Friday Recruitin' Doesn't Know What That Word Means
Happy Trails, 2015
Roquan Smith signed his financial aid agreement—but not an LOI!—with Georgia today, ending his recruitment after that whole ordeal with UCLA and their now-departed defensive coordinator, who reportedly still tried to recruit Smith in an unofficial capacity after doing this:
Last Wednesday, Smith committed to UCLA over UGA in front of ESPN cameras. But he decided against turning in his NLI after reports surfaced later that day that Bruins defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich had accepted a job with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
Smith said Ulbrich had told him on the eve of signing day that he had “declined” the job offer from the Falcons, per UGASports. On Thursday, Ulbrich (now with the Falcons) declined comment to the AJC about Smith’s claim.
While Smith didn't end up at Michigan, it's great to see him spurn both UCLA and the LOI process. With Mike Weber sticking out his commitment to Ohio State, we can now close the books on the 2015 class.
Race For QB Spot?
Michigan offered two 2016 quarterback prospects this week, four-stars Brandon Peters and Dwayne Haskins. While Haskins looks like he'll be a difficult pull—a day after the offer, he named a handful of schools sticking out to him that didn't include Michigan($)—Peters looks like a serious candidate to commit. He told The Wolverine's Brandon Brown that the offer vaulted Michigan to the top of his list ($):
"I'm totally pumped," Peters said. "It would be an awesome experience to play under a coach like Jim Harbaugh. It's awesome. I definitely would put Michigan at the top now, to be honest with you."
Per 247's Steve Wiltfong, Peters quickly locked in an unofficial visit for April 4th, Michigan's Spring Game.
With Michigan likely only taking one quarterback this cycle, the Peters news has left many asking where that would leave KJ Costello, the top QB target on the board for Michigan. In what may not be coincidence, Costello is looking to get on campus very soon, per Steve Lorenz:
"I am looking to visit in the next two weeks or so," Costello said. "It'd be my dad and I. I have been talking to the coaching staff all the time."
It looks like, one way or the other, Michigan should have a lot more clarity about their quarterback situation for 2016 in the near future.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
More New Offers
Michigan's handed out enough offers of late that it's time for the ol' bullet point list:
- Top-100 FL WR Eli Stove, who'll be a tough pull from SEC country, added a Michigan offer last week, per Steve Lorenz.
- Four-star FL OLB Devin Bush Jr., a Florida State legacy with an offer from the Noles, got an offer from DJ Durkin, per Scout's Corey Bender.
- Four-star FL DB Craig Watts, who'd been offered by DJ Durkin at Florida, added a Michigan offer from Durkin last week, per GBW's Josh Newkirk ($). Watts doesn't have a top list but said Michigan is "pretty high" right now; he plans to visit in the summer.
- Four-star TX S Jaylon Jones hopes to visit in the summer, per The Wolverine's Tim Sullivan. He's pulled in several major offers of late.
- Three-star GA TE/DE Landon Rice, a longtime Auburn commit, was offered as an athlete, per Lorenz ($).
- Three-star TX OT Austin Myers and three-star PA TE Cary Angeline also added recent offers, according to The Wolverine.
The Wolverines also offered elite 2017 WR/S prospect Devon Hunter, who projects to be a five-star down the road.
This Seems Like A Good Idea
Well, sure, let's go ahead and do this ($):
Five-star junior wide receiver Tyler Vaughns hasn’t heard from Michigan. In fact, he doesn’t even have an offer from the Wolverines.
But he wants one.
Why? Well, because of a certain coaching hire at U-M.
“Because of Coach [Jim] Harbaugh, he’s a great coach,” said Vaughns, who stars for La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat. “He’s coached at both levels. I just really want that. It’s nice to have a coach who’s coached on both levels. So he knows how to coach you to the NFL. I most likely want to go past college hopefully.”
Vaughns, the #3 WR on the 247 Composite, added that he'd like to take an official visit to Ann Arbor if he adds the offer. While he already holds offers from USC and UCLA, among others, he says he has no leaders and that distance "has never been a factor."
More 2016 Updates
Michigan is in very good shape with one of their NSD offers, three-star FL OLB Jonathan Jones, per Sullivan ($):
"They're the leader right now," he said. "I feel really good about Michigan. Not only did they just get Jim Harbaugh, but academic-wise, they're ranked No. 11 in School of Business, and that's what I want to go to school for. I've been doing my research on them, and I've also got a lot of family in Detroit on my mom's side. They're looking real prominent for me.
"Either this summer or most definitely during the season, I'll be down there checking out their school. I'll be taking m recruitment most definitely into my senior year. That's what I'm praying for."
Jones has Michigan on top despite more recent offers from Miami and South Carolina.
Top-50 WI OL Ben Bredeson talked about his top four—Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Wisconsin—to 247's Evan Flood ($):
Michigan: "With your brother going there, it's hard to rule them out of anything. I stuck with it through the coaching change and stayed interested. With Coach Harbaugh (Jim Harbaugh) coming in, that's huge. I love that place. I've been up there multiple times. It's a great school, great campus. It's a blast when that stadium gets loud."
Bredeson also broke out the L-word for Wisconsin, the school he's seen more than any other. Tis the season, I guess.
Four-star LA S Cameron Lewis told Josh Newkirk that he plans to visit Michigan after adding an offer from them last week ($). While he claimed no leaders, he was quick to point out his longtime affection for LSU, which may be tough to overcome.
Four-star NJ S Jordan Fuller is also looking to visit after pulling in a recent offer, per Lorenz ($):
"Michigan is definitely a program I will visit," he said. "It will be late spring, possibly early summer, but they are one school I am looking to head out to now that they've offered. I like the fact that they're a prestigious school education-wise that has a coaching staff with a ton of NFL experience. That's a good combination for me because I want to go to a school where I can get a good degree and also work my way in a position to play in the pros someday, God willing."
Fuller knows Chris Partridge from the New Jersey high school football scene, which can't hurt.
February 13th, 2015 at 10:19 PM ^
Commits are a two-way street. Michigan is a school that doesn't dick around with its scholarships so if a kid refuses to sign the LoI then Michigan can't make them, but then it's in Michigan's interest to act like the kid isn't in the fold. So the downside is that Michigan is entitled to keep recruiting your spot until you sign, and if they find someone else who DOES sign, happy trails bro.
These things really shouldn't be nearly as controversial as MGoBlog makes it out to be, because presumably a kid going to a school is of mutual interest. Schools like UCLA are blasting diarrhea all over the process with shenanigans like this because they're using the LoI as leverage before drawing the knives. At Michigan, my expectation is that the LoI will be honored with a scholarship, and in turn the LoI helps the HC manage the program.
Now IF a school like UCLA or OSU is playing games, then it's well within the student's right to refuse to sign an LoI, but what weirds me out is that at that point is that isn't the bridge burned anyway? Weber's probably a better man than I because at this point I wouldn't believe a word out of Meyer's mouth. Roquan has a legitimate motive to not sign an LoI anymore, but I just don't see this practice taking off. Instead, I think kids will still sign LoIs, but more will probably hold out until 1-2 days after NSD to see if any surprises come out. It'll be a game of chicken and the coaches will be at a disadvantage because presumably they've signed their job offers weeks in advance.
February 14th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
This is a part of the LOI debate that is underreported. For most recruits, it does offer a benefit. It reserves their position at the school of their choice and stops the recruiting process for that position.
There are a few slimy SEC exceptions that pull the rug out from committed kids, but for the vast majority of recruits that are competing for open slots, it locks in their choice and ends an exhausting journey.
February 15th, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^
Thanks for the replies.
So the LOI is of mutual benefit for most so long as everyone is being honest and truthful (?). But once one side starts to renege or dramatically change up the agreement then it ends up in a mess. I'm not a mathematician but isn't this sort of like a game theory problem - a game where two sides beneift IF they cooperate but once one side reneges or double crosses the other side then it collapses everything.
These points (4 year commitment and no deliberate over signing) should be great recruiting points in the years to come. (I hope!)
February 15th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
February 14th, 2015 at 2:18 AM ^
So, if JH has a knock out season, lets say 10 or 11 wins he may have to turn down good recruits by the end of the year, since JH may have all 2016 spots filled!
February 14th, 2015 at 12:07 PM ^
I'll take that trade-off versus him having a poor season and a bunch of guys committed in July decide to walk away. We don't want to go through that again.
February 15th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
February 14th, 2015 at 9:54 AM ^
February 14th, 2015 at 12:13 PM ^
Excellent case study: Tom Brady versus Alabama in the 1999 season Orange Bowl.
Alabama, the SEC champion, was more athletic, they had some monsters on that team. Their O and D lines were NFL quality. But their QB play was average (as it always is for some reason), and their Achilles heel was their DB's.
They had no answer for Brady and Terrell. We were down 14 points twice in the game, but we came right back. They could not stop us.
February 14th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ^
February 14th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
Thought you said 'Dude's I really like dude's." Then followed that with " I really like peters." Which is fine if you do, but then I saw where you were going.
February 14th, 2015 at 12:16 PM ^
NTTAWWT.
Besides, what else would you expect from the lovely Ms. Mason?
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