Hoke and the future
I've seen several articles where people have stated that Coach Hoke and this staff are "building something special". My question to members of the board is what aspect of Coach Hoke and his staff's efforts are do you think is attributing to this? Is it the level of talent, the character of the kids, the staff's being completely honest with recruits, etc....
What is the likelihood that Hand ends up in Ann Arbor now that Peppers is here, and when does he announce?
Hand is already tired of the process and wants to get it over with sooner rather than later. He's narrowing down his schools and telling everyone else to hit the bricks. He might not decide till after his senior season, but I'd be shocked if he waits until NSD.
You should post more just so I have the pleasure of seeing your avatar picture more often.
you have such a dedicated coach as Hoke and such a special University, who wouldn't want to go there?
are you?
do you title your posts like you do, and...
do you sleep at night?!?!
am I?
the hell are you talking about?
For some reason, I actually pictured your somewhat creepy profile picture asking me those questions. And I find it easy to title my posts the beginning of what I had to say so I can just hit the tab button and resume what I was saying.
Larry Foote is creepy?
/s
what aspect of Coach Hoke and his staff's efforts are do you think is attributing to [building something special]?
Hoke: "What we're trying to do here is help make these kids better men, better husbands and better fathers."
It's really that simple. Hoke and staff signal with complete sincerity that Michigan is about hard work, accountability, honesty and integrity.
Every young man craves that. That's how young men are wired.
This society offers precious little of that to young men today. Quite the opposite, actually.
Hoke is building a program quite unlike most in college football. Winning helps, certainly ... but it's more than just the prospect of winning football games that is drawing these young men to Hoke and to Michigan.
To piggyback off of your excellent comment, I'd add that Hoke (and I'm sure his staff as well) is a perfect fit for Michigan in particular. The school's identity is in many ways tied to tradition/values/character from the coaches and teams that have long come before. Hoke embodies the best of what Michigan tries to produce in educating and training our next generation's leaders, and kids see the connection.
It's hard to think, in retrospect, of a better fit for this program and university.
All of this is true, which is why I still find it hard to believe how many people around here (myself included) were against his hiring.
The primary concern has pretty much always been about the offensive system that would be put into place under Hoke, and abou tthe viability of MAN BAWL on a national scale.
That said there were some people concerned that Hoke wasn't a "sexy" enough hire and wouldn't be able to recruit on an elite level, but clearly that wasn't a justified concern.
I remember some people here livid when Hoke was hired saying he can't recruit.
I wonder how they feel today.
This class is gonna be one for the ages. Hell, if what I hear about Peppers knowing Hand is true, Michigan could be the first team ever to land #1 and #2 overall players.
A lot of people weren't happy about the hire (or at least were highly skeptical), at the time. But Hoke has killed it from his introductory press conference. Hindsight is always 20-20.
I was most impressed with the speed at which he turned SDSU around. He took them from 2-10 before he got there to 4-8 in his first season and 9-4 in his second. True his overall record was around .500 but that is a really fasy turnaround at a mid-major. They have sustained success after he left, so he really did bring in some talent.
But you didn't look close enough... Hoke killed it at Ball St and SDSU...
Don't you remember seeing both programs in the top 20, especially Ball Fricking sT.... and saying to yourself.... wtf???? Well I did... that was acheivement in itself....
on the surface, you'd be right... but looking closer, and...sorry...
had this Hoke guy do the Top Ten after he turned Ball State around (I think it was after they won their first conference championship). Nos. 6 and 3 are worth noting.
In his sixth year at Ball State, he took a 12th ranked (nationally) Ball State team to the MAC championship against a Turner Gil-coached 7-5 Buffalo team, and Ball State lost by 18. Ball State's last conference championship was in 1996 under Bill Lynch (later of Indiana).
They didn't have the full intro in the video, and all that you hear Letterman say is "the nationally ranked" Ball State team. Hence my doubting myself and saying "I think..." Was it the first time they were nationally ranked?
After Carr's last few years (minus 06) and Rich Rod, it seemed like an underwhelming hire. The first press conference sold me though. My God, that was a brilliant press conference! Everything since has kept me sold.
Hoke loves Michigan. He loves the kids. He wants to win. He doesn't make excuses. He doesn't punt every time he has a 4th and inches with the lead. He isn't flashy, but I bet he commands a living room when he recruits. AND, he seems to do all of this while remaining humble. Hoke is the threat, Coach Dantonio...Hoke is the threat!
Finally, he's a defensive-minded coach. I only like high scoring games when it's Michigan winning 56-7. I am part of a possibly dying breed that loves a 9-7 game, as long as it's because of great defenses and not incompetent offenses.
Super psyched about Hoke's recruiting. Go Blue!
I'm with you on the affinity for low scoring games. In baseball, I'd much rather watch a 3-2 game than a 9-8 game. 3R HRs should win a game for you, right? 85 yard TD drives should be significant!
Not to mention Hoke worked under Mattison before, but yet Mattison was willing to work under Hoke now. That says a lot about how Mattison feels about and respects Hoke from the time they spent working together in the past.
Denard was injured for a good part of the season (although Nebraska might have been a win if Devin was ready).
Football is still a game that is won and lost in the trenches, and Hoke's D-line and O-line recruiting has been amazing.
By "the other coaches", do you mean Urbie of Columbus CC?
He simply said that 1) he is a great guy 2) he's genuine 3) loves his players and (I'm quoting the trainer) 4) "He's the funniest motherfucker you ever met"