Bad Vibes on Danny O

Something has changed.  O'Brien was our lean, and now is leaning elsewhere.  Sounds like one side or another cooled on him.

Kind of sucks, because we could probably have had Schutt instead of O'Brien.

But that is in the past.  This class will still be solid.  Wormley, Pipkins, Godin, and maybe some others are headed for the DL.  This is a very solid class defensively, though O'Brien would have made it stronger.  

Finishing out with 2 WR, Yuri Wright and/or (God please) Shaq Thompson, and a RB (again, God, Brionte please?) would be awesome.  Banner at OL would be great, and I think he is leaning our way. 

So yeah, sucks, but won't hurt us too bad long run.  All's well that end's well. 

I don't think we can get too worked up over losing any one player.  If I were building Michigan like the team was a video game (that's how it works, right?), I would want O'Brien.  Otherwise I'm inclined to give Hoke, Mattison, etc. the benefit of the doubt (assuming they've really cooled on him).  If O'Brien wants to go to Tenn, well then hey, the Smoky Mountains are a great place to go hiking. 

What seems to get lost in all of the (admittedly fun) prognosticating about this year's class is that it's really just the first class of the new staff (or, maybe, first plus a couple of weeks).  The class is already exceptional and we're looking at only 4* or 5* players for the final slots.

Ours is a program that will be rebuilt quickly, but the depth we're looking for will take a couple of years.  Things will really get interesting once we've rebuilt the trenches and then we're plucking off 5* here, 4* there on a regular basis.

Very weird recruiting strategy on the D-line here by this staff.  The only guy in the class who's a lock at DT is Pipkins.  With our depth chart, we need at least two.  Even three would have been nice.  Maybe Godin can overacheive as a 3-tech or maybe Strobel or Wormley can grow into the 3-tech spot, but why would  you lock yourself into that strategy?  Especially when you need guys who are ready to contribute as true freshmen.  And for all we know, Pipkins could be a bust.  We've got lots of eggs in a few unproven baskets right now.

FWIW, a couple of fellow referees have worked a couple Powers games. They have been unanimous in saying he wasn't very impressive. I was hoping otherwise. Maybe he camps real well? Just thought I'd pass that along.

This would be unfortunate, but I think some of you are overreacting. For one, Godin seems to be impressing everyone these days. Also, remember that these kids will be true freshmen next year, so the "depth" point is important but more relevant in 2013 and beyond than for next year.

DT has been a huge position of need for a while now. It's great to have Pipkins but one guy won't solve the problem. Will Campbell wasn't the answer and he was rated higher than OP. We do have Wormley, Strobel and Godin in the fold and perhaps the plan is to shift these guys to DT. But I would still take O'Brien in a heart beat. His playing weight is already where it needs tobe whereas the other guys need a year of weight lifting and eating corn in order to grow into the position. If in fact we've cooled off I think it's a mistake. With the DB class we have coming in already (and keeping in mind the guys we signed last year) I simply would not prioritize a guy like Yuri over Danny O. 

Funny he says TN and MSU.  Rivals mods saying TN and Mich.  

To be honest - he is a good player at a much needed position.  He is NOT Ondre Pipkins, who I feel is the most important recruit in this class.  

It would be one of those "oh well, best of luck to him" situations if we had other 4-star DT targets.  Unfortunately we do not.  

if he isn't coming here, I think the coaches will be happy with moving a couple of the DE's into the middle like Wormley.  With Pipkins we'll be fine.  But, this will make signing a couple stud DT's next year a pretty high priority I'd imagine.  Besides, getting Dunn and a Banner/Garnett pair would more than make up for losing out on O'Brien. 

Stan Edwards speaking about the status of Richardson and O'Brien on Sam's Sunday morning show, the day after the ND game said, and I'm paraphrasing here, " Sam, I sat next to and talked to Richardson and O'Brien at the game last night,  I have a good feeling about one of these young men coming to M but not the other, and if you want me to, I will tell you my opinion off air." Sam just kinda gave that Sam laugh and no more was mentioned of it. Right after this, Richardson firmed up his committment.

Say what you want about Stan Edwards, but very few are tuned into the M football program as well as Stan.

would be nice to get DOB - I'm not a coach or anything or claim to know what the hell I am talking about - I have heard grumblings that he isn't gameplay impressive. Hes a good player but nothing to "omgwtf" freak out if he doesnt commit. Im pretty sure he goes to Tennessee. But what do I know...

Given that our staff (wisely or not) has been stating for many weeks that they were only going to take a couple of DTs, O'Brien would have committed already if he truly had strong desires to attend school at UM and play football. I agree I'd rather have him in Knoxville than EL, just in case he turns into a dominant player.

Anyone knows if Ash has fallen from the edge of earth?, he's a *allegedly warm body that should help us next year

I THOUGHT ACE WILLIAMS SAID O'BRIEN AND BANNER WERE COMING HERE?!!!!! HE LIED TO ME! THAT BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!

/s

Sam has vaguely implied that the staff has chosen to use that scholarship elsewhere and back off on Danny. Now, I am not sure if the staff uses Sam to push a certain agenda or not on who's fault is a prospect that is a local fan favorit does not end up coming to Michigan. However, I do know Sam a little bit, and he wouldn't imply that if he didn't hear it from someone inside the fort.

As for a possible reason that the staff may have decided to look in another direction on O'brien is he is not nearly as dominant in an actual game as he is in a camp setting. I live in the area, and have seen Danny play on more than a few occasions over the past couple years, and have been pretty underwhelmed each time. I doubt the staff has actually made the trip to see him play this year. I believe they usually do that stuff on bye weeks, but it is possible that it has trickled down to them. They were slow to warm up to him. They had to wait to see him at camp just to confirm his offer that Rich gave him. So what Sam has tried to imply isn't out of the realm of possibility.

NOOOOO!!! We must stop top level recruits from leaving Michigan..... or from going to MSU!!!!

Tennesses/USC/Penn State/Oregon/Alabama all must not be allowed to poach the best players from Michigan .... think about the talent that could have been on this team that has now been divided up across the country....

don't leave Danny O'Brien....[[sniffle]] please [[sniffle]]

The "we ought to trust the coach" meme is especially valid here because Hoke is a D-line coach, for crissake. If he's got a grasp of anything, it's the D-line roster. I've got to believe he has a good sense of where things stand and what needs to be done re the roster.

Also: it's only September. We've got more than 4 months left to go before signing-day. If we are indeed short one DL, Hoke has plenty of time to find one. There are many unsigned recruits out there; there are signed ones who can be flipped. M is in a great position right now. It's not O'Brien or bust. 

I wouldn't worry too much yet, simply because kids change their minds and trying to read the tea leaves sometimes leaves the reader with massive contradictions.  My guess is that O'Brien will go UT because seemingly everyone who visits stays (must be that Kiffin magic), but if not he definitely would be a stronger UM lean than MSU, IME.  Either way, this class looks solid and should add a couple more pieces.  I'm not worried yet.

how many defensive players do we have and how many positions of need do we have? now how many scholarships do we have? math. it makes the mind calmer.

tl;dr? he's making his decision a bit... late.