State of Recruiting is Not Bad Right Now
With the Dee Hart news today, many national pundits (and maybe some UM fans) are starting to say something along the lines of: "And the news just gets worse for Michigan" or "Michigan Recruiting takes big hit after loss."
But if you look more closely, you will see that the loss yesterday and the implications the next few days on this class should not be too severe. In fact, it may already be over. Clearly the Dee Hart decommitment is a setback. But it was very much expected. In fact, most people believed that Dee Hart wasn't coming to Michigan even had we put together a good performance yesterday. He was at the Bama-MSU game and was set to commit there either way in my opinion.
As of now we have 13 commitments. Of those 13, we have a very good chance of keeping all 13 despite the coaching situation. The in-state guys are sold on the school/program. They have said such. Even better, some of the out of state guys are some of the most enthusiastic commits we have --> Countess, K Jones. And TomVH confirmed yesterday that Dallas Crawford is still likely to come to Michigan no matter who is coach. If we bring in a new coach, he might be able to bring with him a few guys, and still have a great shot at Chris Bryant and Kris Frost. A pro-style coach may even be able to convince Sammy Watkins to come with his teammate Dallas to Ann Arbor, and bring in more of a bruiser RB (Rawls).
From a coaching standpoint, we are not Miami. There won't be a mass exodus of recruits. We are in excellent shape and with a month left to go, and with possibly 6-8 slots to fill, we will be extremely competitive to complete a very solid class. If Brandon does the job he was hired to do, by Wednesday this program will be back on track.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
its not over
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:15 PM ^
Stop with the cryptic posts. You don't have any insider knowledge.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:53 PM ^
But cryptic, informationless recruiting posts are Irish's specialty!
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:07 PM ^
what are you talking about?
not sure how those 3 words are cryptic, I thought it was pretty straight forward. You're trying to read way too much into a very simple post
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:11 PM ^
I'll bite. It's definitely Not Bad, but it's also Not That Great either. It's solid but unspectacular. Dee Hart was supposed to be one of the jewels of the class, and now he's gone (for the moment). National Signing day is still two months away, and if we get a new HC next week, he'll have plenty of time to find seven lousy recruits to fill up our class.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:15 PM ^
Much closer to one month than two
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^
look at the front page...
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^
This recruiting class is not a solid one by any stretch of the imagination. We used to have a fairly good mix of 3 and 4 star guys with a 1-2 5 star guys as well. This year they are all 3 star with a couple of 4 star recruits. I feel we get some decent offensive recruits, but there is definitely a difference in the defensive recruits we get, which is really what we need right now. A while ago I looked at how the percentage of 3 star defensive recruits we got has changed over time - under Carr we only had 20-30% of defensive recruits who were 3 star or below; under RRod that percentage has jumped to 50-60% (Ray Vinopal - 2 star with upside!). I don't think the star system is necessarily the best way to evaluate recruiting classes, but I also believe you're more likely to get a "hit" on a prospect than a "miss" by recruiting higher star players.
I don't expect to have all 4 and 5 star guys like Alabama - we all know recruiting practices from schools like this are shady and highly unethical and its only a matter of time until they get hammered by some major NCAA violation. However, this class could stand to be much better.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^
....what if RR stays?
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^
At this point, I'd rather have Harbaugh than RR. Not because I don't believe the spread can succeed, not because I think RR's a bad coach, not because I think there's no hope for the future. Rather, solely for recruiting. If he stays, that'll be great and all, but there will continue to exist a shadow over the program, one that suggests mediocrity and a still-torn fanbase. It won't just kill us with some prospects in this class, I think it'll really hurt the 2012 class as well.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:38 PM ^
.......winning cures all, just look at kobe and vick. How sweet would it be if we win the Big Ten next year WITH Rich Rod.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:59 PM ^
After the pounding we incurred yesterday, the overall perception of the program is of one stuck where it is, not moving forward, simply a mediocre team. Even if RR turns this team into world beaters over the summer, he still won't be able to prove it until, at the earliest, mid-October. That would kill recruiting, and keep elite prospects from coming. The same speculation we've endured will continue for yet ANOTHER year. I think, if we had just come and dealt with Miss St, there would have at least been enough optimism to get us in a strong position with several recruits over the offseason.
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:40 PM ^
We're going to go through the same speculation next year which will once again affect our recruiting
January 2nd, 2011 at 5:59 PM ^
....not if we win BIG, which I believe we can. Just look at sparty's turn around. It's going to be tough seeing someone else reap the reward for RR's players.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:00 PM ^
Like I said above, we still can't win BIG for another nine or so months. That's nine or so months where our recruiting is hurt badly.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:02 PM ^
Sure hope DB has JH in the bag.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:04 PM ^
His name wouldn't carry the recruiting momentum that Harbaugh would. Kids are going to tune into the Orange Bowl tomorrow, and know who Harbaugh is. They're not going to know much about the SDSU coach.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^
....that it's JH that's twisting DB arm to hire him immediately telling DB that he has a lot of work to do in getting the team back to its winning ways!
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:08 PM ^
Immediately after tomorrow night. I'd rather not have a coach who's so willing to desert his team.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:25 PM ^
I wouldn't want him to abandon his team now, but I wish if he really wanted to come here, he would start after the OSU game. If we change, we will need all the time we can to a new system down. That is a conversation for another time.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
I'm pretty sure, even if we had hired him after the OSU game, RR would have coached the bowl game. But I understand what you're saying.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:20 PM ^
And I am sure you had something useful to say that deserved it.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:51 PM ^
He would have done it a month ago.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:09 PM ^
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:12 PM ^
RR definitely had the cc barrier to deal with. And he nabbed a few four-stars. And Dee. And this class is smallish, which impacts rankings.
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<br>All in all, though, RR at no point recruited on par with the big boys. On defense, most notably. Last year we ended up outside the top 25 (once Demar Dorsey was dropped). We're about 28th currently. Not good enough. Despite what the RR apologists say, the team is not overflowing with young blue-chip talent. Not on D, at least.
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<br>Everybody worries about losing current recruits. We may. But I'm pretty sure we'll end up with a better class than RR would have pulled. Also, perhaps, a bigger one. Transfers will create more spots. That's not a bad thing. JH may well end up with a full-sized class. Good. We need it.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:18 PM ^
NOT GOOT ENOUF!!!
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^
"Transfers will create more spots. That's not a bad thing."
A spot created by Denard transferring would be a bad thing.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:27 PM ^
He was at the Bama-MSU game and was set to commit there either way in my opinion.
So that's why MSU (that MSU) played so poorly! They were in collusion with Bama! They BOTH wanted Dee not to go to Michigan!
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:29 PM ^
The problem with this class is UM has no impact players. Granted very few HS kids come in and make a difference but UM has to land a couple studs to build a solid foundation.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:33 PM ^
A lot of 'impact players' haven't even made their final decision yet. Still, you make a good point.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
The problem with this class is UM has no impact players.
Now it may not. With Dee, yes he probably would have been an impact player.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^
He wanted more of a pro-style offense. If Harbaugh comes in could he sway him to reconsider Mich? Just wondering.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:32 PM ^
But after all of the trash-talking and general crap he threw at Michigan yesterday on twitter. I legitimately don't want him.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
I doubt you have anything to worry about there
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:52 PM ^
Oh I know. Just sayin'
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:35 PM ^
I don't have twitter, probably should get it. What did he say?
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:54 PM ^
It wasn't anything specific, he just spent most of the day retweeting stuff that UT fans were saying about how garbage the Big Ten is, wondering why anyone would want to "volunteer for a michigan game ass whooopin". Some of it was negative towards MSU, which was fine by me.
January 2nd, 2011 at 10:29 PM ^
Not happening. Dude is more in love with the SEC than the MSM.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
Also I don't expect that Harbaugh will spend three years implicitly blaming everything on his predecessor, as RR did.
January 2nd, 2011 at 6:51 PM ^
Show me one quote where RR blamed anything on Carr directly.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:23 PM ^
on Carr directly."
I agree...it was MGoBloggers who did that, not RR.
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:40 PM ^
RR has never directly blamed Carr (no coach ever would do that), but he certainly has suggested on many occasions that he didn't inherit much.
January 2nd, 2011 at 8:17 PM ^
Are you kidding? How many times has he throw up his hands and say, in essence, "What do you expect? I had nothing to start with?" All he's done is make it sound as if he was handed a bunch of bozos.
A few specific examples:
2008: Rodriguez, who took West Virginia from 3-8 his first season to 9-3 his second, said Monday he’s not surprised the rebuilding process has taken longer at Michigan.
“Not after I got here,” Rodriguez said.
2008: When he was asked if any of Michigan's juniors had come to him seeking advice on whether they should turn pro, Rodriguez literally stifled a giggle before saying no -- as if the previous coaching staff had recruited anyone good enough to consider that.
"We have to identify our problems, and we have," Rodriguez said. "Some of them didn't occur overnight, and they won't be overcome overnight."
So what, Rodriguez was asked, have you learned in two years. "It didn't take me two years," Rodriguez interrupted. "It didn't take me two years to figure out what we needed and what we needed to do. I knew it after a couple of days."
2009: Rodriguez, when asked about the team's shaky performance, said, "Until I took the job, I didn't know how many challenges we faced in terms of our roster and recruiting. That's gonna take time."
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:23 PM ^
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^
This is not one of his more admirable traits. He's had a tendency to deflect blame onto his players for specific mistakes as well, most notably following the 2009 MSU game:
"He was supposed to kick it," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. "It was a read, and Zoltan, he's made that decision very, very well a number of times, and that time he thought he saw a crease, I guess."
Someone should have asked, as a follow-up: even if it was Zoltan's read, why was there even a read on that punt play at all?
January 2nd, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^
I really hold against him. Most of the other stuff is created, or just silly bias. I mean, I don't think a football banquet is a place to make it about the coach, and not the seniors, and worry he didn't realize how Groban would come off, but I understand it, under the circumstances. And everything doesn't have to be done like the old regimes, but man, calling out anyone else, ESPECIALLY a player, for a football problem...that's just not my style. Call out someone because they're not working hard, or doing what they're supposed to (a la Tate helmet thing)? Cool. Get them "on the same page", if that's what it takes to get their attention. But for football failure? That's on the head guy. Big bucks, broad shoulders. Even if you're thinking "in practice I'll make sure THAT never happens again", or "that coach is SO fired", to the press you protect your players and your staff. Not yourself.