Largely because there really aren’t many quality players in the spring portal. Michigan outgoing transfer Karmello English is the 2nd highest ranked receiver still in the portal. There are no impact guys at tackle.
I don’t think it has much to do with how confident the coaches are in what we have, more that there aren’t many players in the portal that are going to upgrade our team.
One of the top QBs left in the portal is Deacon Hill… I’d stick with Orji too.
You could take it to mean that I guess. Or you could take a look at the uncommitted QBs in the portal and see you’re not getting an upgrade over anyone on the roster. Unless you’re some sort of closet Deacon Hill fan or something.
A friend of mine is loosely connected to someone within the program, enough to get invited as a practice observer a couple times a year.
From what he has told me, Jordan had a habit of showing up late to practices and meetings. And while his individual skills teaching was good, he had trouble translating that to a team approach. He did resonate with recruits but his actual coaching was lacking.
He told me this after he left for Seattle, so maybe it’s sour grapes but it would explain why he’s been in and out of coaching jobs so quick.
He does a lot of one-on-one type workouts with NFL defensive linemen and is pretty well-respected in that regard. MSU took a shot on him as a coach and from what I’ve heard, it wasn’t as smooth of a transition as hoped but he was popular with recruits.
I think it’s pretty clear it was just an example. We’re not privy to the actual figures of the vast majority of these deals. The point was pretty clear, money up front > the chance at money later. You’re fixated on a number for some random reason instead of the actual point here.
Well for starters, On3 is simply estimating a players value, not how much they’re actually being paid. Michigan is famously NOT paying recruits, yet our commits have an NIL valuation.
You’re too caught up on the $250k. It was just an example. $100k work better for you? $50k? Doesn’t matter.
“Ill need a better explanation than we cant compete with Kentucky football money.”
There’s a significant difference between “can’t” and “won’t.” “Could” Michigan throw the bag at a high school kid who may or may not pan out? Sure. But there’s nothing stopping that kid from pulling a Jeremiah Beasley and transferring after the first couple practices. Or you get stuck paying a career bench warmer. Doesn’t seem like a wise investment in the long run, Michigan just isn’t playing in the mud with other programs while the system regulates itself.
“There is a better chance he makes $500k at Michigan before all is said and done”
Key word there being “chance.” Taking the guaranteed payday over the chance for money later isn’t something I’m going to fault anyone for. He could also come to Michigan and never see the field or get injured and never get a dime. Not going to fault anyone for not taking that risk
“If you want to talk money welp we can wipe our ass with UK and ILL football money not to mention isnt NFL money the number 1 factor here?”
I can give you $250k now, or I can give you the chance at $250k in a couple years if you’re good. That’s the difference.
The NFL money argument isnt really irrelevant. If they’re good, they’ll get drafted high regardless. If they’re not good, they won’t get drafted. Michigan has plenty of guys go undrafted every year or flame out after a year or two on practice squa. Kentucky and Illinois still send players to the draft themselves.
It’s difficult to sit here and say taking the sure money up front is the wrong choice.
The rankings are weighted to consider how much eligibility players have remaining instead of just how good they are and how they’re projected to contribute right away, which is generally what the portal is used for. Julian Sayin, Aidan Chiles, and Dante Moore are the top 3 QBs per the rankings over guys like Dillon Gabriel and Cameron Ward, who are much more proven passers and more likely to make that instant impact.
I “get” it, but when a team is hunting for players in the portal 9/10 times theyre trying to fill an instant need on the roster. QB1 heading for a redshirt as QB3 on OSU’s roster while two guys ranked lower are pre-season Heisman candidates just makes for some weird team ranking narratives.
I assume basketball is set up in a similar manner, where they’re projecting NBA upside and remaining eligibility over actual college production and likelihood of being a big impact.
With the playoff expansion, and the imbalance of quality football being placed in the SEC and B1G, a 2 loss team in those conferences is very likely to get in. It’s not merely a chance. You may see 1 or 2 teams with two losses get left out, depending on conference champions getting auto bids, but it’s much more than a “chance” for 2 loss teams. 2 losses and you’ll feel pretty good about getting in.
I certainly agree there is some value in the education itself, even when it doesn’t translate to your career. The issue is that it isn’t worth the tens to hundreds of thousands in loan debt you’ll incur in the process.
There’s also the fact that you can learn about all of that stuff on the internet nowadays and there’s no need to take a college course.
The loans themselves are predatory, the “cost of attendance” is outrageous, and then the value of your education doesn’t match with the cost of it. It seems like, in some cases at least, the required degree can be offset by a couple weeks of training. Most of what you’re getting from the degree ends up being irrelevant to your career anyway.
Insane that jobs require college degrees and pay equal/less than a significant amount of jobs that only require a high school diploma/ged.
I went to college for a year, wasn’t for me. Got a job in warehousing and started out around $55k and last year (7 years after starting) I made ~$85k. All available without taking on crippling college loans.
Big Ten isn’t a high end conference in softball so it’s conference tournament wouldn’t be a big TV draw, softball isn’t a high priority sport for ESPN to begin with, and ESPN doesn’t own the rights to B1G sports.
Did the elbow hit the head or not? I didn’t see an angle where that contact was made. If not, there’s no penalty. It isn’t against the rules to almost hit somebody.
I played against Trouba growing up, he definitely toes that line between being a physical presence and just flat out dirty. But within the framework of the rules, this is not a penalty. You can argue “intent” until you’re blue in the face, but intent doesn’t create nor negate a penalty. It’s either an illegal play based on what DID occur or it’s not.
Not sure what your point is. We only share TV revenue with the likes of Northwestern and Rutgers. Much like the other professional leagues with similar structures or sharing a percentage of the gate. Michigan and OSU will not have the same total revenue as Northwestern and Rutgers. Never have, never will.
Equal shares in TV money is pretty common in pro sports. As is having the same spending cap.
“why should schools like Michigan or OSU get the same spending cap AND RECEIVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE as Northwestern or Rutgers or any of the other bottom feeders in the B1G with poor viewership and lousy attendance?”
Probably for the same reason it happens in every professional sports league
Giving up your free education (that you haven’t even received yet) isn’t a penalty when you’re being compensated… a free education. The student-athlete isn’t being penalized at all. He has given up nothing, he simply chose a different source for his compensation.
It’s absolutely wild for you to sit there with a straight face and say Michigan giving him a free education instead of St. Mary’s is a penalty… by that logic, DeBoer’s “penalty” for leaving Washington for Bama would be giving up a job at Washington and not, ya know, the $10 million buyout Washington received.
I don’t think who pays the buyout is really relevant. The point is there’s no penalty-free movement for the coaches. There is compensation to the previous school, whether that comes from the coach or the new school doesn’t matter. It’s simply not a good comparison to a player being released from his NLI, where there is zero penalty.
Coaches aren’t allowed to leave for better opportunities with zero penalty. They have to pay a buyout to be released from their contract. A recruit being released from their NLI is a penalty-free release.
Not saying schools should block a release request, but it’s really not comparable to coaches leaving.
Recruiting rankings tend to favor the large athletic freaks that project as pure tackles. Michigan has excelled at getting guys on the interior and developing them into absolute maulers.
That’s kinda my point though. We had an efficient passer while those teams did not or had guys with skillsets more suited to other areas like Milroe on the ground. We still ranked 117th in % of pass plays, which is obviously one of the lowest in the country.
Anyone who followed college football closely enough would have seen that Auburn and Bama were very run-centric teams with mobile QBs. Auburn’s QBs ran for over 700 yards and Bama’s ran for over 600, and neither team had what you would consider an efficient passer. Auburn was borderline anemic through the air and Milroe was good enough that his legs made him a legitimate QB.
So it’s not surprising we threw more than them, it’s surprising it was so close to begin with
Because there are far more proven commodities out there that have actually done something to earn that money. Several sites saying they have the best QB room doesn’t make it true, nor does it make their backup QB worth a huge payday at a school like Michigan. If we’re not paying high schoolers, we’re gonna pay a guy with 5 passes to his name? Makes zero sense.
If we’re pitching the idea to gather up funds to poach a QB that isn’t even in the portal, why in gods green earth would you go for someone’s backup QB with 5 career pass attempts?
Not every portal addition is about addressing immediate needs. We’re losing Paige, Moore and Johnson after this season, which leaves Oden, Berry and Hillman going into next season plus any recruits, not to mention the possibility of a transfer exit and Berry winning the nickel job.
If you can bring in an experienced guy to rotate with a few years eligibility left and then step into a major role next year, that’s ideal. Similar to pulling in Hausmann last year even though we returned Barrett and Colson at linebacker
Kentucky isn’t a mid-major. Kentucky is in the SEC… you DO know the term “mid-major” refers to what conference a team is in and not how good that specific program is, right?
The “basis” being that everyone had him going to Michigan, his own comments had him going to Michigan, and in the 11th hour he decided to commit to Kentucky. Just like Miami flipping those guys from OSU last year, it’s pretty clear when a lesser program swoops in with a big money offer.
“how will they compete with the elite teams?” I can’t hear you over the national championship rings
I don’t know how you can look at recruiting the past few years and NOT see that NIL is a major factor in recruiting losses. Not just for Michigan, but many schools. If you’re calling it a tired excuse, you’re just flat out not paying attention.
Texas A&M recently bought one of the highest rated classes ever on the back of NIL. Miami flips a few guys every year because they’re throwing big $ deals around.
Davis stated he was close to committing to Michigan on a visit, visited two more times in the following three weeks, referenced an extremely close relationship with Alford, was getting crystal balls from national experts and commits to Kentucky out of nowhere… and we’re just supposed to pretend NIL isn’t a major reason for recruiting losses?
Just to clarify… you’re using the Tennessee violations as the guideline? They were slapped with over 200 violations with 18 of them being Level I violations… violations included:
Paid unofficial visits
At least impermissible hotel room nights, 180 impermissible meals, 72 instances of providing impermissible entertainment or other benefits, 41 impermissible recruiting contacts, 37 instances of providing impermissible game day parking, and 14 times in which gear was impermissibly provided to prospects.
Direct payments to recruits and their families
Direct knowledge of the scheme from the head coach
Provided misleading information and directed recruits parents to provide misleading information to investigators
I’m really failing to see how that is supposed to be used as a guideline for our penalties and how you have arrived at your proposed penalties in comparison to what Tennessee received for FAR more violations and more severe violations.
Not being able to and deciding not to are two very different things. The current practice of throwing money at high schoolers, many of whom enter the portal or never pan out, isn’t a sustainable practice. Michigan deciding not to play in the mud while the system regulates itself doesn’t represent an inability to financially compete.
But again, that’s just an extremely lazy take from you.
Lazy take. The first few years he inherited running backs who went to the NFL, Elliott and Sermon. You don’t want to give him credit because he didn’t recruit them, that’s fine. But you can’t count those years against him either in that case. So you’re down to 7 years. He then had JK Dobbins start for 3 years and sent him to the league. Weber started for a year and then backed up Dobbins, and was drafted. You then followed that up with Henderson for 3 years, and would have been drafted if he entered this year. But because Henderson is returning, it conveniently doesn’t go on Alford’s record.
SO. During Alford’s tenure, every starting running back at OSU has either been drafted, or WILL BE drafted. It’s a gross manipulation of technicalities to denigrate Alford’s accomplishments.
With limited roster space, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for teams to have a fullback on the roster. Stick an extra OL or a bigger TE back there on short yardage situations if you’re so inclined, but having a player whose only role is to block in short yardage situations or the rare FB dive is a waste of a spot on a 53 man roster. Especially as injuries start to mount in a 17 game season (plus playoffs if you make it). Ben Mason isn’t much of a receiving threat so it’s somewhat surprising he’s lasted so long even on the periphery of rosters.
It’s pretty clear he was favoring Michigan. The national recruiting experts were putting crystal ball projections in and On3 had the odds at over 89%. Visited 3 times in the last month. Then he committed to Kentucky out of nowhere.
Seems pretty obvious that this was NIL related and has very little to do with Alford and his recruiting ability.
You keep making comments like this. How much do you want Michigan to pay for someone like Waller? Honestly.
Is there a limit in your eyes? What’s the price? What if someone pays more than what Michigan feels that player is worth, we’re still going to sit here and trash Michigan’s NIL because we’re not overpaying players?
Just because we aren’t throwing obscene amounts of money at high schoolers and backups doesn’t mean our NIL program isn’t very good. There’s likely a price they have that they’re willing to pay and if they’re offered more than that elsewhere, they’re okay seeing them leave.
“should have known once Sam and crew started full hype train for him”
He had two crystal ball projections, both to Michigan and both from NATIONAL guys. On3 gave Michigan an 89.5% chance at landing this commit, OSU was next highest at 3.1% with UK at 2.7%.
Weird to attribute this to Sam and other insiders starting a hype train when the kid made a (likely NIL induced) decision out of left field.
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Largely because there really aren’t many quality players in the spring portal. Michigan outgoing transfer Karmello English is the 2nd highest ranked receiver still in the portal. There are no impact guys at tackle.
I don’t think it has much to do with how confident the coaches are in what we have, more that there aren’t many players in the portal that are going to upgrade our team.
One of the top QBs left in the portal is Deacon Hill… I’d stick with Orji too.
You could take it to mean that I guess. Or you could take a look at the uncommitted QBs in the portal and see you’re not getting an upgrade over anyone on the roster. Unless you’re some sort of closet Deacon Hill fan or something.
https://247sports.com/season/2024-football/transferportalpositionranking/?status=uncommitted
It was leaked yesterday if it makes you feel better
A friend of mine is loosely connected to someone within the program, enough to get invited as a practice observer a couple times a year.
From what he has told me, Jordan had a habit of showing up late to practices and meetings. And while his individual skills teaching was good, he had trouble translating that to a team approach. He did resonate with recruits but his actual coaching was lacking.
He told me this after he left for Seattle, so maybe it’s sour grapes but it would explain why he’s been in and out of coaching jobs so quick.
He was at Seattle last year. Seattle’s coach retired, MacDonald was hired and didn’t retain him, OSU offered him a job.
He does a lot of one-on-one type workouts with NFL defensive linemen and is pretty well-respected in that regard. MSU took a shot on him as a coach and from what I’ve heard, it wasn’t as smooth of a transition as hoped but he was popular with recruits.
From what I’ve heard, he wasn’t even one of the good coaches at MSU
I think it’s pretty clear it was just an example. We’re not privy to the actual figures of the vast majority of these deals. The point was pretty clear, money up front > the chance at money later. You’re fixated on a number for some random reason instead of the actual point here.
Well for starters, On3 is simply estimating a players value, not how much they’re actually being paid. Michigan is famously NOT paying recruits, yet our commits have an NIL valuation.
You’re too caught up on the $250k. It was just an example. $100k work better for you? $50k? Doesn’t matter.
“Ill need a better explanation than we cant compete with Kentucky football money.”
There’s a significant difference between “can’t” and “won’t.” “Could” Michigan throw the bag at a high school kid who may or may not pan out? Sure. But there’s nothing stopping that kid from pulling a Jeremiah Beasley and transferring after the first couple practices. Or you get stuck paying a career bench warmer. Doesn’t seem like a wise investment in the long run, Michigan just isn’t playing in the mud with other programs while the system regulates itself.
“There is a better chance he makes $500k at Michigan before all is said and done”
Key word there being “chance.” Taking the guaranteed payday over the chance for money later isn’t something I’m going to fault anyone for. He could also come to Michigan and never see the field or get injured and never get a dime. Not going to fault anyone for not taking that risk
“If you want to talk money welp we can wipe our ass with UK and ILL football money not to mention isnt NFL money the number 1 factor here?”
I can give you $250k now, or I can give you the chance at $250k in a couple years if you’re good. That’s the difference.
The NFL money argument isnt really irrelevant. If they’re good, they’ll get drafted high regardless. If they’re not good, they won’t get drafted. Michigan has plenty of guys go undrafted every year or flame out after a year or two on practice squa. Kentucky and Illinois still send players to the draft themselves.
It’s difficult to sit here and say taking the sure money up front is the wrong choice.
Transfer portal rankings irk me to an extent.
The rankings are weighted to consider how much eligibility players have remaining instead of just how good they are and how they’re projected to contribute right away, which is generally what the portal is used for. Julian Sayin, Aidan Chiles, and Dante Moore are the top 3 QBs per the rankings over guys like Dillon Gabriel and Cameron Ward, who are much more proven passers and more likely to make that instant impact.
I “get” it, but when a team is hunting for players in the portal 9/10 times theyre trying to fill an instant need on the roster. QB1 heading for a redshirt as QB3 on OSU’s roster while two guys ranked lower are pre-season Heisman candidates just makes for some weird team ranking narratives.
I assume basketball is set up in a similar manner, where they’re projecting NBA upside and remaining eligibility over actual college production and likelihood of being a big impact.
With the playoff expansion, and the imbalance of quality football being placed in the SEC and B1G, a 2 loss team in those conferences is very likely to get in. It’s not merely a chance. You may see 1 or 2 teams with two losses get left out, depending on conference champions getting auto bids, but it’s much more than a “chance” for 2 loss teams. 2 losses and you’ll feel pretty good about getting in.
Doesn’t seem like an effective method if they’re ignoring the ~$100,000 in debt variable in that pursuit.
I certainly agree there is some value in the education itself, even when it doesn’t translate to your career. The issue is that it isn’t worth the tens to hundreds of thousands in loan debt you’ll incur in the process.
There’s also the fact that you can learn about all of that stuff on the internet nowadays and there’s no need to take a college course.
The loans themselves are predatory, the “cost of attendance” is outrageous, and then the value of your education doesn’t match with the cost of it. It seems like, in some cases at least, the required degree can be offset by a couple weeks of training. Most of what you’re getting from the degree ends up being irrelevant to your career anyway.
Insane that jobs require college degrees and pay equal/less than a significant amount of jobs that only require a high school diploma/ged.
I went to college for a year, wasn’t for me. Got a job in warehousing and started out around $55k and last year (7 years after starting) I made ~$85k. All available without taking on crippling college loans.
Big Ten isn’t a high end conference in softball so it’s conference tournament wouldn’t be a big TV draw, softball isn’t a high priority sport for ESPN to begin with, and ESPN doesn’t own the rights to B1G sports.
Did the elbow hit the head or not? I didn’t see an angle where that contact was made. If not, there’s no penalty. It isn’t against the rules to almost hit somebody.
I played against Trouba growing up, he definitely toes that line between being a physical presence and just flat out dirty. But within the framework of the rules, this is not a penalty. You can argue “intent” until you’re blue in the face, but intent doesn’t create nor negate a penalty. It’s either an illegal play based on what DID occur or it’s not.
Not sure what your point is. We only share TV revenue with the likes of Northwestern and Rutgers. Much like the other professional leagues with similar structures or sharing a percentage of the gate. Michigan and OSU will not have the same total revenue as Northwestern and Rutgers. Never have, never will.
Equal shares in TV money is pretty common in pro sports. As is having the same spending cap.
“why should schools like Michigan or OSU get the same spending cap AND RECEIVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE as Northwestern or Rutgers or any of the other bottom feeders in the B1G with poor viewership and lousy attendance?”
Probably for the same reason it happens in every professional sports league
Terrifying when you consider how fickle refs can be with calling majors
That makes zero sense.
Giving up your free education (that you haven’t even received yet) isn’t a penalty when you’re being compensated… a free education. The student-athlete isn’t being penalized at all. He has given up nothing, he simply chose a different source for his compensation.
It’s absolutely wild for you to sit there with a straight face and say Michigan giving him a free education instead of St. Mary’s is a penalty… by that logic, DeBoer’s “penalty” for leaving Washington for Bama would be giving up a job at Washington and not, ya know, the $10 million buyout Washington received.
I don’t think it has anything to do with Suggs. Starting at Indiana was probably preferable to being a depth DT at Michigan
I don’t think who pays the buyout is really relevant. The point is there’s no penalty-free movement for the coaches. There is compensation to the previous school, whether that comes from the coach or the new school doesn’t matter. It’s simply not a good comparison to a player being released from his NLI, where there is zero penalty.
Okay but that’s not a good comparison.
Coaches aren’t allowed to leave for better opportunities with zero penalty. They have to pay a buyout to be released from their contract. A recruit being released from their NLI is a penalty-free release.
Not saying schools should block a release request, but it’s really not comparable to coaches leaving.
Just no cheeseburgers
Recruiting rankings tend to favor the large athletic freaks that project as pure tackles. Michigan has excelled at getting guys on the interior and developing them into absolute maulers.
That’s kinda my point though. We had an efficient passer while those teams did not or had guys with skillsets more suited to other areas like Milroe on the ground. We still ranked 117th in % of pass plays, which is obviously one of the lowest in the country.
Anyone who followed college football closely enough would have seen that Auburn and Bama were very run-centric teams with mobile QBs. Auburn’s QBs ran for over 700 yards and Bama’s ran for over 600, and neither team had what you would consider an efficient passer. Auburn was borderline anemic through the air and Milroe was good enough that his legs made him a legitimate QB.
So it’s not surprising we threw more than them, it’s surprising it was so close to begin with
Anyone who watched college football would not be surprised by that.
Auburn had Payton Thorne and might as well have run the veer. Alabama had Milroe, who was much better on the ground than through the air.
No, Thorne played a pretty poor game. Kenneth Walker beat us.
Because there are far more proven commodities out there that have actually done something to earn that money. Several sites saying they have the best QB room doesn’t make it true, nor does it make their backup QB worth a huge payday at a school like Michigan. If we’re not paying high schoolers, we’re gonna pay a guy with 5 passes to his name? Makes zero sense.
I’ll humor you for a second…
If we’re pitching the idea to gather up funds to poach a QB that isn’t even in the portal, why in gods green earth would you go for someone’s backup QB with 5 career pass attempts?
https://247sports.com/player/deone-walker-46102934/high-school-253566/
Yeah, that’ll never happen
We’ve recruited them fine, it’s been getting them to stay that’s been an issue
Not every portal addition is about addressing immediate needs. We’re losing Paige, Moore and Johnson after this season, which leaves Oden, Berry and Hillman going into next season plus any recruits, not to mention the possibility of a transfer exit and Berry winning the nickel job.
If you can bring in an experienced guy to rotate with a few years eligibility left and then step into a major role next year, that’s ideal. Similar to pulling in Hausmann last year even though we returned Barrett and Colson at linebacker
Kentucky isn’t a mid-major. Kentucky is in the SEC… you DO know the term “mid-major” refers to what conference a team is in and not how good that specific program is, right?
The “basis” being that everyone had him going to Michigan, his own comments had him going to Michigan, and in the 11th hour he decided to commit to Kentucky. Just like Miami flipping those guys from OSU last year, it’s pretty clear when a lesser program swoops in with a big money offer.
“how will they compete with the elite teams?” I can’t hear you over the national championship rings
UMass is probably FCS quality, but they are an FBS school
He just finished his redshirt junior year actually, which means he’s 4 years through college and most likely a grad transfer.
I don’t know how you can look at recruiting the past few years and NOT see that NIL is a major factor in recruiting losses. Not just for Michigan, but many schools. If you’re calling it a tired excuse, you’re just flat out not paying attention.
Texas A&M recently bought one of the highest rated classes ever on the back of NIL. Miami flips a few guys every year because they’re throwing big $ deals around.
Davis stated he was close to committing to Michigan on a visit, visited two more times in the following three weeks, referenced an extremely close relationship with Alford, was getting crystal balls from national experts and commits to Kentucky out of nowhere… and we’re just supposed to pretend NIL isn’t a major reason for recruiting losses?
Just to clarify… you’re using the Tennessee violations as the guideline? They were slapped with over 200 violations with 18 of them being Level I violations… violations included:
I’m really failing to see how that is supposed to be used as a guideline for our penalties and how you have arrived at your proposed penalties in comparison to what Tennessee received for FAR more violations and more severe violations.
They’ve had the same number of running backs drafted during the Harbaugh era as Michigan has…
Not being able to and deciding not to are two very different things. The current practice of throwing money at high schoolers, many of whom enter the portal or never pan out, isn’t a sustainable practice. Michigan deciding not to play in the mud while the system regulates itself doesn’t represent an inability to financially compete.
But again, that’s just an extremely lazy take from you.
“He put 1 RB in the league in 9 years.”
Lazy take. The first few years he inherited running backs who went to the NFL, Elliott and Sermon. You don’t want to give him credit because he didn’t recruit them, that’s fine. But you can’t count those years against him either in that case. So you’re down to 7 years. He then had JK Dobbins start for 3 years and sent him to the league. Weber started for a year and then backed up Dobbins, and was drafted. You then followed that up with Henderson for 3 years, and would have been drafted if he entered this year. But because Henderson is returning, it conveniently doesn’t go on Alford’s record.
SO. During Alford’s tenure, every starting running back at OSU has either been drafted, or WILL BE drafted. It’s a gross manipulation of technicalities to denigrate Alford’s accomplishments.
Criticizing his recruiting when guys transferred because they were stuck behind Dobbins and Henderson for years is certainly a take…
With limited roster space, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for teams to have a fullback on the roster. Stick an extra OL or a bigger TE back there on short yardage situations if you’re so inclined, but having a player whose only role is to block in short yardage situations or the rare FB dive is a waste of a spot on a 53 man roster. Especially as injuries start to mount in a 17 game season (plus playoffs if you make it). Ben Mason isn’t much of a receiving threat so it’s somewhat surprising he’s lasted so long even on the periphery of rosters.
It’s pretty clear he was favoring Michigan. The national recruiting experts were putting crystal ball projections in and On3 had the odds at over 89%. Visited 3 times in the last month. Then he committed to Kentucky out of nowhere.
Seems pretty obvious that this was NIL related and has very little to do with Alford and his recruiting ability.
You keep making comments like this. How much do you want Michigan to pay for someone like Waller? Honestly.
Is there a limit in your eyes? What’s the price? What if someone pays more than what Michigan feels that player is worth, we’re still going to sit here and trash Michigan’s NIL because we’re not overpaying players?
Just because we aren’t throwing obscene amounts of money at high schoolers and backups doesn’t mean our NIL program isn’t very good. There’s likely a price they have that they’re willing to pay and if they’re offered more than that elsewhere, they’re okay seeing them leave.
“should have known once Sam and crew started full hype train for him”
He had two crystal ball projections, both to Michigan and both from NATIONAL guys. On3 gave Michigan an 89.5% chance at landing this commit, OSU was next highest at 3.1% with UK at 2.7%.
Weird to attribute this to Sam and other insiders starting a hype train when the kid made a (likely NIL induced) decision out of left field.
This was an NIL loss, not a recruiting loss. But go off.