Wee-Bey Brice

October 24th, 2016 at 11:15 AM ^

I dont understand why people dont take the wait and see approach with 3*... Its what I do. There are two types of 3 stars in the world, they either have an average ceiling or NFL potential if they put it together or grow. Every top 25 recruiting program has 3* that are tearing it up on the field. No reason to assume a guy won't be productive until he actually isn't. 

In reply to by boliver46

Culero

October 24th, 2016 at 10:45 AM ^

Based solely on his recruiting profile, he is not the type of guy we need to compete with the OSUs and Alabamas of the college football world. *Yeah, yeah... Save all the "trust the coaches", "you must know better than Harbaugh and DB", "Harbaugh didn't have many highly touted recruits at Stanford" responses.

Brhino

October 24th, 2016 at 10:50 AM ^

Go look up the advanced defensive statistics.  Whoever's you prefer.  Check to see who's #1.  #1 in all categories, sometimes by a ridiculous margin.

Now go ponder your poor life choices, like insulting a kid who wants to do his best to make your favorite football team better.

Culero

October 24th, 2016 at 10:58 AM ^

How, exactly, did I insult the kid? To your point, go look at the star ratings of most of our starting defenders coming out of high school, then get back to me. Apart from Glasgow and Stribling, all of the starters were somewhat touted. And Stribling had a composite rank of 586.

Brhino

October 24th, 2016 at 11:04 AM ^

Meh (/mɛ/) is an interjection used as an expression of indifference or boredom. It may also mean "be it as it may".[1] It is often regarded as a verbal shrug of the shoulders. The use of the term "meh" shows that the speaker is apathetic, uninterested, or indifferent to the question or subject at hand. It is occasionally used as an adjective, meaning something is mediocre or unremarkable.

-Wikipedia article on "Meh"

So in the first published announcement (at least on this here popular and influential blog) that Mr. Paye is committing four years of his life to our school and our team, you labelled him mediocre.  You expressed indifference.  Both are an insult.  Recruits read these boards.  Recruits parents read these boards.  We represent the fanbase.  Every school has its jackass fans.  Don't be one of them.

Lakeyale13

October 24th, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^

Harbaugh makes this, and all things better. He offers an unknown kid out of Canada and he gets an invite to The Opening. He offers an untouted WR out of Georgia and he commits, and all of a sudden becomes a top 300 player in the country (and then unfortunately decommits). Meritocracy Son!!! He will either show up here and contribute or probably leave and open his spot up for another class. All I know is I am good at Tecmo Bowl Football, but these coaches are good and know about actual football. I defer to them.

True Blue Grit

October 24th, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^

Maybe not by you (who's probably used to getting insulted) but by others.  Also, something you probably didn't think of is that some recruits and their parents read this blog.  It's entirely possible that Kwity or his parents saw your negative post and it made them feel bad.  Way to go Bucko.  

turd ferguson

October 24th, 2016 at 10:58 AM ^

I understand this critique when it seems like the coaches rush to offer a lower-rated prospect instead of waiting on a higher-rated recruit they might get (and probably would prefer).  I've had the same reaction with a few offers during the Carr, Rodriguez, Hoke, and Harbaugh regimes.

But let's say the coaches evaluated Paye and a bunch of higher-rated guys (through game film, camps, background reviews, etc.) and they judged Paye to be a better player in this system.  Do you honestly think they should pursue the 4-star instead of Paye even if they don't think the 4-star would be as good?  

To me, it looks like Brown just thinks he's that good.  It's not like this coaching staff is unwilling to wait for high-rated guys to commit near Signing Day.

CalifExile

October 24th, 2016 at 12:33 PM ^

It's not just his rating that raises questions and concern. It's also about class numbers. We already have 2 WDE in CMH and Vilain. We also have 2 SDEs, This makes 5 DEs and puts the class at 18. Some are suggesting the SDEs will grow into DTs. OK, but I want Tufele, a guy who fits the position already and can probably make high level contributions immediately. We still want 4 WRs and 4 or 5 OL. We're hoping to add another RB and should take at least 1 TE. The class has 1 CB and 1 S, it needs a couple more and we look good for Thomas and JKP. If Darnay Holmes decides he wants in I'd place a higher priority on him than a 5th DE.

Maybe Kwity is actually going to play LB? We already have 2 LBs and are looking at several 4* and 5* Baron Browning.

This adds up to about 35. If we add Leatherwood, Wilson, Slaton, Ruiz and Wills it will result in some current commits deciding they should look elsewhere. Maybe the same thing will happen at LB and DT. One problem with this is that many of the top players decide very late in the process, leaving little time for the current commits to decide they need to find somewhere else to land. I suppose this is part of the reason Harbaugh encourages them to continue to look around.

I understand that the services make mistakes and asess players inaccurately at times. I appreciate that the coaches may be looking for qualities specific to the program's scheme but I still find it hard to see how Paye fits in the overall class.

ElBictors

October 24th, 2016 at 2:05 PM ^

I'm not so worried with this staff because wheras RR was obsessed with "3-star" slot ninjas and taking kids with offer sheets that indicated the BigTen might be too much for them, Harbaugh keeps taking dudes who he sees as a fit ....somewhere on the team.

Just in two classes (well, one and a half) we have seen a number of players moved around from OL to DL and from QB to TE to HB to FB ....

Who knows?  This kid might wind up in a different position by the time he's on campus, in class and on the team..

The Mad Hatter

October 24th, 2016 at 11:01 AM ^

I'm an admitted star gazer, and I think we need to have top 1-5 classes every year to be able to compete with the best.

But Don Brown is some kind of defensive coaching warlock or something.  If he thinks a guy is good, the guy is good.

Space Coyote

October 24th, 2016 at 10:59 AM ^

You can have the opinion that he isn't a great prospect (based on his film, I don't necessarily think he's rated incorrectly), but there are ways to go about it. There are ways of being respectful, there are ways of understanding that we don't in fact know it all and that he very well may prove people that don't believe in him wrong.

For instance, "Paye no doubt has a great frame. Very long, can add a lot of mass, and could end up looking a lot like Taco with his build. He's tall, lean, and long. Because of that, he looks like a guy that could very well end up being one of those solid DE types that keep LBs clean, holds down the point of attack and can hold the edge. He doesn't look like a huge edge rush threat  to me, so they'll likely have to try to develop that a bit more. Athletically, he doesn't appear to have the same lateral ability or first step as some higher rated prospects. He's a bit of a project, but he has some potential to at least fill a very important role in Michigan's defense."

Recognize that it isn't just "meh" and that he does have strengths that the coaches see and want to develop for their defense. Either way, congrats to the kid on coming to Michigan. He picked a great staff and university.

pmark1210

October 24th, 2016 at 11:59 AM ^

so.... say something nice before being critical? I've generally found that to be talking out of both sides of your mouth. look, if my boss has something I need to improve on, or that he needs to be critical of me, I've told him straight up, "come right out and say what you need to say. don't sugar coat it." I think this is being lost in the world today. say it. if it hurts my feelings, that's a me problem.

Space Coyote

October 24th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^

I would come right out and say his faults. But I'm not, I'm evaluating him as a player within the limits that I can possibly evaluate him (essentially, limited film). So to come out and just bash the kid is incorrect, because that loses context for reality. The kid does have positive attributes, why ignore those simply because he also has some that are areas for concern (and every recruit does, right down to Rashan Gary).

pmark1210

October 24th, 2016 at 1:30 PM ^

Ok, I see that point and your specific direction of that a little better. again, I'm not saying do or don't take this young man. my questions are the same as some folks above, not sure he really fits in the class. mostly my concerns are that if anyone hints at something along those lines, people on this board are too quick to ruin their lives about it. this is a board for discussion, and even when presenting a logical question, people want to chastise immediately. that's my concern.

rockediny

October 24th, 2016 at 11:54 AM ^

*eyeroll* you have an idiotic opinion, people call you out on it, you roll your eyes, still not getting the point. You don't comment 'meh' on a commit's hello post when everyone else is welcoming a potential player to the team. He could have success or not, same as any 5 star, but we welcome him the same. Stop making this about yourself, your opinion isn't revolutionary. 

pmark1210

October 24th, 2016 at 1:49 PM ^

dude, it's not worth it. I've fought this exact battle before, and while I get where you're coming from, you will never win this.... I learned in one of the lower rated OL hello posts not question the coaches, not to trash the kid, not question anything that may be against the thought of the majority. actually I learned to basically give up, and conform. Lol