Thursday Recruitin' Moves On Up
Malzone Gets The Bump
Because way too many people my age think Kanye wrote a great horn line for "Touch The Sky"
After updating their top 100 on Monday, Rivals continued this week with a revised Rivals250 and newly minted four-star prospects. In the former, Shaun Crawford (#111) and Tyree Kinnel (#193) both had very minor drops, while Darrin Kirkland Jr. moved up from #183 to #167. In the latter, Alex Malzone led off the list of non-Rivals250 prospects to earn the four-star bump:
Malzone has consistently upped his play over the last year, doing so again most recently at the RCS Detroit, where he brought home the quarterback MVP award. We already knew he had a strong arm and his team's state title last fall showed he has the intangibles as well. What Malzone showed at the Rivals Camp was pinpoint accuracy on his throws, showing he has taken ownership of his arm mechanics. College coaches were also impressed by his workout this spring, and he accepted an offer from Michigan in May. - Josh Helmholdt, Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst
While the Michigan commitment certainly earned Malzone a closer look from recruiting analysts, it sounds like he was well on his way to that fourth star with or without the Wolverine pledge. As I said in yesterday's roundtable, I expect ESPN and 247 to follow suit eventually. Either way, Malzone is now officially ineligible for MGoBlog Sleeper of the Year status.
Crawford Update: Mixed Messages
According to Josh Helmholdt, after speaking with the coaches, Shaun Crawford still considers himself a Michigan commit:
Shaun Crawford told @JoshHelmholdt he remains a Michigan commitment: http://t.co/GYwM8uxxVo
— Michael Spath (@Spath_Wolverine) May 22, 2014
Considering he visited Notre Dame last weekend, that'd be a departure from the usual way the coaches have handled these situations—if a prospect takes visits, they're not considered a commitment—but perhaps they've reevaluated how they'd like to handle this type of scenario.
Or, potentially, not. Rumors abound that the Crawfords aren't at all pleased about Michigan's visit policy, and Sam Webb no longer considers Shaun a commit:
. @SamWebb77 just said on the @Hugeshow that Shaun Crawford is no longer a commitment, but #Michigan will continue to recruit him.
— nezz21〽 (@nezzy21) May 19, 2014
I doubt that is just Sam's opinion. Notably, Crawford is no longer listed among Michigan's 2015 class on Scout. There's a rumor on the GBW board that Crawford may not visit Ohio State, which would be good news; that may also be an indication he's leaning towards ND, however. Hopefully this situation clears up one way or the other before too long, as I dislike the soap opera aspect of recruiting as much as anybody.
[Hit THE JUMP for news on several new offers, updates on top targets in both the 2015 and 2016 classes, and much more.]
2015 Offers And Updates
According to Jason Howell of Rivals, Michigan offered 2015 three-star TX WR A.D. Miller, who immediately put the Wolverines among his top schools ($):
"Right now I have about seven schools that are standing out," Miller said. "I have Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Cal, Miami, Arizona State, and that's about it."
Each of the schools has caught his attention for similar reasons.
"Each of those schools can throw the ball," Miller said. "They have a history of throwing the ball and they have a good history of receivers making it to the NFL and getting drafted and they all have good academic programs. That's one of the things I'm looking at heavily. Each of those schools are just great schools, and I'm looking forward to visiting them all."
Miller later mentioned Michigan and OSU as two schools he specifically wants to visit. He boasts an impressive offer sheet—all the schools in his top seven have offered—that continues to grow, and he clearly has a willingness to consider programs far away from home.
The Wolverines also recently offered 6'5", 275-pound three-star Texas prospect Connor Williams, and while most teams are recruiting him as an offensive lineman, Michigan is taking a different approach, per Sam Webb ($):
“I feel I really fire off the ball and move in space,” Williams said describing his game. "I can get off the line and deliver a blow and can run and pull.”
That in part explains why he appealed to both Michigan tight ends coach Dan Ferrigno and offensive line coach Darrell Funk. For Williams’ part there is no positional preference.
“They actually want me as tight end if I stay at 275,” he said.
In "I can't believe this could possibly be an advantage" news, Williams' brother is a grad assistant at Akron—yes, Connor watched that game—and he says the proximity between Akron and Ann Arbor should make it easier for him to visit campus.
Four-star CT TE Chris Clark, who recently named Michigan as his leader, will visit U-M and MSU in June before making his final decision at The Opening in July. He's yet to set a visit to Ohio State, the school considered to be Michigan's biggest competition. I just put in my Crystal Ball pick for U-M.
Four-star TN OLB Joshua McMillon named three schools—Alabama, Auburn, and Michigan—from what he says will be a top eight or ten, and he talked to 247's Charles Power about what attracts him to each school ($):
"Well, Michigan has a lot of great aspects. Coach Greg Mattison is an ex-coach with the Baltimore Ravens. He came down to see me. He stays in touch with me ever since I came up there for the visit. Chris Singletary talks to me all the time on Twitter. It's just great conversing with him. We have a great time talking and he checks on family. It's a real good place up there."
McMillon says he plans to release the rest of his top group shortly and is eyeing a preseason decision.
"I'll probably release the rest in maybe a week or two from now. I'll have a final decision probably by the second week in August."
McMillon also said Michigan, Ohio State, and Miami are currently recruiting him the hardest; there's one school that's made both lists so far, and if McMillon sticks to his August decision timeline, the Wolverines should be in serious contention—he already visited in April.
2016 Offers And Updates
It didn't take long for Michigan to offer their first 2016 quarterback, as the Wolverines entered the fray for highly sought Maryland prospect Dwayne Haskins this week. He already holds offers from the likes of Clemson, Florida, FSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Tennessee, and unfortunately his "dream school" happens to be the school you'd least hope would be his dream school. It's obviously early, and U-M's had decent success recruiting in Maryland recently (Canteen, Watson, Poggi, Countess), but for now the Buckeyes appear to be the favorite.
Last week, U-M offered four-star Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller TE Jake Hausmann, who told Steve Lorenz the Wolverines are up there with two other Midwest powers that have offered ($):
"Michigan fits what I'm looking for out of a college program," Hausmann said. "I like the way they use their tight ends, they have a strong academic reputation and they're one of the big traditional programs in college football. I look at them in the same light I do Ohio State and Notre Dame."
Hausmann's family reportedly has ties to Ohio State, though he downplayed their potential role in his recruitment. He says he plans to visit Ann Arbor in June or July.
Sam Webb reported two more offers today, one to four-star NJ WR Brad Hawkins, the other to NJ WR/DB Ahmir Mitchell. Both have some solid early offers—Hawkins' list includes Florida, MSU, OSU, and South Carolina; Mitchell boasts a Florida State offer and interest from Penn State.
The Wolverines are also in good position with a couple top '16 prospects they offered early. The top-ranked ILB in the class, FL four-star Shaquille Quarterman, told 247 he'll visit Michigan this summer. While Quarterman has U-M in his top five, Auburn stands on top of his list, so making a big impression when he hits campus will be very important.
Five-star WI OL Ben Bredeson, meanwhile, took his second trip to U-M last month and, while he's still open to other schools, has the Wolverines among three standing out, per Tim Sullivan ($):
"Michigan and Ohio State are pretty key. I really like those two, obviously along with Wisconsin. Those three I really like. I haven't gotten to see many other schools, so once I get out there and see more, I'm adding to the list a little bit."
Wisconsin is the early favorite, but this looks like it's a long way from being over.
Etc.
As high-profile programs, Michigan included, engage in an arms race for most ridiculous photoshoped recruiting material, Justin Hilliard has by far my favorite reaction to this development:
Best recruit tweet ever? RT @JHilliard47: Can someone please edit a picture of me in a ITT Tech uniform
— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) May 20, 2014
VA DT Tim Settle named a top 15 that didn't include Michigan, per Rivals. I might've done this already, but... happy trails, young man.
11W on the surprising lack of early commits in Ohio State's 2015 class.
>Rumors abound that the Crawfords aren't at all pleased about Michigan recuriting policy<
Don't understand logic of this statement??
likely knew and still felt it was NBD when they told the coaches about the visits. However, the "Insta-offer" to another 2015 CB is what I believe was the needle poking the bear.
Was just going to say the same think.
If you don't like the policy, avoid having to deal with it at all and just don't commit. Seems simple enough.
11W on the surprising lack of early commits in Ohio State's 2015 class.
I'm with them. I sent an email to the MGoBlog Boys (TM) asking about this very same development (or lack thereof). I find it very interesting that as an MGo Community we think our recruiting is "slow"...yet OSU only has Two (2!!!) recruits on board for 2015. Seems quite a departure from Mr. Oversign...er...Mr. Meyer.
the comments on the 11W article and picked up this gem regarding their reaction to the small recruiting class:
Orig: So should Buckeye fans be concerned about where the class ends? In short, not at all.
Commentor: I respectfully disagree:
While I am always curious what our poor cousins to the south of Michigan are doing, delusionally thinking Meyer isn't going to go off at some point isn't worth the time. He gets his.
I thought OSU already had a 2016 QB so I went looking before I finished reading this and was going to comment. For the record, they have a 2017 QB but not 2016 yet.
Amazing the anxiety here when they have 2 recruits. You know they will end up with a strong class but we are right there competing for top recruits with them.
That's one thing Meyer didn't do at Florida. Neither did Georgia despite it's prevalence in the SEC.
I agree it wasn't as prevalent at Florida and/or Georgia, but the information is out there if you look for it.
Meyer had a plan. Pursue a certain number of players and, depending on how many of them he got, some cuts might have to be made. It would have been suicide for him to offer a single scholarship before he had a prioritized list of which players were on the chopping block and how many commits he'd need before he had to start throwing off dead weight. As has been true throughout this over-signing debate, the math is immutable: if the limit is 85 and your current roster plus the new scholarships you promise exceeds that number, someone has to get cut. The faulty reasoning, however, is in assuming that cutting a player is somehow immoral or unacceptable.
Why doesn't Hoke put on paper what the terms of the no-visit policy are... and why doesn't the recruiters make that clear to the commits.
This seems so silly that this is becoming an issue every single year. Either it's a bright-line rule or it's not.
Why can't Hoke answer the simple question of "If I visit another school, am I still a commit?" He seems to hedge on this, but it seems like his answer is "No."
from Sam Webb, Michigan makes this very clear. I'm not sure why you are passing the blame to Michigan when there are two parties involved.
Obviously Sam doesn't know about this particular situation and Michigan can't address recruiting issues but I tend to think it is made pretty clear.
Not passing the blame. It just astounds me that this is an issue every year, which to me means that some ppl don't understand what the actual rule is. I've also heard on numerous radio conversations that they don't even know what the rule is anymore. The radio announcers conclusion is that when you visit other schools, then that means Michigan can start recruiting your spot, but you still have a commitable offer. In essence, that means that you are no longer committed, but that you can re-commit.
This seems a bit different from the student's perspective, where he thinks that he remains committed and does not have to re-commit.
Hoke's policy is actually pretty simple:
"If you're going to keep looking, we're going to keep looking."
"We may still wind up together, we may not. It is no longer a done deal."
Sorry, but how is that clear? I don't mean to be a lawyer, but:
1. Is the kid no longer committed once he takes another visit?
A) If yes, then does he have to expressly re-commit? Or is he deemed to re-commit so long as he does not accept another offer at another university and his spot is not taken by another kid?
B) If no, then would he be removed from his committment once the recruiters earn a commitment from another kid for the same spot? If so, will there be notice to the first kid that he has been removed from his commitment? Will such notice occur prior to, contemporaneously with, or after the second kid takes the first kid's spot? Will the first kid have a chance to re-commit prior to or after the second kid takes his spot?
2. Are committed kids allowed to visit other schools so long as they re-commit or do you lose your offer? In other words, what's the point of a "no visits" policy if you're allowed to visit so long as you re-commit after your visit.
3. Are offers revocable or irrevocable? If they are revocable, would visiting other schools lead to express revocation of your offer?
There is a post at the bottom of the thread that I think would be a fair assumption of what the policy is. I think if you are a 5 star you can probably be safe assuming a spot will be open even if another player at the same position commits. If you are a 2 star, I think you are taking a huge chance that they will find someone to replace you and you will be left out.
From what Sam Webb said the other day, even if a player is injured before the LOI is signed, Michigan would honor the committment. That is Michigan's risk for accepting the verbal. On the other hand if you chose to visit other schools, are you really committed? I wouldn't think so. How long should the hold the spot open for you? Until signing day and you go somewhere else?
If you are talented enough that they offered and you don't get hurt I would assume they would likely take you back unless they filled your spot. That may be a random open spot if you are talented enough.
Many on this board thought Michigan dropped the ball by putting all their eggs in one basket with Hand last year. I don't see the problem with this policy and according to Sam Webb it is explained very clearly to recruits prior to them giving their verbal. They even encouraged Thiyo Lukusa to hold off because they felt he needed to think things over more.
1. Is the kid no longer committed once he takes another visit?
Correct. The position is opened back up and Michigan will keep recruiting for that position. If they find somebody else they like and that kid commits, the position is filled. If not, they may keep recruiting the original commit to fill the open position.
The practical reality is that if you are a five star Michigan is not likely to find somebody they like as well or better, so if you are still available and legitimately interested and did not piss off the coaches too bad, you will probaly get the spot.
Yes the kid (and Michigan) would expressly recommit as in "OK, the position is still open . . . you've looked around, we've looked around, do we want to get back together, yes or no."
What I don't understand is why a kid would want to poison the waters by commiting and then backing out and looking around, only to recommit. Does not make for a great start to the all-important relationship with the coaches once you are on the team. Seems like there'd be a few extra wind sprints and stairs to climb somewhere down the line.
putting doubts in the recruits mind. The main one may be Hoke is on thin ice. That's supposedly what concerned Peppers.
"Hypothetical": An under qualified coach at a huge program relies almost completely on his asst. coach having been in the NFL, his school's brand, and super early recruiting/pressure to bag recruits. When theyre still wide eyed and bright eyed because a lot of them haven't yet received another major offer, he tells them "if you look elsewhere (sometimes for a whole year or more), your scholly is going to be yanked." Parents subsequently don't like it. Shocker. Does this sound like someone who knows his program is your best choice and wants what's best for you, or an insecure coach (you know, underqualified?) employing a cornering tactic (dumb one at that)? Hurry up and buy!!! Now his toothless little strategy is backfiring as he gets his ass kicked on the field and looks increasingly clueless to not only his own players, but to top recruits who have many options. And this is news? Zzzzzzzzzzzz
PS. It worked with Dawson because he's a hometown kid who never wanted to go anywhere else anyway. He just wanted to see what Florida was like as most normal teenagers from the hood who have never been anywhere before would. Disclaimer: Not speculation.
Hoke has said that they don't pressure kids to commit. He doesn't want to deal with the decommitment if they're not sure.
PS. Go fuck yourself, troll
and what of San Diego? Should it not also go fuck itself? I think it should. Oh, I think it should.
...and take their visits first. I've yet to hear of Coach Hoke asking for a restraining order preventing recruits from visiting other schools.
Lol wish I could +2 one for the ITT pic and two for the Boondocks handle
Thank you - you won the internet today.
I think this about right - Peppers could have taken visits to other schools and maybe he would not have been considered "committed" any longer but he would have had a spot reserved for him no matter what.
Somebody really needs to start teaching these kids the meaning of the word "commitment."
Kids are going to decommit whether they "know the meaning of the word" or not. I'm growing as tired of this type of comment as I am of the idea of decommitting.
People get married, then they get divorced. People get hired, then they quit. People move somewhere, then they move somewhere else. People buy clothes, then they return them. It's in our nature to change our minds depending on changing circumstances.
I'm not in favor of decommitments, but it's not like they're unique to society.
I really don't care what you're growing tired of. When someone gives his word to a coach that he's going to play for that school, it should last more than a few months.
get used to it man, were not talking ww2 era societal norms. word is bond carries little weight with most people today, its just the way it is. the president lies every week, why would you really expect high school kids to keep their word given the circumstances and recruiting game in general
Well, I don't really care that you're annoyed by decommitments.
Now that we've established that we don't care about each other's opinions, the point still stands. Seventeen-year-olds are going to commit and decommit whether Lord Grantham approves or not. It's up to you whether you get annoyed by it or not.
but i wouldn't want a fiance that said she still wants to go out with other guys then be surprised i want the ring back. could the marriage still happen? possibly, but i'm going to go see other people too in the meantime.
So long as the coaches make it VERY clear up front what the policy is (no fine print), and so long as they enforce it equally among all recruits, I don't have a problem with it. And no, it doesn't rush guys into committing. If anything, it's a, "Do you REALLY want to do this right now? Becasue if you still have a wandering eye, then perhaps don't do it right now."
If the coaching staff does both of these things, then the people I'd have an issue with are the kids or the parents. Assuming they knew about it ahead of time, the fact that they are now trying to wiggle out of the rule actually strikes me as a bit ego-centric. Like high maintenance parents that think their kid is such a special snowflake that they should be allowed to circumvent the rules at Michigan. Not as bad as a Forcier-type parental situation, but something that does raise at least a small yellow-flag in my mind.
Although let's face it, for highly touted recruits, perhaps that's one of the first times in the kid's life that they are actually expected to be accountable for their decisions. If OSU or other schools are more lenient, maybe that's an edge they have for the diva type players. But on the other hand, if Michigan recruiting is also trying to somewhat weed out the "problem cases" then perhaps this is a good way to do it.
To be very clear--I am NOT suggesting that Crawford or his parents are like this. I have no idea about the specific circumstances of this case. I don't now what was or was not said. But speaking in general terms of the policy, I think that's what might be going on.
I thought the rule was, "if you take visits, we will still continue to recruit your position" not "we don't consider you a committ."
Nobody knows what the policy is. What you said, what Ace said, what anybody says is an educated guess at best.
And that's my point, which I was getting negged for up top.... what is the policy? Shouldn't Hoke spell it out so that kids can comply with it? If there is a rule, then it should be written down and communicated to the commits.
I haven't actually logged into MGoBlog in over 3 years though I read it several times each day. But I reset my password just to comment on this. Disclaimer: No, I do not specifically know Hoke's recruiting policy. However, based on all comments and the goings-on the past several years it seems really quite simple: Once a recruit commits, Michigan tells other kids at that position the inn is full. That has seemed clear with a number of positions. If you want to take visits, Michigan considers your spot open. You can still be a recruit, but they are also going to recruit your position.
Now, this is a different situation for your average 5 star than a 3 star. Why? Common sense, 5 star is harder to replace. So if he wants to recommit versus us signing a high 3, we'll probably take him since we likley won't have another 5 star chomping at the bit that we wouldn't have already taken (except maybe at QB). By the time the 3 star goes on his visits and decides to recommit, we'll probably have another 3 star or better already committed. Or maybe we're in on someone we consider more talented and they are now the 1A priority. Because remember, we were telling other guys that the inn was full because the decommit was committed. So when the spot opens back up, they'll likely take it. Chances are if there were multiple 5 stars at a position, we'd take them both so the 'inn is full" probably wouldn't be an issue. IMO, it's that simple. 3 and 4 star guys are generally easier to replace than a 5 star guy. So if they want to take visits, chances are their spot will not have been filled by an equally or more talented guy. And if it is, then perhaps we'll make room rather than turn down highly rated talent: i.e. what was that 2012 when we took all of those linebackers?
Several edits for clarity. I know there is some unofficial comment editing policy but whateva
I haven't logged in or commented in a while either.
But I was wondering why our offensive line was so bad last year? I think it was a combination of youth, too complicated of an offensive sheme and our coaches may not be the best at developing players.
I'll just leave that here.
ps. just messing with ya.
pss. i actually just thought today I want to get to 100 points sometime and I need to say something.
Hey you 2 dudes, thanks for reminding me to log in. It had been well over 74 minutes for me...
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