An Interview with Jordan Walsh
Jordan Walsh, out of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, is one of the top offensive line prospects in the country. He's the sixth best offensive guard, according to Rivals. Walsh has had interest in Michigan since his visit for Junior Day, and that interest is still growing. Here's his sophomore film (his junior film isn't on YouTube), then our conversation.
TOM: Let's start with where your interest in Michigan started from.
JORDAN: I was getting some mail from them, and then I got a junior day invite. I went up there, and they saw my film somewhere, and that's how they offered me. They offered me when I was up there. It was just amazing there, too. The trophy cases, the championships, the coaches were awesome, and Ann Arbor, the town was awesome. I really felt a lot of interest being there.
TOM: Was that where all of this stemmed from? Just from a visit?
JORDAN: Well, my mom always liked Michigan. She was a big Michigan football fan, and she told me when I was younger that I should go to Michigan. When we went there, I really liked it. She loved the junior day visit, too. When Coach Rodriguez offered me, she started crying. I guess my mom saying that all those years really got me interested initially. She's a fan of everybody now, though. She wants me to make my own decision, so she's a fan of everybody.
TOM: So is your Mom coming with you on any other visits then?
JORDAN: We might be coming back up to Michigan on the 13th (Tuesday). I really want to see the academic side and the support system they have. I want to check if I went there, if they would help me out. I have around a 3.7 GPA right now, so that's important to me. I'm not 100% sure if we're coming because I was talking with one of the (Michigan) coaches, and he gave us two dates. I'm not sure which date me and my mom are going to choose yet.
TOM: Do you have a top list right now, or are you looking to narrow it down?
JORDAN: I have a top eight. It's (in no order) Michigan, Iowa, MSU, Northwestern, LSU, USC, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee. To summarize them all, I felt comfortable with all of them. I'm interested in all of them, and I like all the coaches.
TOM: Do you know when you're going to make your decision then?
JORDAN: I don't really have a timeline set. I really just want to see everything I'm looking for. If I see and hear the stuff that I need to, then after that I'll make my decision. I don't really know when that will be.
TOM: For the fans that don't know too much about you, tell us who you are as a football player.
JORDAN: Some coaches say that I finish my blocks, and I'm nasty on the field. To be honest, I just love the game of football. I'll do anything a coach ask me to do. I block, so I obviously can't ask for the ball, or anything. The offensive line is a cool position. You don't really get the glory, or praise, but you get to hit a lot of people.
Smart kid. Join the family.
Another good lineman were on and sounds like another one were in good postion with. Great update Tom!
You're the man, Tom! Thanks for all these interviews and updates!
"To summarize them all, I felt comfortable with all of them. I'm interested in all of them, and I like all the coaches."
Pro forma answer, but a smart one. Sounds like he'd be a great add, especially given his offer list. #4 Guard in the country, according to Scout.
Well, my mom always liked Michigan. She was a big Michigan football fan, and she told me when I was younger that I should go to Michigan. When we went there, I really liked it. She loved the junior day visit, too. When Coach Rodriguez offered me, she started crying. I guess my mom saying that all those years really got me interested initially.
Yeah, Mom!
Mom crying = Good.
Not only is Jordan really good, but he has a teammate, 2012 DL Tommy Schutt, who's going to be really good, too.
Per Rivals, he is a 4*, ranked the 6th best OG and 157th best overall in the country. Im excited that he is so interested in U of M. If we could land him and Zettel, it would fill out this recruiting class well. Sprinkle in a few LB's and call it a year.
link to Rivals profile:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/player-Jordan-Walsh-99574
...rankings:
Rivals: 4*, 5.9, #6 OG, #157 overall, #3 Illinois
Scout: 4*, #4 OG
ESPN: 4*, #13 OG, 79
Offers: Arizona, Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin per Scout. Rivals adds Colorado and Connecticut.
True.
If you look in this interview Walsh says he's not 100% sure if he'll be there on the 13th. Jake will be there for sure.
Seems like a really smart kid, which is a great quality in an O-lineman. He'd be a great pick-up for us, and if a great education is important to him, we are near, if not at, the top of the list of schools he's considering.
Go Blue Jordan!
I like this quote.
The offensive line is a cool position. You don't really get the glory, or praise, but you get to hit a lot of people.
bring me Walsh, bring me Hobbi, bring me Fisher, bring me Bryant, and i will celebrate.
those types of players are the earth movers Michigan needs to start measuring up to the best DL's/front 7's in the country.
Michigan wins and the big name recruits start having confidence in Rodriquez's job security. Rodriquez and Michigan could have a huge recruiting class and really start contending for more than just a bowl game.
No doubt about it, if we have a solid 8 or 9 win season, maybe with a big bowl win, and the recruits will start flocking to Ann Arbor. It doesn't need to be a Rose Bowl season, but good enough that people start talking about UM with a positive tone instead of a reserved or pessimistic one. Enough so that RR's job is secure and people are saying "maybe UM wins the Big Ten" instead of "maybe UM misses a bowl."
When that happens, and I think it will be a handful of months from now, we'll be able to get almost anyone we really want.
...are a must. Four losses are acceptable for where the program's at, but five or (God forbid) six losses would cause consternation among recruits, fans and those in positions of authority regarding M's coaching situation.
Make it or break it year, IMO.
You used acceptable in your analysis.
Five or six losses would cause mass hysteria across Ann Arbor. My computer would burn when I tried to log into mgoblog.
Oye. Su nombre no es Rodriquez. Pero me gusto tu avatar.
It would actually be me gusta, not me gusto. Although we think of me gusta as "I like," it directly translated to "it pleasures me." You said, "I pleasure myself," but based on the avatar, maybe that's what you meant.
Lo siento.
Was there any discussion of the USC sanctions? I'm curious why recruits who can go almost anywhere they want to go still have USC ranked so high. Turene is another example.
I think it's because for most of them, especially O-linemen, the bowl ban doesn't really matter. The first year without a bowl they will be seniors in high school, then 90% of them will redshirt for the second year of the ban. I really wish the NCAA dropped the banhammer on them and gave them a 4 year ban and no TV. This punishment will no doubt hurt USC, but it's more of a speed bump then it is a flat tire for recruiting.
I think USC's appeal pushes back the effective date of the absolute ban folowed by years when they may not qualify simply because of the scholarship reductions.
Eh, they're big ten level players from the midwest, most of them. It's not a coincidence as much as it makes sense. The top ones won't look at MSU as closely, with a few exceptions. The middle of the road guys will see MSU as a chance to play in the same conference as UM but a better chance to see the field.
...Of course they are....
...MSC has always tried to ride on our wake of greatness...
...Always has...
...AND ALWAYS WILL...
...tenacious to me. Really likes to finish his blocks, as he said. If mom cried over Michigan's offer, this has to make us an ever-so-slight favorite, wouldn't you think??
I love the avatar. hahaha
One thing that I've always wanted to clear up, regarding the quote in your signature. Didn't RR say "Look, our helmet's got wings" as if to say "Our helmet has got wings" which would make him and us sound a lot less... dumb? Or was he really saying "All our helmets got wings" like a rube
...a rube, I'm afraid. Fun nonetheless.
Gotta love it when a mother has loved Michigan football their entire lives, yet didn't attend the University. And a mother is God in a child's eyes. Walsh going Blue will be the one of the more profound gut feelings Sam Webb is gonna have, in the near future.
Vandy and Northwestern on his list = academics do actually matter to this kid, it's not just lip service. Can't hurt Michigan's chances.
USC also fits the pattern, so thank god for the cloud over that program. I read his list as indicating he's looking for both strong academics and elite football. Some of those schools have elite football, and some have strong academics, but only one school combines them both at the highest level. I'd say Michigan has a very good shot here.
It's funny that he said MSU though, who has neither....
...i didn't hear of him earlier, seeing as how he lives so close to chicago. I gotta start paying more attention to things that go on in the suburbs
We give you praise. We give you a LOT of praise. If you do your job well (or even just correctly), we will likely worship you. You underestimate how smart the Michigan fanbase is (in football sense, and I don't think I need to state the academic part, but that's a digression).
When a touchdown is scored, the spotlight is on the RB, the WR, the QB. But the fans know that the whole reason that hole opened for that RB to run 50 yards is the O line. We go crazy for that.
Hell, our favorite two players last year were a DE and a punter.
who would neg this? I call our fanbase smart, highlight how we praise all positions, and mention our love for Brandon Graham and Zoltan. why am i negged so much for apparently no reason at all?
Maybe the subject line hit a nerve.
tl;dr and all that
know that people sometimes neg for no apparent reason -- someone went through this thread down-voting most if not all of the comments. Hard to know why -- probably just an asshole acting out. 90% of the time it backfires on them, because up-votes are worth +2, while down-votes are only worth -1. The best thing you can do to counter the behavior is to up-vote comments you think were stupidly down-voted, as I'm about to do in this thread.
Also -- complaining about getting negged is one sure way to get negged, a sentiment I agree with.
This kid would be a great pick up. Brains and brawn! Wow our line could be great for years to come. I think 6 wins and a bowl game will keep RR here for a while. The 2011 version of this team will be much better than 2010. Even in the worse case scenario of 5 wins we should give RR one more season. I can see that both talent and depth are improving and from 2011 and beyond we should get back to a typical UM winning team...may be even NC caliber team 3 to 4 years from now.
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