2019 Michigan Verbal Commit, 4 Star DE, Stephen Herron: Latest On His Recruitment

Submitted by SkyPanther on

From this weekends Rivals Camp Series, Nashville. Stephen Herron asked to update his recruitment status.

 

-Michigan calls him once a week. He is still committed to Michigan. Will make an official visit some time in summer.

 

-Stanford has flown to see him 10 times in the last 3 months. Calls him at least 3 times a week. Is he going to make an official visit to Stanford? "I would say so. Yes."

 

2:27 video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkGZDlamYFU

 

It's clearly sounds like his committment is not secure, is seriously considering Stanford, and could still flip there.

BoCanHam15

May 14th, 2018 at 12:27 AM ^

I know your history and how positive you usually are,lol! But will Herron actually be playing LT and RT. Do you even actually think before you moan? Our defensive line isn’t lacking in talent and we will get others to come. Dicosmo is going to Stanford also. His crystal balls are at about 71% for the Cardinal and we led for awhile. Guess what we were contacting him frequently. Recruiting is definitely not a science. But yeah we should have a backup tackle ready for him. Excellent thought.

Watching From Afar

May 14th, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^

WDE isn't a super high position of need, but they have guys in behind Herron like Newburg and are still chasing others IIRC.

Should be ok if he does flip. Obviously he's rated higher than the others, but there are bodies to fill in unlike the Hamilton thing where losing him was basically losing the only OT they had since Bredeson moved inside.

Jamezz23

May 13th, 2018 at 11:22 PM ^

I want this kid to go blue as much as any one out there. But if we were to lose him to a team in red, I’m okay with Stanford.... Hope he stays committed with the good guys!

RobM_24

May 13th, 2018 at 11:24 PM ^

What happened to that O-Lineman that flipped to Stanford last minute? Totally can't remember his name. The kid that had a connection to Poggi. Has he done anything so far in his career?

ThadMattasagoblin

May 13th, 2018 at 11:33 PM ^

Seems stupid to call him only once a week. They clearly want him or they wouldn't call him at all. What else is the staff doing this time of year now that spring practices are done? It's much easier for Greg Mattison and Harbaugh to drive down to Louisville than it is for Stanford.

Lou MacAdoo

May 13th, 2018 at 11:50 PM ^

Why would he want to be called more than once a week? What the f are you going to talk to them about three times a week? It's just a different world these people live in.

SkyPanther

May 14th, 2018 at 12:03 AM ^

Greg Mattison thought Michigan was secure with Tyreke Smith. 19 second video of Coach Mattison: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95seR59RRKY

But, Ohio St called him 4 times EVERY DAY, yes, that's right, 4 times EVERY DAY: 33 second video: https://www.detroitnews.com/videos/sports/college/university-michigan/2017/06/04/four-star-de-tyreke-smith-his-recruitment/102492358/

 

He went Ohio St.

 

At his age 4 calls a day would make you feel wanted, I guess.

Blue in Paradise

May 14th, 2018 at 1:05 AM ^

I would throw my phone in the ocean.  Besides, how can multiple schools call that often?  Don't the kids have friends, family, school and football? 

Anyway, whatever.  I honestly don't remember Michigan ever being a serious player for Tyreke Smith - I remember him being an OSU / PSU battle.

 

Eat Your Wheatlies

May 14th, 2018 at 7:56 AM ^

What the hell do you even talk about during those four phone calls? I'm guessing topics of conversation must be limited to what he learned in chemistry today, how good the bosco sticks were, how many fortnite kills he has, or if he thought the new girl was cute. I just don't get that approach, but I'm also not a big time D-I college football recruit.

 

canzior

May 14th, 2018 at 8:17 AM ^

from different coaches. Talking about his development, family, girls, what drills he's doing, what his diet is, has he watched any film, what are you doing today to get better, know any other players you think deserve a look, "what i'd like to see you do/work on is..."  video games, twitter, all of it. 

huntmich

May 13th, 2018 at 11:54 PM ^

Ugh. I'm no expert on recruiting, but it seems to me that if Michigan wants a prospect who can get into Stanford, Michigan does not get that prospect.

Navy Wolverine

May 13th, 2018 at 11:59 PM ^

Shouldn't he be cracking the whip on the staff to make sure they keep this kid sold on Michigan? It sounds like they are just following standard protocol for a committed recruit; call once a week and make sure everything is ok. Everything is not ok, Matt. You need to show this kid some love.

I'm in Sales and there are a lot of similarities to recruiting. If I am about to get a contract from a major customer and our competitor starts to make a big push I know it and I pull out all the stops to prevent it from happening.

Dudek concerns me. He seems more interested in unearthing hidden gems than taking on the competition head on and beating them (another flawed Sales / Marketing tactic).

ThadMattasagoblin

May 14th, 2018 at 12:13 AM ^

Seems like recruiting has really fallen off since we lost Tuioti to Cal in early 2017. Brian remarked in a podcast that this past January was like late RR in that we couldn't get anyone on campus for a visit. I'm not saying that Dudek is the reason for the recruiting issues but we know Harbaugh is not infallible to mistakes ala Drevno. 

Bluey

May 14th, 2018 at 2:16 AM ^

Not sure whose respnsibility it is but ultimately it falls on Jim Harbaugh, because he's the head coach and the whole operation seems completely disorganized. The thing that is most troublesome is despite the staff reshuffling the recruiting problem still exists just as much as it did last year. Pep, McElwain, and Warriner are all middling to bad recruiters, which would be ok if Moore and Jaybaugh were lights out, but they aren't. That's the entire offensive staff right there, and it leaves guys like Partridge, Mattison, and Washington on the other side of the ball to pick up everyone else's slack. As far as Dudek and Magee, I have no idea if they are good or bad at what they do, but I know as soon as they came on board Michigan hasn't been able to land a single composite top 247 recruit - and they've been here almost a year now. I'm not ready to say the last 12 months have been Rich Rod bad, but if this continues it absolutely will be.

OwenGoBlue

May 14th, 2018 at 2:23 AM ^

Partridge oversees all the recruiting again and Mattisom is his position coach. Those would be the guys deciding how much to contact Herron and then following through.

Dudek mostly does the visit planning and execution which, by all accounts, go really well.

We know CP and Mattison are great recruiters and we like them so a bunch of people blindly blame the other dude even for things that haven’t gone wrong yet. Some kids prefer less contact that is more meaningful, others may want as much as possible. We don’t know which is the preferred approach with Herron or if he cares about that at all.

MichiganStan

May 14th, 2018 at 12:00 AM ^

Best just to tell yourself that he's going to decommit so if it happens its not that big of a blow. If he stays then great. I did the same thing with Otis Reese and Emil Ekiyor last year. 

It's Always Marcia

May 14th, 2018 at 1:49 AM ^

It really did suck losing Emil Ekiyor. I wanted Greg Frey's head that day, because how bad the O Line was playing. I saw Ekiyor on a Land of 10 video say he had been watching Michigan's O Line every Saturday. He flipped the week after the Penn St game. Nick Saban had personally been calling him once a day, every day. It seems it would leave quite an impression on a 17 year old to have the best coach in the NCAA calling him every day. 

Wolverine 73

May 14th, 2018 at 8:24 AM ^

Perhaps he saw how badly our OL was playing? Improve the OL play, start beating our rivals with some frequency, and this fixes itself. Kids who can go anywhere want to play for a winner.

ToledoWolverine

May 14th, 2018 at 12:06 AM ^

Would be nice if he wanted to be here, but writing is on the wall. Good luck to him either way. I have little to no doubt that the guys that play DLine at UM will get some of the best coaching available and reach their full potential. Not the least bit worried about that position group.

BoCanHam15

May 14th, 2018 at 12:20 AM ^

It’s always the same NEGATIVE NANCIES, replying to recruiting. Hilarious nobody on this whole blog can tell if one of our commits or de-commits will pan out. But you can bet the kitchen sink on which commenters will say negative things about our coach or coaching staff! What a life some of you have. Negative,negativity,nefarious, whiners! Yeah the only reason Herron won’t stay with Michigan is because they only call a committed recruit once a week. All of you have zero proof of his thoughts or reactions to a teenager and his ability to deduce whether or not he’s wanted because of the frequency of calls from said school. Tyreke+Herron=frequency of phone calls

ThadMattasagoblin

May 14th, 2018 at 12:49 AM ^

There's a difference between being negative and being realistic. Anytime any program has three decommits over six months, there is a problem. It might not be a big problem but if he leaves we have to replace him. In 2016, we lost Devry Hamilton and didn't replace him with anyone of his capability and it set the program back a few years.

stephenrjking

May 14th, 2018 at 1:06 AM ^

I don't think nitty gritty stuff like "number of phone calls" is the issue. But realism is warranted and there's a reason I don't spend a lot of time on recruiting posts these days, because the news is rarely that encouraging. 

The plain fact is that the "new coach" sheen has worn off and if Harbaugh doesn't produce results on the field he's going to get murdered in recruiting by other elite programs. In 2016 the "this is the year" talk was warranted based on the roster but it wasn't the only shot Michigan had. This year is a "this is the year" type season not only because of the roster but for the sake of program momentum. If Michigan doesn't win enough to pull in serious recruits this year we're in serious trouble. 

The pressure is on. Michigan needs results this year. Big time.

It's Always Marcia

May 14th, 2018 at 1:21 AM ^

Winning, I'm sure, is a significant factor for where a player commits. And I think it is telling that Emil Ekiyor decommitted the week after the Penn St game last year. But, if Nick Saban had not been personally calling him every day Ekiyor may not have flipped to Alabama, but may have gone to another school.

In reply to by It's Always Marcia

LDNfan

May 14th, 2018 at 6:16 AM ^

Re-read your statement...saying something 'may' have had an impact and that he 'may' have gone to another school really waters it down.

In other words..who knows?

Win some big games and that is a surefire way to get kids excited about a program. Daily phone calls or not. 

In reply to by It's Always Marcia

Salinger

May 14th, 2018 at 9:08 AM ^

...or may have taken another week or two to make a final decision. Hard to say where he would have landed but the rumblings had been going for awhile on Ekiyor flipping. Either way, writing was on the wall for him. It's a shame M missed out on another bluechip offensive lineman. We need as many bullets in the chamber as possible. 

AND

We need some of the guys we have landed to pan out. This year. The near future depends on it.

stephenrjking

May 14th, 2018 at 12:59 PM ^

Well, half of our games against OSU are at the Shoe, so that will happen from time to time. It's been a while, eventually we have to beat them on the road again. I attended our last victory there with a friend to celebrate my 21st birthday; I'm now 38 and stories told to my four kids about that game are stories of ancient history to them.

Thing is, as unacceptably disgusting as a loss to OSU would be this year (and every year) Michigan can still burnish its recruitable credentials if it wins almost everything else. Finishing 11-2 with, say, a Rose Bowl win is fine. Finishing 9-4 while OSU goes to the playoff again and we're in Tampa or something is not. 

Lou MacAdoo

May 14th, 2018 at 2:35 PM ^

They just have to get over that hump and beat them. Elite recruits will continue to think less of UM if they can’t beat their biggest rival. It’s obviously harder at the shoe and 2006 and 2016 stand out as years where they were all lined up with depth and talent just to end the regular season having to win in the shoe against the no. 1 and no. 2 ranked team. Then they have to deal with the silly things like bomb sniffing dogs and high school basketball refs. It’s hard to get over that hump when the team is only good enough once every ten years and when they are, the game is there. Every other year the team has been so deeply flawed and OSU rarely is anymore. Hopefully Jim can turn that around by bringing some consistency back to the program.

DHughes5218

May 14th, 2018 at 12:44 AM ^

I’ve become a little pessimistic on recruiting but he hasn’t decommitted and he only said he would take an official visit. How does this mean he’s gone? It’s not like you get major colleges calling you and begging you to visit their school all the time. I won’t fault a kid for enjoying the process. There’s a reason he committed to UM and in the end I think he will stick with it.