What recruit not committing to Michigan hurt the most in recent years
December 14th, 2011 at 1:45 AM ^
If we would have offered Ted Ginn when he camped at UM (rumor has it he wanted an offer so bad he was distraught when he had a bad showing). No one knows what could have been, but it could have been Michigan rather than OSU that had command of the Glenville pipeline, which would have produced a lot more high profile recruits over the years.
We also missed pretty hard on Desean Jackson. Apparently we took LaTerryal Savoy over him. Oops!
December 14th, 2011 at 9:11 AM ^
The dustup between Glenville and UM actually began about a year previous to TG Jr's recruitment when Sr took exception to LC's use or misuse of former Glenville player Pierre Woods. Sr had taken in Woods at one point in HS when he was living homeless in a car and had a very strong bond with him. Woods would eventually end on a high note, but the damage had been done by that point.
December 14th, 2011 at 3:29 AM ^
Glenville only became Glenville (i.e. "Buckeye or die") after Ted Jr. went to OSU. Before that, it was an open-minded place.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:40 AM ^
Justin King - as has been alluded to on this blog, we win the 2006 NC with him playing instead of Morgan Trent.
While on the topic of DBs, Jai Eugine could have helped too.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:57 AM ^
Don't get me wrong -- Leon Hall could have used some help back there. Also, I'm not a huge fan of Trent (on or off the field).
As with Jai Eugene, though, look at the results. IIRC Trent was drafted just a couple of rounds after King in '08 and actually has a longer NFL track record.
I have to comment on the NC, too. As everyone knows, we lost to OSU that year and it wasn't as close as the final score indicated. (Aside: I love -- not really -- how everyone turns that single Crable boo-boo into "playing for the NC." Lots of contingencies involved there ...) OSU got throttled by Florida. How would Justin King alone have vaulted the Big Ten representative (OSU/Michigan) over Florida?
December 14th, 2011 at 9:59 AM ^
The biggest reason for our defensive struggles in that game (well, aside from Troy Smith being just flat out brilliant for most of the game) were that we only had two functional corners. Thus, once Jamar Adams went out, we had to put Englemon (our nickle back) in at safety and had no ability to match up with multiple WR sets (thus Chris Graham on Anthony Gonzalez). People kill English for his strategy that game, but he was in a box once Adams got hurt. Even with Eugene not living up to his recruiting rankings, you have to figure he could stick with Gonzalez longer than Graham could.
Really, poor corner depth was the only weakness of that defense.
On the NC game: OSU got throttled on offense because Florida could match up with their multiple WR sets, allowing the extra split second for their pass rush (in particular Derrick Harvey) to get home. They literally ran something like 30 offensive plays the entire game.
We would have been much more competitive with Florida. We wouldn't have had as many problems with Florida's pressure, which mainly came through the left side, and Jake Long>>>OSU's left tacke. We still would have had difficulty matching up with their multiple sets, but I think we would have been able to get more pressure on Leak than did OSU, and other than the OSU game, our defense had few problems getting off the field.
We ended up playing the best team in the country in the Rose Bowl that year. Apart from a totally inexplicable loss to UCLA, USC's in the championship game no question.
December 14th, 2011 at 8:48 PM ^
can you get video of both games and do a break down? that'd be great reading.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
This idea that we somehow have Ty Isaac locked up needs to stop. A similar opinion permeated the Dunn affair.
Kris Frost was pretty bad.
December 14th, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^
Yea, we thought Frost was a lock for sure, then he turned out to like Auburn more even they don't have a scholarship for him.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:49 AM ^
Yea he was a lock for Michigan.....hell his fav player was MR WOODSON growing up....
December 14th, 2011 at 1:52 AM ^
Kris Frost.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:20 PM ^
He would have been a nice get for us. Like Dee Hart he had a season ending injury over the summer.
December 14th, 2011 at 2:07 AM ^
I would have said Terrelle Pryor, but if he had gone to Michigan, it may have been the Wolverines who would have become collateral damage in his wake.
In basketball, because one player can make such a huge difference, there may be some good arguments. In football, though, no one recruit really hurts the program very much, especially in the long run, by not going to Michigan.
December 14th, 2011 at 9:34 AM ^
I had the same thoughts about Pryor. At the time it seemed like a huge loss. Now, not so much.
The player that might have helped the program the most (Cannot believe I am saying this) might have been Jimmy Clausen. I cannot gaurantee Rodriguez wouldn't have started Nick Sheridan over him, but I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt...
December 14th, 2011 at 2:08 AM ^
had he stayed - we wouldn't have had to endure the Sheridan era.
In terms of missing out on recruits - Demar Dorsey on being eligible (though the emergence of Blake Countess has mitigated that)
December 14th, 2011 at 2:12 AM ^
I sure hope we go after Denards Cuz.....hope he gets his act together....
December 14th, 2011 at 2:18 AM ^
Brionte Dunn - Long battle and lost in the end
Kris Frost - Same as above
Dee Hart - Same as above
Sam Montgomery - Great player and we got a visit
Terrelle Pryor (at the time at least) - Long battle and lost in the end
Sammy Watkins - Great player and his second choice
Anthony Zettel - Seemingly lock that in the end wasn't
Valdez Showers - Look at that damn name. He HAS to make this list
Jake Fisher - Last minute switch
Nick Perry - Top in-state recruit that got out
Ronald Johnson - Ugh...
Joseph Barksdale - Pipeline school but we didn't even get a visit
Vernon Gholston - Great college player
Jonathan Hankins - We messed up big time here and now he's a starter for Ohio State
Dillon Baxter - Almost a last minute switch for the 5* recruit
Tony Jefferson - Got a visit and he's a pretty good player for Oklahoma
Kenny Stills - An even better player for Oklahoma...
Marcus Hall - Got a visit and he ended up going to Ohio State. Glenville kid as well.
Ted Ginn. Jr - Got the visit and was the 2nd best player out of high school
Was it Ginn as well or Troy Smith that wanted to go to Michigan but didn't get an offer or something? Can't remember
All I can remember right now. All of those players would have been great to get. Most of them were highly rated and the ones that weren't, turned out to be great players.
December 14th, 2011 at 3:30 AM ^
This thread is the best. Can't think of any other names that would have looked great in the maize and blue. Personally, I think Frost was a huge loss. His athleticism would have fit perfectly with Mattison's schemes.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:52 AM ^
December 14th, 2011 at 7:01 AM ^
Nick Perry or RoJo...both great players in college who were all but UMs. that sucked losing both of them
December 14th, 2011 at 1:53 PM ^
Perry had a great season at USC this year - 9.5 sacks. Letting those two get out of state was a real sign of how recruiting had slipped at the end of Lloyd's tenure.
December 14th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^
I wouldn't mind having DeQuinta Jones on the d-line next year.
December 14th, 2011 at 9:35 AM ^
Jones hasn't really done much at Arkansas. I would rather have Tommy Schutt, Sheldon Day, Devon Still, Tim Jernigan, and a bunch of other guys.
December 14th, 2011 at 11:57 AM ^
I believe he's missed this season due to injury. He had eight starts last year as a true sophomore.
CAREER SUMMARY: Jones has appeared in 24 games with 11 starts. He has recorded 62 tackles, 4.0 for loss with 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.
Regardless, I only mentioned him because he wasn't listed, not because I wanted him anymore than any other DT.
December 14th, 2011 at 9:23 AM ^
It was Ginn.
December 14th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^
...in fact iirc was taking his official or unofficial during '03 ohio game. Supposedly he was trying to get guys to join him @ ohio even while standing on Mich sideline.
His dad just hated Lloyd for some reason. That's 1 reason getting Frank Clark was huge, whether he turns out to be a star or not... Glenville pipeline would not hurt!!!
December 14th, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^
Ginn Sr. thought that Lloyd gave Pierre Woods a raw deal, which, looking at his relatively long NFL stint (especially for someone who received little college playing time) may be true.
December 14th, 2011 at 5:16 PM ^
Ginn got offered, but not until later than he and his dad wanted.
December 15th, 2011 at 9:15 AM ^
We missed out on Ginn, but I see that as a blessing in disguise. As good as a player that he became that guy was dumber than a rock and had an ego that filled the room. I have a feeling he struggled to spell his name. I have met two student athletes in my life that were just completely uneducated people. Ted Ginn and Charles Rogers. There was no fixing these two men.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:25 PM ^
It would have been really nice to get Kenny Stills. Our WR depth wouldn't look so bad right now.
I don't feel bad about Dillion Baxter. He is having his share of issues at USC and was thinking about leaving because he didn't get playing time. He forced Lane Kiffin to meet with his family about the situation.
You might want to add Sean Parker to the list. He would have been a true centerfield type safety who was a last second switch to Washington.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:36 PM ^
Didn't RoJo end up playing receiver at USC? Our receiving corps was pretty loaded at the time, whereas USC was losing Steve Smith and Dwayne Jarrett. We were recruiting RoJo as a DB, but it seemed like his heart was set on WR.
Also, RoJo going to USC opened up the door for Donovan Warren, whose commitment to Michigan was somewhat unexpected. Warren might have gone elsewhere if RoJo came to Michigan as a DB.
December 14th, 2011 at 2:33 AM ^
Jason Hanson.
December 14th, 2011 at 2:42 AM ^
He woulda tore it up at Michigan.
December 14th, 2011 at 8:10 AM ^
Or a more recent basketball recruit: Alex Legion. At the time we thought he was going to save the program, and then he went and committed 4 other places and transferred 3 times.
December 14th, 2011 at 2:51 AM ^
Jai Eugene (LSU) and Cam Colvin (Oregon) both had me very disappointed at the time, but neither of them really panned out, so the loss really wasn't too bad.
Vernon Gholston is probably my choice for one that hurts the most. Beast of a player in college. Would have loved to have had him on our side.
December 14th, 2011 at 9:41 AM ^
VERNON Ghlolston? Who's that?!
December 14th, 2011 at 3:05 AM ^
One of the first big losses in the rivals era was Travis Johnson, I believe the original went to bed a Wolverine but changed his mind last minute after a trip to Bobby Bowden's house. Was a big time DE when Michigan had nobody at the position. That was back when I really used to get broken up about this kind of thing.
Charles Rogers didn't hurt as much you could see it coming, but I believe he ends up at Michigan if he was going to qualify. He knew he wouldn't and he knew Michigan wasn't going to prop him.
December 14th, 2011 at 4:23 AM ^
Dre Kirkpatrick, no doubt.
December 14th, 2011 at 1:34 PM ^
He was never really considering us.
December 14th, 2011 at 6:33 AM ^
December 14th, 2011 at 3:05 PM ^
I certainly would've taken him, but IMO the only reason he's a "big" loss is we lost out on an opportunity to take another high level recruit from Ohio and beat Meyer in one of the first head to head battles between him and Hoke for a top Ohio talent. And, we spent a lot of time on him that now in hindsight could've been better spent elsewhere.
Not that it matters, or anyone asked, but it is also my opinion that Meyer recruited Dunn so hard not because he would help Ohio that much, but rather because he would've helped Michigan more.
December 14th, 2011 at 6:34 AM ^
We went 3-9 with the Sheridan/Threet combo. Pryor wins us a couple more games at least (Toledo, maybe Utah, Purdue, Northwestern). Bowl streak maybe stays alive.
Just because he had a lot of issues at Ohio doesnt mean that he would here. It is pretty clear that they had a culture of issues there and young people can be easily swayed when "everyone is doing it". Michigan might have worked out better for him.
December 14th, 2011 at 10:46 AM ^
beyond elated he did not join us now. He is just a bad person. No thanks.
December 14th, 2011 at 6:48 AM ^
What about since we were under RR we had no shot at mark Ingram! Had we kept a pro offense... Mallet and Ingram running the offense would have been very nice...
December 14th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^
We would never have had a shot at Mark Ingram. His dad played at MSU and is buddies with Nick Saban. If he hadn't gone to Alabama, he would have gone to MSU.
December 14th, 2011 at 7:00 AM ^
Jerome Bettis.
Or how about Ryan Mallett not staying?
But in retrospect I think the biggest disappointment would be the classes of 2005 - 2006.
At one time or another I seem to remember we were in on not only Justin King, but Tony Moeaki, Rey Maualuga, Nic Harris, Dace Richardson, and Mohamed Massaquoi in 2005.
The following year we had shots with Beanie Wells, Taylor Mays, Sam Young, Percy Harvin, Myron Rolle, Joe Thomas, Darrin Walls, Knowshon Moreno, and Thaddeus Gibson.
Add in Jai Eugene and chuck in Les as the coach instead of RR and suddenly you have a team that embarrassed Tressel more often than not.
Oh well, what might have been.
December 14th, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^
Bettis is my pick, too. My heart broke the day he pledged to ND.
December 14th, 2011 at 7:12 AM ^
Tim Tebow.
December 14th, 2011 at 7:39 AM ^
Dammit, you stole my response.
December 14th, 2011 at 8:10 AM ^
Seriously though, didn't he visit? I think we were in his top 5.