Friday Recruiting Makes Up the Breakdown
A quick update on things as I run out the door. Will tag later.
Last Week’s Visitors
We’ll have to do this weekly. Here are last weekend’s people.
QB: We’ll cover Justyn Martin below.
TE: KS 3* ATH Jaren Kanak ⬇ was told he’d get a legit chance to play two ways($), just like Ron Kramer, and Michigan in his ear again($, info in title) on Monday. Unfortunately Kanak got a Clemson offer at a Clemson camp during the week, and crystal balls are going in for the Tigers($, info in title) as we speak, hence the red arrow. He visits Bama, who’s also looking at him as a hybrid OLB, next weekend.
DT: Sorry to get everyone’s hopes up on 2021 CA 4* NT Jay Toia ⬇⬇⬇. Sam Webb told us during the taping of WTKA yesterday that Toia had UCLA ahead all along but the family was convinced USC was going to block that, and since he was about to share that on air I figure it’s not a secret. Michigan truthfully informed them that wasn’t the case, and they went “Oh,” and he went to UCLA. At least USC still hates us for it. We also checked a lot of boxes($, info in title) for FL 3* build-a-bear Hayden Schwartz ⬆, who added a trip to Nebraska($, info in title) next weekend and still has a trip planned to Northwestern. I’m kind of grateful to those for giving me time to procrastinate on a Hello post, if you’re wondering how we’re feeling about this recruitment now.
Edge/OLB: FL 3* Micah Pollard ⬆ spoke to Steve Wiltfong($) after his visit, sharing “The way the defense is set up is the exact way I want to play in college.” I take that to mean “in a winged helmet” but we first have to survive the biggest recruiting weekend in UCF history.
LB: So outta nowhere (okay, Hawaii) we had 2023 HI 4* Tausili Akana, who’s the #1 LB to 247 next year and not ranked anywhere else yet. It’s 2023 but sounds good.
[After THE JUMP: These bandages cover more than scrapes]
This Week’s Visitors
QB: CA 3* QB Nate Johnson but more on him later..
TE: WA 3* Jack Velling is an interesting addition to the board. The Seattle prep schooler sounds like a rising Plan B($) if they don’t sense they’re still in it for Oscar Delp when he visits a week later.
Edge/OLB: 4* NC Beau Atkinson.
ILB: VA 3* ATH Tyler Banks and TX 3* Jeremy Patton are both top targets now($).
CB: Michigan can seal the deal with 3* TN Myles Pollard, and enlist the assistance of 4* TN commit Kody Jones, whose father EJ Holland was talking to after the Memphis satellite camp. Holland also reports MI 5* commit Will Johnson will swing by, unofficially, after flying home from a USC visit that was pushed up a week($). I’m not arrowing that. Also on hand will be late-riser CA 3* Jahlil Florence—Holland has some insight on how that went down($).
Hot Hot Quarterback Heat
EJ Holland got to see CA 3* Nate Johnson ⬆ (see for yourself) at the Elite 11, a setting where Denard 2.0 didn’t get to use his legs($):
Overall, there is still some work to do, but I really like the upside Johnson brings. You can't teach that kind of speed, and he's only going to get better as a passer. He's the perfect type of guy to bring in after JJ McCarthy and potentially ahead of Dante Moore if the Wolverines can close there.
Sam Webb had West Coast analyst Greg Biggins on to discuss the state of Michigan’s two big California quarterback targets on their recent podcast. Sounds like our cut-ups guy is still doing the side-by-side thing:
He loves the offense. He loves the scheme. Obviously, his family loves the academic side. And I mentioned this in the article, but he kind of said something that is interesting: the coaches are kind of sending him cut ups of Lamar Jackson and him, kind of side by side.
I would love to see those someday. Biggins also said Johnson canceled a throwing session for UCLA, who would have seen a big jump in Johnson’s mechanics. Meanwhile Michigan was watching CA 4* Cal commit Justyn Martin ⬆, who was up for his official:
And he said after his little workout, Monday, with the Wolverine staff, the coaches pulled him aside and said, 'dude, we like you even more now than when we first offered you.'
The 4* Cal commit said he found the one Michigan football guy not looking dreary:
“Coach Harbaugh is one of the happiest people that I’ve ever met,” Martin said. “He’s genuine. He loves football. When I was throwing, he was the one out there running the routes (laughs). He was really excited to be out there. It was a great time talking to him.
We’ll see which guy the Wolverines prioritize, because it’s assumed they’ll only get one. Michigan’s also looking at NY 3* Henry Belin IV from the Bronx, who’ll be unofficially in Ann Arbor this weekend($).
Ending the first half of 2021’s most dramatic non-drama, Dante Moore met with Matt Weiss, whom Moore called a “genius.”
Find a Linebacker Please
There was a goof-up with IL 4* Sebastian Cheeks ⬇ last weekend when Michigan’s coaches went out to see him at a Chicago camp($) and Cheeks didn’t properly register online in time, which meant coaches weren’t allowed to talk to him. Isn’t the NCAA great? Cheeks went from the camp to his Texas official visit—looks like that’s the team to beat afterwards.
Things froze for MI 4* LB Michael Williams ⬇ after his injury (a good example of how sites are loathe to reduce four-stars long after they’ve fallen down the boards of the schools), but Michigan’s still looking at him, Rivals reported after Williams was on hand for Detroit Day:
“They basically told me that they are waiting until the first or second game of the season to see where I’m at,” Williams said. “They just want to see if I can still do what I do. I know I can, but they just want to see it for themselves. I understand that.”
Sounds like Michigan has him if they do re-offer.
Shut Down, It’s Just Such a Shame, I’m Losing at This Game, No Fair, Why Don’t You Seem to Care?
5* TN DT Walter Nolen tweeted that he’s “shutting down my recruitment and making a decision” immediately after his official visit to Florida, which was supposed to be the darkhorse. “Oh no” we all said. Nolen’s dad cleared up($) to Sam that that this means Nolen’s sick of recruiting, will still take his scheduled visits, but isn’t taking any more calls. That means it’s down to UF, LSU, Michigan, and probably Ohio State and Alabama. Michigan’s going to have to beat “AA++” which was the score I got in British History 304 in 2001 when I aced everything, did all the extra credit work, and then got a question correct on the final exam that the professor had wrong. So it can be done.
Etc.
Clayton Safie of Rivals had some scouting on NT transfer Jordan Whittley. Add skinny camp offer($, info in title) FL 3* Elijah Mc-Cantos to the board after Michigan saw him at FIU. Deuce Spurlock($).
Happy Trails
IL 5* slot Kaleb Brown committed to Ohio State.
All in all, not great news, Bob.
• Seth, you got an AA++?! Color me impressed.
• Tausili Akana reminds me that I love getting in players with names other than Tom, Dick, or Harry, or Brian, Seth, or Craig, or George, George, John, or James.
The thing the professor got wrong was really stupid too: Who was the first Bretwalda from Wessex? He was looking for Eghbert (grandfather of Alfred the Great) but forgot about Caewlin in the latter half of the 6th century.
Don't be so harsh. I make the same mistake weekly.
That Caewlin. Always screwin' things up. You'd think he was from Essex.
Sheesh, how the heck did that guy get tenure.... moran!
AA++ isn’t as good as the score I got on my Christmas present essay.
Wait, I dreamt that up.
Careful, you'll shoot your eye out dragonchild ?
Is it just me or does this kinda seem like a down recruiting cycle for UM? There is an awful lot of 3-stars in there and not many 4 or 5-stars that seem interested. Where's the recruiting bump we were supposed to get from Hart/Bellomy/Clink? Do we need some signatures wins first?...cause uhh...if that's not happening and there is no recruiting bump this could be the end of the line for Mr. JH.
It's hard to recruit when the whole world watched your AD cut your pay and made it easier to fire you.
It's hard to recruit when the whole world watched your AD cut your pay and made it easier to fire you.
I don't disagree, but I got the feeling the board was all excited about the new staff's recruiting ability and thinks JH will survive this year to see what the staff can do in the future. So far that assumed future recruiting bump is non-existent. If JH's team is already struggling on the field and on top of that will struggle in recruiting, it seems like there is no way out of this hole for JH.
I've always disagreed with the assumption that JH will automatically get another year. The facts of the matter is:
-His pay was cut in half
-His buyout was reduced to make him easier to fire
-The current staff is loaded with guys that would survive a coaching transition
-JH actively sought the Jet's job last year, that is part of why he took so long to sign the extension
There is more evidence to a final save your job or you're out type of season than "you are guaranteed two more years to right the ship".
There is more evidence to a final save your job or you're out type of season than "you are guaranteed two more years to right the ship".
All those things could still be true while Warde still believing in JH and giving him more time. Personally I see a 7-5 type year and another kick to the nuts from OSU. And, I think that means he's gone. I think he could survive a 7-5 year with some growth in the second half of the year and some signature wins. But, if he loses to OSU, Wiscy, PSU, Washington, and Indiana or MSU and only beats the bottom feeders and the OSU loss is by more than 20 points...he's gone IMO and that's exactly what I expect.
My personal opinion is that it is year 7 and the expectation is 7-5. That's not good enough. Going into Brady Hoke's fourth year I put it on the board that the expectation going in was 7-5 and in year four that wasn't enough and is enough on it's own for him to be fired because there is no excuse for that after a full class. It was well-received on this board. This board gives Harbaugh more rope than anyone because they like him want so desperately for it to work for the feel goods and nostalgia of it all. In year three Rich Rod went 7-5 and Michigan fans were ready to burn his house down if it meant he was gone.
I think most people see how this will end but don't want to believe it yet.
The common, yet mistaken, belief is that if Harbaugh can't do it, who really can (outside of guys Michigan isn't getting)?
I'll preface this by confessing to having negative expectations, born of years of disappointments.
What bothers me most is that there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel. When we hired Harbaugh, there was a hope that we would be in the hunt for at least a trip to Indy within a few years.
Every year since then, we end the season disappointed, but with the hope that, if not next year, the year after THAT, we're going to be in the hunt. There was a definite sense that there was a target date.
But year after year, we aren't in the hunt. Most years, we are out of it before we even get to OSU..
I'm now at the point where I can't realistically forecast winning the division any time in the foreseeable future.
And that makes it hard to watch, even though I've been going to games since the mid-70's when I graduated; I feel like Charlie Brown, finally wising up to Lucy pulling the ball away, and feeling like I don't want to put myself through the pain involved in caring about the program.
Maybe I should forget about wins and losses, and just enjoy the spirit of healthy competition. I could simply appreciate the fact that our student-athletes are learning valuable lessons in hard work, cooperative teamwork, diligence, and sportsmanship. I could become something like a Northwestern fan.
I'm probably going to need therapy to get to that point. But I wish I could find something along the way that would give me hope.
"The current staff is loaded with guys that would survive a coaching transition."
Any head coach worth getting will want to completely clean house and bring in his own group of guys. Those assistant coaches are getting more than 1 year to a) entice them to be here (or come here), b) to present a facade of stability to recruits and c) to protect them IF Harbaugh gets fired at the end of this year.
Yes he might keep an assistant or 2 but there's no way like half the staff stays. That never happens unless there's some transition like Urban to Day.
I can assure you that you are wrong. JH will not be fired for poor record this or next year. He will step down on his own in 2-3 years if he has a losing record.
That's what I would feel bad about if harbaugh gets fired. The brand new staff getting canned after one year.....which I believe a new coach would come in and do.
I don't think his contract is the problem. For one thing, new coaches are still new. Clink has been here for a couple weeks. And yes, they need wins. Also, rankings this year have to be taken with some grains of salt. A lot of these recruits have nothing from last year.
so we are in on a bunch of 3*s and are struggling to land them and osu has all 4 & 5*s
never going to beat them that way
Who wants to beat them? It seems more fun losing to them every year.
We didn't lose to them last year
Technically correct, however, we lost to most everyone else with a pulse!
And MSU
Splitting hairs here, but Kaleb Brown is a 4 star, not a 5 star.
There were plenty of buckeyes that didn't consider him to be a take, which is really an indication of how insane their WR room more than anything.
He's a 5-star in my heart. But i meant to write 4.5*
i have to say, the phrase "just like ron kramer" is doing some work.
i like to write sports-type things, "just like ring lardner."
It's Walter Nolen with an 'e' not an 'a', isn't it?
Too bad Toia was toyin' with Michigan. To make matters worse, UCLA used Michigan's picture for his commitment picture but swapped out Michigan's outfit for UCLAs.
Ouch. Not only did Jay Toia spurn #Michigan for UCLA, the Bruins designers used his U-M photoshoot pic for their commitment graphic. pic.twitter.com/MnOQ1FQXOs
— Brandon Brown (@BSB_Wolverine) June 9, 2021
Can someone explain what happened with the Toia situation?
I am only an outsider interpreting what Sam and Seth have said. The Toia saga began when USC's defensive line coach left USC for UCLA. Toia had a strong relationship with that coach and decided he wanted to leave USC as well. His first choice was UCLA so he could rejoin his coach. However, he and his family assumed that USC would block any transfer to UCLA, so he started looking elsewhere. As with all highly desirable recruits, Michigan was Toia's second choice and, because of the assumed problems with UCLA, his presumptive destination.
At some point, Michigan informed Toia (or Toia realized) that USC would (or could) not block his transfer to UCLA. At that point, Toia left Michigan at the altar, dooming us to always to be a bridesmaid and never a bride.
It is why we must get back into Ohio and strong. We waste so much time on west coast recruits, and more than half of them, transfer out. And note, this list I stumbled upon today
https://www.maizenbrew.com/22527210/jim-harbaugh-era-first-team-defense-michigan-wolverines-football-podcast-out0of-the-blue
Harbaugh has none of his own recruits on the DL...all were Hoke.
A top Ohio player who plays for us has the most skin in the rivalry... Hoke knew this.
UCLA was his first choice but he assumed USC would block that transfer in which case he would have chosen Michigan, but USC didn't block the transfer and he got to pick his first choice.
While this report is not very promising, I feel like it is more of a Covid hangover than it is a sign of recruiting things to come. The year+ long Covid induced recruiting dead period just ended. There has also been a wholesale change in the recruiting staff and other high profile coaching changes. I chalk this up to just getting their feet wet. Recruiting will pick up dramatically over the next few months. More kids will be out visiting and more camps will be held to analyze them. I'm not sweating it right now.
If I was to guess, Michigan actually complied with the dead period (not because we’re ethical per se but because we’re practically the only P5 school the NCAA would bother to crack down on) while Clemson, OSU and Alabama probably kept right on recruiting with impunity.
I mean, if you knew the NCAA would sooner eat its own dick than punish you, and ethically you’re basically Omni Consumer Products, the football program, why the hell not?
IMHO, the last 6.5 years has been a dead period. Reading this is fucking depressing that our savior Jim MF Harbaugh, well hasn't been anything close to a savior and approaching year 7 our recruiting is just north of meh! Neg away, but you know it is true.
Three things in life are certain: death, taxes and this board freaking out about recruiting halfway through the cycle.
Because I'm not sure many will catch it, all the high fives and applause for the Hot Hot Heat thematics.
Merci, expect a revelry.
This is a slight digression, but it pertains to recruiting.... look at this list.. they are all mostly Hoke recruits, save Bush, Long, and Uche. Thats 8 of 11 of Harbaughs best defenders were recruited by Hoke.
https://www.maizenbrew.com/22527210/jim-harbaugh-era-first-team-defense-michigan-wolverines-football-podcast-out0of-the-blue
I'm very confused by your comment. First, you mention Long, but he is listed as "honorable mention." Why do you include Long (a Harbaugh recruit) but not Rashan Gary (a Harbaugh recruit) from the "honorable mention" list?
Second, It seems clear the authors of the list do NOT consider Long to be part of the "First Team Defense" (as honorable mention, he would be a second stringer, I guess, behind Lewis and Hill). Yet, you say "8 of 11 of Harbaugh's best defenders" and include Long.
Third, Josh Metellus is on the list and was part of the 2016 class (a Harbaugh class)
Fourth, Khaleke Hudson is on the list and was part of the 2016 class (a Harbaugh class)
Post it again, just in case.
Seth, I have to know what question you got right that the professor got wrong.
See above. The question was badly phrased where I knew he was asking for Eghbert, grandfather of Alfred the Great and the first of the unbroken chain of Wessex Bretwaldas who ultimately became the Anglo-Saxon Kings of England, but the way he asked the correct answer was Caewlin, who was the grandson of the founder of the dynasty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceawlin_of_Wessex.
Is Alfred the same as Aethelfred?
Aahhhh you pulled this from a "How to drive British History nerds nuts" tutorial didn't you. I, of course, must bite.
Alfred's name has two parts: Aelf and Raed. Aelf meant Fairies (It's actually the origin of the word "Elf" and a cognate of fairy, from fae<--Vulgar Latin fata<--Frankish effata). Raed meant counseled (in this context. It also meant prepared or educated, as in "he's well read"), and was a popular suffix in Anglo-Saxon names. So his name means Counseled by Elves or perhaps educated by the elves, in a Tolkien sense. It's a good fourth son name if your plan for the boy is to put him in the church.
Aethel or Ethel means Wise (from a German word "Aedel" which meant noble, e.g. Edelweiss, or "noble white"). It was a popular prefix for names of this dynasty, e.g. Alfred's daughter Aethelflaed (wise and beautiful). Or his father Aethelwulf (Wise Wolf) and three brothers Aethelbald (Wise and bold), Aethelberht (Wise and bright), and Aethelraed (Wisely Counseled), his grandson Aethelstan (Wise and Stone-like), the first King of England, or his great great grandson Ethelred the Unready (Wisely Counseled, the Unwisely Counseled).
Aedel and Aelf might be cognates, but that would be way way back, and most people by the 900s wouldn't have made the connection. Like how you probably don't think about how read (as in I read a book) and ready come from the same root. Aedelphus (Adolphus) was a popular Germanic name but it was a two-parter as well: Aedel (noble) and wolphuz (wolf), which is a cogate of the Latin word lupus.
Also, side note, but Aethel and Aelf would have sounded differently because of how the Southerners were starting to slur their dipthongs like the North before friccatives. So they were saying "Ah-AY-thel for one but AYlf" for the other. By the time of Ethelred the Unready the dipthong of Ah-AY was mostly just a long-A sound, which transitioned into our short 'e' during the Renaissance's great vowel shift.
So no, I don't know of any Aethelfreds. The suffix you're using--fred--could be freod, meaning free or loved or well cared for ("free" as a concept has changed with the political times) or more likely at that time it would be taken as "of Freya". So Aethel Fred would be Wise and Free, or Wise and Freya-like. Also I think it would be a girl's name.
Feel free to wind me up whenever.
Nobody read this great piece so I'm just going to have to bury some cook meta news here. We'll be able to see points again soon.
Like we all know...show promise on the field, win some games you aren't supposed to, be at least competitive against osu....recruits will notice.
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