February 7th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
As a father, I could see why parents would feel comfortable sending their kids to Michigan. Mattison seems like a genuine guy that is trustworthy. In this day and age, it seems as though trust is maybe the most important part of the puzzle. At least in my eyes. Being trustworthy and down-to-Earth. I think genuine people like that will always succeed at recruiting.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:16 PM ^
Not a father, but I agree and so do our commits.
If you listen to Dymonte's interview on WTKA, he actually credits Mattison and his wife for being a main reason why he picked Michigan. He said that Mattison's wife told him that if he every feels homesick that she will cook him a home cooked meal.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:28 PM ^
... or butter, peanut butter, jelly or similar spread for bagels, etc., we might as well just report that Secondary Violation now, before it even happens.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:32 PM ^
So it was a violation all those times we saw videos of players going to their position coach's house for a team dinner?
February 7th, 2013 at 2:36 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
Purge them from your memory and think of ripples in water instead.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:35 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
I thought it would be the Ole Miss boosters.
/sarcasm. sort of
February 7th, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^
Top to bottom we have an amazing recruiting team: Mattison, Hoke, Hecklinski, Funk and Jackson all seem like amazing recruiters and the other coaches are not slouches either. We have been able to put together top 10 classes with minimal recent success. Imagine the work these guys will do once we are competing for Big Ten/MNC titles year in and year out.
Consider me excite.
Congrats Coach Mattison!
February 7th, 2013 at 2:29 PM ^
Don't forget Chris Singletary the man behind the scenes.
February 7th, 2013 at 4:48 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^
He's like Fred Jackson; only better. Mattison not only has the confidence of high school and prep coaches; they worship him in little shrines made out of parts of crashed WWII bombers. Mattison can not only sell players on his ability to take players where they couldn't take themselves; Mattison can take them into the Intergalactic League, usually as a pick in the top three rounds of the Universal Draft. When you rank Mattison along with other gods (Zeus, Apollo, Poseidon, Hermes, Ares, Dionysus), Mattison "will be all right."
February 7th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
As a father, I CAN say the shyster (Meyer) approach to recruiting would not fly with my kids. "Past performance is no guarantee of future gains". You can flash all the championship rings you want that were won in past years at past schools and it would mean very little outside of proving your arrogance Are you going to take care of my son? Will you treat that responsibility like you were caring for your own? Football (any sport) will take care of itself.
Sign me up for some of Mrs. Mattison's home cooked meals.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 3:29 PM ^
Nope. The difference between how the top teams develop players is not all that different across the top schools. The difference between how they develop young men and how they look out for the kids is night and day. I am sure JK is as happy with the way he developed and was treated as Taylor Lewan is. Not so sure about all the kids at OSU or pick your SEC school.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:42 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 2:46 PM ^
And now that the Ravens won the Super Bowl with a lot of Mattison's guys, I suspect that his credibility will only increase with defense recruits.
February 7th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^
Surprised this didn't go to Meyer, with the way ESPN has been slurping on OSU's class.
February 7th, 2013 at 3:37 PM ^
Urban Meyer's class provided drama, especially on NSD, and most TV outlets are drama-seeking missiles. Brady Hoke had most of his class "wrapped up" before NSD. ESPN obviously sees Meyer's drama as a bigger story than the great job Hoke and company have done.
At least they gave the award to the right person.
February 7th, 2013 at 4:03 PM ^
February 7th, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^
In a competitive world like recruiting, this is quite the recognition. I think what Bob Davie said is key actually:
"It's invaluable to have a Greg Mattison on your staff for what he does as far as staff camaraderie and staff spirit. Those same attributes are why he's such a great recruiter."
Mattison said in an interview back in 2011 that he sees recruiting as a competition, and that he will basically continue to do whatever it takes to get someone he identifies as someone who fits the Michigan mold both in character and for football. The tenacity that he preaches on defense he takes with him into a recruit's home, and it pays dividends. He definitely echoes Hoke's family philosophy for the program, and I bet it helps to work for someone like Hoke, since they've known each other for years.
February 7th, 2013 at 4:20 PM ^
Makes me lament that Michigan let not only Mattison go, but let his Recruiting Coordinator predecessor, Bob Chmiel, go...both to ND. Looking back on defenses between Mattison's stints (who can forget so many torchings), whether we could have had even better recruiting classes than we did... Yet, for paying a partial schollie for his daughter to play softball at ND, we let him go instead. I think he would have picked up plenty of ideas/schemes/formations had he been here the entire time...sadly, the pay-our-coordinators-a-competitive-wage wasn't part of the mindset until 2 years ago (how insane is THAT statement!).
My brother and I have discussed and agreed that having an awesome original (Mattison) is better than a half-rate clone (let's not list ALL of them out, shall we?). Should have kept him close for the better part of the past two decades.
P.S. Having shown my agedness with the Chmiel reference, he was also part of Bo's staffs during the 80's. Could that man pick stellar performers to be around him or what?
P.P.S. I think the reason Chmiel left was the NCAA eliminated, or proposed eliminating, the Recruiting Coordinator position - as a stand alone and thus had to be integrated into an existing coaches role. OK, I'll let the younguns back on these intertubes to discuss with each other.
February 7th, 2013 at 11:05 PM ^
Does it explain who Mattison recruited in this year's class?
I also find it funny (and AWESOME) that if you asked GMatt who the best recruiter in the nation was...he'd say, "my wife." Apparently she's a beast and a HUGE part of the committments we get.