WTKA Roundtable 1/28/2021: Three Hundred Years Ago I Was Hedging Comment Count

Seth January 28th, 2021 at 1:20 PM

Football Program’s Direction

  • Going with a recruiting staff: the right move for Michigan?
  • A John Beilein reboot?
  • Understand getting players but OL isn’t as pure star ratings as the rest, and Warinner was elite in his evaluations and preparing the guys to play.
  • Who makes moves for the future if you don’t plan to be around?
  • Fill in behind them with analysts. Greg Mattison?
  • This is a be good by 2022 plan; they’ll need some transfers for 2021.
  • Culture = Winning.
  • Feels like Harbaugh’s taking a home run cut.
  • Recruiting Ohio or New England: where do you put your resources?

Purdue Game/Hockey vs ND/Nazilla

  • Franz had a good game, thinks he didn’t,
  • Michigan hockey can’t get a call, did get the first goal both games.
  • Naz needs help, can’t afford not to have production from the Browns.

[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]

You can catch the entire episode on Michigan Insider's podcast stream.

Segment two is available here. And you can watch the recording here:

THE USUAL LINKS

The side of a hill swung open. It was Woolworth's! I followed this vision to Boston.

Comments

blue95

January 28th, 2021 at 2:02 PM ^

Y'all need to check your levels.  One of either Brian or Seth always has 50% less volume than the other members of the roundtable.  Today it's Seth, but it's more often Brian.

mwolverine1

January 28th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^

The issue in New England is one of scouting, not salesmanship. Hire an analyst that does nothing but watch film on NE prospects and you'll know the ones worth pursuing. From there it shouldnt matter which assistant coach is assigned the area.

I agree we are missing out by not having any presence in PA. Especially this last cycle when PSU performed poorly in-state. But like Ohio, the long-term trend for PA isn't strong. The advantage PA and IN have over OH is that there isn't an in-state school with a monopoly.

However, the bigger problem is the population shift from the Midwest to the South. Michigan has to improve its relationships in the South if it wants to stay an elite school in the future. I would target the DMV area as well as GA, TX, and FL. GA in particular is interesting as there is only one school in-state that recruits at a high level. 

The main issue Michigan has had in recruiting is that we have almost no sales skills when we are competing with another heavyweight, especially for out of state prospects. We've seen it from Partridge and Sherrone Moore, but in general, we're at our best when we can identify a guy early and hold off competitors. It's rare that we go out of state, pick a fight with a Georgia or Clemson, and come out of it with a commitment. I hope this new staff can start going head to head and win some of these recruitments. Sam mentioned that some of our old staff didn't have the stamina for these types of recruitments, so that may be step 1. 

bronxblue

January 28th, 2021 at 3:34 PM ^

Sometimes I think money is an issue, but sometimes it's something as easy as proximity and familiarity.  If you're a kid from GA or FL, you're more familiar with the local schools and the guys running them.  Same as you would in the Midwest; the vast majority of kids from the Big 10 footprint stick around the Big 10 area, whether it be at a conference team or someone like Notre Dame.  The problem is that there's a lot more talent down South in certain states and UM will be fighting that battle for a long time.

Don

January 28th, 2021 at 4:57 PM ^

Since 1990, 24 of the 30 national champions have been teams from the Sun Belt—either the South or CA. And the non-Sun Belt teams that have won it like Nebraska and Oklahoma had plenty of players from Texas and other Southern states.

It's no accident—most of the nation's population growth since WWII has occurred in the Sun Belt. The post-war boom in California's population was a major factor in the PAC gaining parity and then dominance in the Rose Bowl against Big Ten teams.

JFW

January 29th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^

I accept that to an extent. But I'm really hoping that with NIL, we could combine a '40 year plan' approach to Michigan football along with 'Ross Boys will help brand you to make money now, legally, and build yourself up for the future' can mitigate or even eliminate that. 

"Come to Michigan. We'll help you start your brand now. We'll get you known around the nation with our super large fanbase.If you go pro, you already have a brand and a base built up. If not,  whatever happens in football, our alumni network will give you a food in the door at many, many places...'

UofM Die Hard …

January 28th, 2021 at 5:37 PM ^

Brian losing some LBs...well done sir!


Im with Sam, I think our recruiting is about to go nuts and we will see some quick big wins....but will it payoff in time, oof Im just not sure. 

Get lucky!!