Sam Webb: If Brohm Goes to Louisville, We Get 5-Star Karlaftis
This isn't really breaking news, but Sam Webb was as direct as I've heard him on the subject this morning. If Jeff Brohm takes the job at Louisville, we get George Karlaftis.
To recap, Karlaftis LINK is a 5-star defensive end from West Lafayette, Ind. He is committed to Purdue, but as Sam reiterated this morning, Karlaftis has been saying all along that if Jeff Brohm leaves Purdue, then George Karlaftis is leaving Purdue, too.
"If Brohm leaves Purdue, then Michigan gets another 5-star. It's as simple as that," Sam said. He also said that Karlaftis is so good, he sees the field as a freshman, no question. On our line, that's saying something.
Seeing as how Louisville has no other real options, I'm feeling good about this.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
#IG2BAMW!
November 12th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
I'm Going 2 Be A Murder Wolf
November 12th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Thanks Doc. That was out of my element.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
You always were...
November 12th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
i'm going to be a man wow
November 12th, 2018 at 10:04 PM ^
congrats!
November 12th, 2018 at 1:01 PM ^
Send Rogel's Maize and Blue Jet to west lafayette to pick up Brohm and fly him to Louisville.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
I hate to put the cart before the horse, but this could be the best DL haul ever if we get Harrison and Karlaftis we already have Hinton and don't forget about Mazi Smith. Beat OSU and the chips will fall in the right place.
Go Blue!
November 12th, 2018 at 10:49 AM ^
Ojabo!
November 12th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
I should have looked at our current commitments before posting. Completely forgot about Ojabo who I believe most analysts are saying could be our biggest sleeper commit in this class. Thanks for the correction!
November 12th, 2018 at 11:01 AM ^
And Gabe Newburg!
As good as this class is, it's bound to have a few departures and disappointments. There aren't enough spots on the defensive line for all these guys to get satisfactory playing time over 3-5 years.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:09 AM ^
Mike Morris and Tyrece Woods too...Harrison, Hinton, Karlaftis, Morris, Newburg, Ojabo, Smith, Woods. That's a whole lot of D-line talent to take in one class.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:21 AM ^
Also, there is a Luigi Vilian somewhere on the roster. He was a top 50 recruit by some services. However, he has had an injury bug ever since he has been here so durability may be an issue or perhaps he's just had rotten luck.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:21 AM ^
You take all of them, even if you skimp on other positions, getting home with 4 is key to the Don Brown defense.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
I don't think it's Michigan's choice though. They'd probably like to take all of them, but there comes a point of saturation such that the recruits themselves aren't going to want to have to compete with too many other guys in their own class. If Karlaftis and Harrison were to commit, it's certainly possible some of the lower rated guys start to look elsewhere for their own benefit.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
That’s true. Also true, though, is that some guys emerge on different time tables. My recollection is that Rashan Gary and Josh Uche were in the same class, yet one looks like he’s about to go to the NFL and one is just starting to hit his prime with the team. So both can have great runs that don’t overlap that much.
Still, the way Harbaugh manages the roster, there will be turnover. Some of it expected, some of it unexpected.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:50 AM ^
How are Newburgs hands and blocking?
November 12th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^
Ojala!
November 12th, 2018 at 5:21 PM ^
I think Magnus is hinting at this, and I have been thinking it could happen: Decommits from some of the lower players in this class.
If we bring in 1,2, 3 more big time DL commits, might see a guy like Newburg or Woods looking elsewhere. Might even be necessary with how big this class is getting. Good problem to have for UM though
November 12th, 2018 at 9:19 PM ^
Personally this is what I am thinking as well. With the possibility of having 3 5-stars and 2 four-stars in the rotation ahead of you, the chances of playing time are slim. Although, each of those players are at different positions. Hinton will be a DT, Harrison and Ojabo will be WDE, Karlaftis and Morris will be 3-tech's, and Newburg will be SDE. I just feel like guys such as Tyrece Woods and Newburg could possibly be told to take a couple visits.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
He wants to sign and enroll early though, I could see Louisville and Brohm dragging things out long enough that he has to make the call without knowing for sure. I know recruits say stuff they don't actually mean, but he does seem to genuinely like Purdue as a school. I think we're in good shape, but also there are outcomes that go Purdue (or even Lousiville's) way.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
Great point but with the early signing day being December 19 and Purdue's regular season ending November 24 I am hoping the Brohm picture will be pretty clear by the time he has to sign.
Since Purdue looks like a 6 win team I dont think Brohm will drag it out to coach in some no name bowl game.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
I believe that Brohm's $4.4MM buyout goes down by $1MM if he leaves after Dec. 5. So I would expect movement after that.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
you are correct comrade:
"• If Brohm leaves Purdue on his own, he would owe the outstanding balance on the loan and also owe the university liquidated damages depending on the date:
Before Dec. 5, 2017: $5 million
After Dec. 5, 2017 and before Dec. 5, 2018: $4 million
After Dec. 5, 2018 and before Dec. 5, 2019: $3 million
After Dec. 5, 2019 and before Dec. 5, 2020: $2 million
After Dec. 5, 2020 through the end of the initial term (Dec. 31, 2021): $1 million
• Brohm can retire from coaching for 12 months and not be responsible for any liquidated damages."
November 12th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Early signing period was 12/20 last year. Assuming it's still mid-December (it is, 12/19-12/21), Brohm's fate will be decided long before then. Coaching changes generally take place right after the regular season, before bowl games (unless you're hiring an NFL coach, then you have to wait until late December for the conclusion of the NFL schedule). If UL wants Brohm, and he wants to go, it'll take about 2 seconds for that to happen. He'll be a Cardinal before the end of November.
San Francisco wrapped up their 2014 season on 12/28, Harbaugh officially parted ways and was in Ann Arbor addressing the media as the Michigan head coach on Tuesday 12/30. It will not take a month.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
Any top recruit that wants to sign at a program in turmoil or possible coaching change should have enough power to not sign a letter of intent but instead agree to a financial aid agreement. That kind of deal does not bind the recruit to school but the school has to honor the scholarship if they attend.
November 12th, 2018 at 12:04 PM ^
Sounds good. Anyway...
November 12th, 2018 at 12:22 PM ^
Make sure you tweet this to GK, don't worry, in this case it is o.k.
/jk
November 12th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
Brohm's buyout decreases on December 5 so I imagine Louisville waits until then to make it official. They're already paying so much money to Petrino and their former AD. Anything to decrease the cost.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
Good info, but as we've seen a billion times in college football, we'll know before then if it's happening. Brohm will be trying like hell to scrap together a UL recruiting class and Purdue will be scrambling to maintain their commits. The writing will be on the wall even if they can't put ink to paper until 12/5.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:11 AM ^
Good point. I hadn't considered the recruiting advantage. I know Purdue has a couple kids from KY such as Milton Wright that they would want at Louisville. I could see them trying to get David Bell (Indiana native) to go there as well.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
Disagree. I think it would play out pretty quickly. Neither Louisville or Purdue are going to be in conference championship games so their seasons end in 2 weeks. Brohm is plan A, B, and C for Louisville so they should reach out to him right off the bat which they can do because they already fired their coach.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:04 AM ^
It's strongly against both Brohm's and Louisville's interests to drag things out. If he's taking that job, his first priority will be to put together their recruiting class and time will be short. That's especially true with the the early signing date. There will soon be fewer recruits to poach from other schools.
Not just Karlaftis, but everyone committed to Purdue and Louisville must be paying attention to coaching moves. Just because they originally wanted to sign in December can't mean much now. Louisville didn't fire Petrino now to be the last school to hire a new coach. It's going to get done in time for early enrollees.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:51 AM ^
This will be done in the next 2 weeks
November 12th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
No way. Louisville is not going to wait until January. They either have Brohm or they do not. Will be over in the first two weeks of December.
November 12th, 2018 at 1:47 PM ^
Brohm needs to recruit for UL if he leaves. It makes sense to go as early as possible.
November 12th, 2018 at 6:23 PM ^
IF Brohm were to jump to Louisville, he is going to want to get moving on his Louisville recruiting class and I see things moving sooner rather than later for that reason.
November 12th, 2018 at 8:41 PM ^
Purdue is a very good university from an academic stand-point. If he is from there, you can see the attraction of being the hometown hero. And if he thinks he can get good coaching from Brohm, it makes a lot of sense. Brohm leaving changes the equation, though.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
Covered pretty well in the Brohm and Petrino threads below, but no problem. Obviously hope "it's happening".
November 12th, 2018 at 10:44 AM ^
Well then, Brohm to Louisville. Commence.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
He can't be thrilled about all the general hullabaloo around Brohm in any case. Even if Louisville somehow doesn't snatch him up now, it's hard to see him at Purdue for any real period of time that Karlaftis would even get to play for him. I assume George wants to play for him, not just commit to him and watch him leave shortly thereafter.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:02 AM ^
That's a big point that Michigan should make in the next couple weeks. Even if Brohm stays this season, what are the chances that he's gonna stay for all of Karlaftis' career. In addition, George's younger brother Yanni doesn't want to go to Purdue so Michigan makes much more sense in every way (better football program, long term coaching stability and excellent coaches, not too far from home but still some distance, play with family).
November 12th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
Hope he stays. I like the bottom teams in the B1G to get better.
November 12th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
Whether he stays or he goes Blue, I hope you leave this blog with this take.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:00 AM ^
What's wrong with this take? Higher-performing bottom teams are part of the reason the SEC has a shot to get 2 teams in the playoffs every year.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
The bottom SEC teams are not higher-performing, they are simply higher-ranked. It's a big difference.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:32 AM ^
False. Per S&P+, Illinois and Rutgers both have triple-digit rankings in FBS. The SEC's lowest rated team is Vanderbilt, at #83.
To put more perspective on the difference in quality between mid-to-lower tier teams, Big10 West Champion Northwestern is ranked above only 2 SEC teams in S&P, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
November 12th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^
We don't want Purdue to get better at our expense.
November 12th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^
I am the idiot that thought he was referring to Karlaftis staying with Purdue hence my comment about him staying or going blue. Completely agree with his take on Brohm although I don't think Purdue will ever be a consistently good bottom dwelling team.
November 13th, 2018 at 10:00 AM ^
Got it. That makes much more sense. +1 for admitting a mistake on the internet.