady Hoke had 26 wins through 3 seasons. 

 

This isn't Brady Hoke leading the team. This is James Motherfucking Harbaugh. We are in good hands. Watch the program rebuild and enjoy it.

FatGuyTouchdown

November 9th, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^

In the past 10 years, Georgia won less than 8 games once, and won 10 or more games 6 times, including being a yard away from beating Alabama in 2012, and likely winning the championship after that. 

In the past 10 years, Michigan won less than 8 games FIVE times, and won 10 or more games only 3 times, but they were also a yard away from beating Ohio State in 2016, which would have likely changed the whole programs trajectory.

Georgia and Michigan were on two completely different levels when Kirby Smart and Jim Harbaugh were hired. 

1VaBlue1

November 9th, 2017 at 10:15 AM ^

It's easy to hit early when you take over a 9-10 win team with a lot of experienced depth already on the roster.  Look at Saban and LSU.  Reference Meyer at OSU.  Meyer at UF.  Beilema/Chryst at UW.  Harbaugh at UM.

Yes - Harbaugh at UM.  The last two years he was playing with house money - experienced players.  Maybe not 9-win good players, but upper-classmen.  And he won 20 games with them.  Now he's dealing with the lack of depth from those craps years under Hoke, when recruiting fell off a cliff.  That recruiting cliff is something Meyer, Saban, and Beilema/Chryst never had to deal with.

Swinney didn't turn heads until the last few years - because it took him 4 years to build some depth at Clemson.

Relax, people - it's coming...  The juggernaut is just starting out.

TrueBlue2003

November 9th, 2017 at 2:17 PM ^

to Harbaugh to say they've done better.

To your point, Harbaugh inherited a stellar group of upperclassmen that were highly rated recruits and an unprecedented number of them went to the NFL.  The cupboard was far from bare and Michigan is a great program.

And Harbaugh did great things with them!  8 games into last season he was sitting right were Smart is now.  Had Harbaugh beaten OSU last year (which he was inches from doing), we might be talking about his dynasty.  He's shown far far you can come in a very short period of time.  Of course, to do it quickly you have to have a solid initial talent base like Michigan, and UGA did.

My response was to the person suggesting that building a dynasty necessarily takes a long time.  Harbaugh and others are proof that it doesn't have to take a long time.

Of course, this all depends on the definition of "dynasty."  Does it have to mean multiple national titles over a span of time (USC mid-00s, Florida late 00s, Bama since 09ish or is it good enough to have won a lot of division titles and occasional conference titles over a span a la OSU, MSU, Wisconsin, Clemson, Oregon, Texas, FSU over past couple of decades)?  Interestingly enough, all of those multi-title dynasties were "built" fairly quickly under new regimes.

BassDude138

November 9th, 2017 at 11:26 AM ^

Key word is building. You sound like a staee fan trying to sell that the result of Harbaughs first year was the summit, and labeling him a failure before he has a chance to build his program. Every rebuild is different, not black and white.

Yes, they underachieved last year, but we saw the weaknesses in the roster get exposed the last two years. Only those who weren't paying attention were expecting huge things this year. Obviously all you see is year 3 (!!!) gotta win more!

The reality is that the team lost a ton of players after last season, and there wasn't much experience behind them. There are less than 20 players who contribute (not all are even starters) from the 2013-2015 classes combined. The players who left last year, who Harbaugh got consecutive 10 win seasons out of, went 5-7 as Freshman/Sophomores the previous year. Many of them didn't even play then. The Freshman and Sophomores now are 7-2, and gaining a ton of playing experience. And this has been the toughest year so far under Harbaugh. But please tell me again how bad the future outlook is.

huntmich

November 9th, 2017 at 10:20 PM ^

Listen, if you're a sparty fan pretending to be a Michigan fan, enjoy the jabs while you can. Michigan has one of the youngest programs in college football and is on the brink of becoming a Harbaugh juggernaut.

 

If you're actually a Michigan fan wrestling with whether this program will ever be successful, be patient. We are working through the 2014 and 2015 recruiting classes that were not only poor, but didn't fill the needed holes in the program.

 

I'll do my best not to say "I told you so" in 1-2 years.

Heptarch

November 8th, 2017 at 7:59 PM ^

With the Dawgs caving people left and right, pulling kids out of there is going to be tough going forward.

We'll be fine, though.  Michigan is a national brand and we'll get our share of talent.

A Lot of Milk

November 8th, 2017 at 8:01 PM ^

Caving teams such as South Carolina...and oh they scored a lot of points on Missouri (who also scored a lot on them). They're gonna lose this weekend and Bama will take em behind the woodshed, it's same ol Georgia but with an easy schedule

DrMantisToboggan

November 8th, 2017 at 8:45 PM ^

Auburn's offense is 35th in S&P, only 9 spots behind Bama, Stidham is 3rd in the SEC in QB Rating and Yards per Attempt, and 1st in Completion Percentage. Kerryon Johnson is 2nd in the SEC in Rushing Yards. Auburn is 2nd in the SEC in PPG and 3rd in the SEC in Yards/Game. 

 

Auburn has plenty enough offense (and the 5th overall D in S&P) to compete with Bama and Georgia.

DrMantisToboggan

November 8th, 2017 at 8:23 PM ^

Bama isn't going to take them behind the woodshed because Auburn's gonna do it twice. 

 

My preseason pick of Auburn being the first to make the CFP with 2 losses is going exactly as I predicted: close losses to Clemson and LSU, beat UGA, beat Bama, beat UGA again. One at a time, starting this weekend...

The Fugitive

November 8th, 2017 at 8:01 PM ^

the Emil decommitment is even more puzzling now that the oline is mauling the shit out of opponents.  With  Bredeson graduating in 2 years and Ruiz getting early playing time, you would think that would be enticing enough to stick around.

 

BlockedAccount

November 8th, 2017 at 8:12 PM ^

100% understand najees decision. he was never committed to Michigan. he flirted a bit, but he's getting live game action for the best program over the last 10 years. Michigan has not shown any ability to put a dominant line and running game on the field over that same span. yes, it's going to change, but not soon enough to convince the best running back prospect in the last 5 years to come to Michigan over Alabama.

ak47

November 8th, 2017 at 8:52 PM ^

Anybody who would ever question a kid going to bama? A school with the most recent success on the field and more importantly the team that puts the most players into the nfl are either stupid or naive or both. The irony is of course when people say other recruits don’t come because they don’t get offered free playing time and won’t compete. If you are recruiting kids who think of themselves as the best and think they can compete for playing time regardless of current rosters you can’t then point to Michigan’s roster as a reason to pick Michigan over bama.

Logan88

November 8th, 2017 at 8:10 PM ^

Personally, I am never surprised when Bama gets anyone that they actually want. I think Emil may have just been waiting to get the green light from Bama because he had been a flight risk for a loooong time.

As a side note, I never worry about losing OL recruits. They are, by far, the hardest to accurately predict, so I don't stress out on losing OL. If UM does lose Reese that will suck, he looks like a very athletic OLB who could be the kind of guy who could actually cover RB's on wheel routes unlike McCray.

sum1valiant

November 8th, 2017 at 9:01 PM ^

FWIW, I'd push my kid to put himself in a position to be successful in life. Be it on the football field, the community, or his profession. Not too many schools offer all three. Saban can have his championships. If it were up to me, my child would never step foot on an SEC campus in pursuit of an athletic scholarship.

Eat Your Wheatlies

November 8th, 2017 at 8:11 PM ^

You're not wrong, but the weeks leading up to his flip had our offense struggling. At that point he had likely made up his mind and stopped paying as close attention to UM. 

When you have a brand new, hot girlfriend who has big...cans, you'd be less likely to check out your ex...even if her fun bags were plenty nice.

Marvin

November 8th, 2017 at 8:23 PM ^

I didn't understand your point until you made the breast analogy. So Michigan is like the old girlfriend who had nice "fun bags," but Georgia is the new "hot girlfriend" with "big . . . cans." So you don't think about your old girlfriend's breasts now that you have a new girlfriend with large breasts -- just like Reese doesn't think about Michigan anymore now that he has Georgia (or the "new girlfriend.") Very clear now. 

Perkis-Size Me

November 8th, 2017 at 8:16 PM ^

We’re mauling bad opponents. We won’t know how good the OL actually is until Wisconsin.

No one should ever be surprised when they lose a recruit to Alabama. They send guys in the first round at nearly every position every single year. They win national championships seemingly every other year and contend for them every year, never missing a beat.

For any recruit that Saban really, truly wants, he’s usually going to get him.