Coaching staff viewed 2018 *3 RB Hassan Haskins as 5* talent
According to Isaiah Hole of WolverinesWire in a mailbag article:
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Is it true that Michigan’s staff viewed Hassan Haskins as a 5* talent but offered him late so no one else would catch on?
That is 100% what I was told by a source close to the program. They did exactly the same thing with Sean McKeon.
That’s the nuance that comes with recruiting. When you’re Michigan and you offer, it catches the notice of every other college football program. You see the guy early and offer him early, there’s bound to be copycats. If you pay attention and they don’t get offers early, you can wait a bit and hope they aren’t dead set on another school and make your move. From what I was told, that’s precisely what Michigan did with Haskins.
The dude rushed for over 1,500 yards and 19 touchdowns. So they waited, and made their move and it worked out well.
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https://wolverineswire.com/2018/07/19/mailbag-wolverineswire-answers-your-michigan-football-questions/
I thought this was really interesting, and while the source wasn't disclosed, this doesn't seem like a factoid that someone just pulls out of their ass
Not sure I buy this.
1) there is far more upside to getting in with a guy early than late
2) this approach assumes that nobody else does due diligence or scouts as well as you
I didn't get to finish my thought (can we please edit comments now...)
This seems like either a) the kind of thing you tell a kid who wasn't Plan A, or b) "you're underrated, but you understand why we had to go after this other 5*, right?"
I mean just because you offer someone late, doesn't mean you're not "getting in with a guy early." Also, he's a player from the middle of no where in Missouri so it's possible he went unnoticed by other teams
He's from suburban St. Louis. Not exactly the middle of nowhere.
Eureka is not "suburban St Louis"
Its country... far enough out to not be routinely scouted, and not a traditional power you would expect to attract attention.
Eureka isn't middle of nowhere country. It's a west county suburb and they play plenty of decently scouted schools. Had a kid committed to bama just last year (TE that ended up going elsewhere).
Actually, one of their main rivals (Lafayette) had the Alabama commit. Had that crossed. Eureka may not produce a lot of top 10 Talent but it's not the middle of nowhere and they play against some of the better schools in the Saint Louis Metro on this side of the river.
Wait!! Alabama lost a commit to a different school? But I thought that only happened to us...
It's 30 miles from the dead center of St. Louis (same as the distance Rochester Hills is from Detroit and that's definitely a suburb of Detroit). It is in St. Louis county. The conference they're in is literally called the "Suburban West" conference. Every team on their schedule is in a suburb of St. Louis or is located in St. Louis proper.
Eureka is a suburb of St. Louis. 100%.
It's not Germany. It's not even Bay City. It is 30 miles from a hub of the SEC (bball tourney is located in St. Louis frequently). It is not a place where a 5 star talent wouldn't get enough attention to get offers in line with his talent, especially considering the numbers he put up.
Except in the case of Hassan Haskins, it doesn't sound like they were in early. About his offer he said, "It was a big surprise and I wasn’t expecting it."
That's not what a guy says about a team that's been courting him for a while.
Also, guys love talking about who is "talking to them the most" even if there's no offer. It's not like interest can be kept a secret just because you haven't offered.
This entire thing sounds like either 1) some peripheral staffer trying to make it sound like they're recruiting better than outsiders think or 2) a pretty questionable strategy because it assumes no one else ever discovers and gets in with a guy they think is a 5 star. Way too risky to wait on that and play games rather than build a relationship early.
Recruiting is always a very fluid situation. I think there is a very plausible way that just after the "getting in early" period where UM notices a kid, looks around, sees that no one else has offered him, and decides to hold off o n the offer because of the requisite attention it would grab. How often do we see a kid commit only to have the services say, " we should check this kid out" and then the publicity spot light starts shining on him?
I think they did something similar with Thomas Rawls.
Haskins has some 5* skills. He has great vision, exceptional balance, cuts well, and shows the strength to break tackles and carry defenders.
That said, his 4.7 40 time pretty much precludes him from being a 5*. Leveon Bell ran a 4.6 at the NFL combine, and Haskins is often compared to him, so it’s not like his 40 time means he can’t or won’t be a great college and even pro, but that measurable probably helped keep a lid on his recruitment.
Ezekiel Elliott went to small suburban St Louis prep school and everyone knew him. Why? He had a bigger, more college ready body and was much faster.
I’m not saying Michigan didn’t find a gem or that I doubt Haskins’ successs. There are plenty of great RBs that have been missed by the recruiting services and college scouts. What I am saying is that a true 5* talent can’t fly under the radar.
So I certainly believe the story and strategy, but if Haskins ran a 4.4 40 he would have been a national recruit and had many more suitors. Does that mean he won’t have 5* production or that he doesn’t have some 5* skills? No.
I believe Haskins was underrated, but that type of athlete—whether it's right or wrong—is never going to get a 5* rating.
5* talents fly under the radar all the time. If you don’t go to camps, if you don’t play in a high talent area/conference, you can and often WILL go unnoticed.
Baker Mayfield is a 5* talent. You really can’t deny that. Basically from the start of his career that was the case.
Yet he was ranked outside the top 1,000. He had only three VERY low level offers, and walked on TWICE in his career.
Just one example of many.
Coaches doing their job.
We will see soon enough if he can be a M back.
Go Blue.
It's smart... I have thought about this very thing. With recruiting sites in general taking a hit in terms of ability to scout outside of camps and all star games why would Harbaugh show all of his cards early with some of his lesser scouted targets. There are millions of non camp participant high school football players. An offer from a power 5 school is bound to perk the ears of other power 5 coaches. I think its well played gamesmanship if done in the right circumstance.
Isn't this how Dantini has thrived...on these plan B OSU guys that often don't camp
That is pretty specific to be completely fabricated but you never know. Hope it's true though.
That's my thought process. This is wayyy to specific to be made up imo
Not only that, but why even mention it, if it isn't true? Really, what is there to gain by telling someone this now? You kinda put undue pressure and expectations on a kid, who is flying under the radar.
McKeon is good but he needs to eliminate the crucial turnovers like those that were pivotal vs. MSU and USC.
I mean, they called a full back dive without realizing they didn't have in a package with a FB and the coaches, nor peters, called a TO. He litterally will never be in that spot again, not is he at fault for fumbling an exchange, when he probably has never done that in his life.
He's excused for the SC fumble which was all on the coaches for putting him in a bad spot.
The MSU fumble was reallllly bad (like peewee level mistake) and possibly cost M that game.
If I remember right, wasn't there little time left and didn't get fumble at midfield?
If I remember right, wasn't there little time left and didn't get fumble at midfield?
Yea it was almost halftime with under a minute and that was like the first first down after several str8 3 and outs or something. Offense was going no where n he was trying to eek out yards. First year player mistake. Bad time for it cause the offense needed a shot in the arm. Don't see that as a problem
Tell you what, I'd much rather see that kind of mistake than sliding short of the sticks against Ohio State... Lookin at you BP >:(
Do you mean JOK? Peters didn’t play vs. OSU.
Me either, a TE fumbling one time should not lead to a comment about him needed to stop turning over the ball in key spots. Now, if it was a habit for him to hold the ball loose and he fumbled a bunch, then it would be a good critique.
I think the bigger issue was having to many drops. The wr and te groups had far too many of them throughout the year.
I thought Ty Isaacs fumble earlier was worst. We were driving right down the field and that might have really demoralized State, and affected the game plan going forward. Long drive and no points.
After watching dantinis teams this past decade I learned that MSU doesn't get demoralized in games.... Fact is he has cleaned up with the exact type of Ohio recruits that are crucial to win the rivalries, Bo year after year had tons of them...yes, it matters where your from... And only recently Harbaugh has figured this out, and we are going back hard into Ohio
#hottake (x several)
Let's see:
* "I learned that MSU doesn't get demoralized in games" I pretty much agree with this. They seem to have lots of "high motor" guys with better-than-average toughness.
* "Fact is he has cleaned up with the exact type of Ohio recruits that are crucial to win the rivalries" He gets his under-the-radar recruits from multiple states. Aside: I hope you're not a person who's fixated on the "1-5" statistic.
* "yes, it matters where your from" I'll ignore the little apostrophe catastrophe. (Well, except for mentioning it.) Ohio is the best football state in the region, but your statement is an indirect insult to players from the other Midwestern states. It suggests that they can't possible be as competent or tough as Ohio ones.
* "And only recently Harbaugh has figured this out" Whatever. If a school at a neighboring state that's better in football (at the HS level and below) than yours has a Hall of Fame coach recruiting well, it might make sense to use your resources elsewhere.
There's plenty of blame to go around for that game between Isaac and McKeon's fumbles to McDooms late drop to JOK's INTs. It's painful to remember.
As Isaiah Hole has proven to be MUCH more credible than the douchebags at ChatSports could ever be, I'lI buy into what Hole is claiming. And I can seriously see Harbaugh pulling something like this off successfully.
He looks better than his ranking.
Agreed.
When did Haskins sign? Was it the early or late signing period?
If it was the early signing date, and he seemingly committed out of nowhere not much before signing, then I can buy it. If he signed in February, then I don't. If you really like the kid, then you should want to make certain you've got his LOI locked down as soon as possible.
He committed in early November and signed in the early signing period. From what I remember, there was very little time in between Michigan offering and him committing to Michigan. For what it's worth, he may be a 5* in Michigan's book, but maybe not in other school's books based on what they need. Michigan really needed a big bruising back and he's a productive one that has decent speed, but not elite. He may have also been a late bloomer in a school that isn't a big football factory, so it's easy to imagine he was overlooked. He's definitely a developmental prospect though and with the depth chart currently on roster, he'll have more than enough time to find his niche. Excited for all the RBs we have right now. Yay depth
Offered Oct 13, visited Oct 28, committed Oct 29, signed Dec 20.
I'm very skeptical of the accuracy of the story in regards to Michigan's strategy. It's sounds more like the retrospective view of his recruitment. No doubt they like him more than his rankings. They were able to get his commitment without fighting off any serious competition. Maybe earlier contact would have generated more attention from other schools. It was a nice outcome.
Not mentioned is that they were pursuing another big back, Markese Stepp of IN. Michigan was a main contender before he committed to Notre Dame in the summer. They didn't give up and even got Steppe in a for visit. He was a good flip candidate, eventually choosing to sign with USC.
Steppe's visit was one week before the offer to Haskins. That can't be a coincidence.
This is going to be the first year we really get to see the program step forward. I also think we will continue to see young talent shine through the cracks. This year is still a developmental year for incoming RB's, but this makes class i feel will break the mold of the need for "Stars" from the recruiting services. I hate to say it but MSU has lower ranked classes then our 2018 class regularly, and they've gotten the best of us. Stars don't tell the whole story.
This is going to be the first year we really get to see the program step forward. I also think we will continue to see young talent shine through the cracks. This year is still a developmental year for incoming RB's, but i feel this class will break the mold of the need for "Stars" from the recruiting services. I hate to say it but MSU has lower ranked classes then our 2018 class regularly, and they've gotten the best of us. Stars don't tell the whole story.
The problem is only getting RBs who need a "developmental year", instead of guys who can step right in and be significant contributors, like Dobbins and Taylor. We haven't had one of those since Mike Hart, and even then, he was a surprise.
This years (19) RB recruits intrigue me more than the 18 hall simply because we need more game breaker types. Didn't Haskins participate in an all star game along with our other RB recruit Christian Turner? I don't remember much being said about Haskins, but I could be wrong.
As for the McKeon comparison...McKeon played like a 3 star last year, so if we saw him as a 5* than he's got a ways to go.
Much of the 18 recruiting class are sleeper types. Hopefully several of these kids are better than expected.
Do you really think McKeon played like a 3 star last year? He was a relatively productive tight end as a freshman in a year where we had serious quarterback and offensive line issues. I would say he was much closer to a freshman 5-star recruit playing his first year of college ball than a 3-star recruit.
Yeah completely disagree that McKeon played like a 3 star. Unless you’re basing that entirely on the bowl game fumble
Not sure the metrics you are using to say McKeon played like a 3*... but there was one 5* in his class. Isaac Nauta. McKeon almost tripled Nauta's production. he has out performed practically every one of the 44 guys in front of him to this point. You seem to be judging him unreasonably harsh.
McKeon played like a 3 star? What does that even mean? He led the team in receiving as a RS Freshman. He wasn't All Big Ten or anything, but if Wheatley and Eubanks were healthy last year he probably would have had half the snaps he did.
McKeon had (at one time anyways) the best SPARQ score for a TE in his recruiting class. That alone is probably where a lot of the "The staff thought of him as a 5 star" is coming from, and that statement probably just means "He was at the top of their recruiting board."
Well. We have 2 of them in the 2019 class so....
Oh so they scouted him to be a future bust ? Great....
( closes eyes, plugs ears) please be true, please be true, please be true