Hoke & changing perception of Prep Coaches
While it may be too late to cause a "major" impact this year, things sure look good on the recruiting front going forward.
You have to love all the positive mentions/articles out there from area highschool coaches towards Hoke.
Coupled with (as mentioned by another poster in the Liveblog) Hoke going out of his way to name each and every HS in the current signee presser... He's really seems to be getting things back to another level around home.
Can't wait for next year's class, even more than this one.
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^
It's hard to argue with the great job that Hoke has done in a short time, or with the signals that he is putting out going forward. He came in when perception of our program was at an all time low, and most people were speculating that he wouldn't be able to (1) keep some of the current players, namely Denard, or (2) fill out more than a dozen spots in this class.
Well, 3 weeks later and (1) Denard (and everyone else) is still blue, (2) Mike Martin has signed on to stay for another year, and (3) Hoke was able to keep many of the guys that had previously committed to another coach playing another style, and add in some great pick-ups like Barnett and Poole.
More importantly, as your post notes, Hoke has clearly thrown down the gauntlet on in-state (in which, I non-geographically include Ohio and other surrounding areas) recruiting. He clearly gets the importance of locking down local talent so that we do not have to face that talent when we play MSU, OSU, PSU and the like.
I continue to be impressed with the job that Hoke has done.
Go Blue.
February 2nd, 2011 at 2:46 PM ^
he made sure to mention all the players and he had in home visits with all but two of them. very impressive for a coach that many doubted and he's definintely taken the first step to mending some of the local HS and gaining some hard-workinig albeit it not as talented recruits.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^
Really, though, the biggest thing that has changed is that a very large segment of the Michigan athletic community is no longer sabotaging the coach, and is instead helping the coach, as they should have been doing the last three years.
Also, while Hoke did a great job of keeping both the team and this class from imploding, this is still a very ordinary class. Since it could have ended up being a terrible class, this is still a net gain. However, I'm not going to get really excited about this class. AFAIC, if this class provides four or five players who turn into senior leaders in a few years, it will have pretty much performed to its upside.
Anything else will be a bonus.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:07 PM ^
I agree with your points, and want to emphasize that many were predicting apocalyptic scenarios involving picking a coach without a huge name this late. Hoke has done a great job avoiding that.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^
If this class is "very ordinary", how was last year's class? Even counting the kids who never made it (Dorsey), we have more 4* in this class than last year. I would say it's a good class (not great), but turns exceptional given that the Hoke haters were screaming that he would destroy our recruiting and leave us with a class of 12 players.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
The biggest thing that has changed (so far) is that Hoke came out of the gate loving Michigan and having a very clear idea of what he wanted of the kids who played in Ann Arbor and what kind of teams he expected to put on the field. His enthusiasm, at his first press conference, was infectious and immediately turned a lot of doubters (not that there aren't still many) around. Rodriguez had the exact same opportunity.
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:12 PM ^
but a good coach and kids with hard working attitudes can make things happen. They are all still great athletes and a good teacher can do wonders with a solid foundation.