Dante Moore to Oregon

I honestly didn't think he'd come to UM so not a big surprise.  He wants to start, and no amount of claims to the contrary is likely to change that.  And he's talented enough to expect to get a good opportunity for that spot, and at Oregon he's definitely the leader in the clubhouse to take over for Nix.  

I wish him luck but I also saw enough of him this year to think he might not be a great stylistic fit for UM; Oregon makes more sense and (frankly) that offense is easier to excel in.

EDIT:  I'm an idiot - I forgot about Gabriel going to Oregon.  I guess familiarity helps since all the guys who recruited him to Oregon are still there?  

After all that about absolutely needing to be the starter as a freshman and he's back at Oregon and unlikely to start, lol. Guess he gets to double dip NIL this way, might be the smart move with unlimited free transfers now. 

Trust the M way. They will get their kids. They will develop them. I’ll take Jaydin Davis who wants to be here and put up huge numbers. All is well. Trust!

JJ should come back anyways. Im now seeing Williams, Maye, Daniels, Penix and Nix potentially all drafted before him. If he returns and improves then he would go 1st round in next years draft.

Keeping JJ had nothing to do with this...he is going to sit behind Gabriel for a year next year.

Get JJ back for another year and attack the portal next year.

That said, I'd kick the tires on Maalik Murphy. I think there's some talent there that can be developed.

Is anyone actually surprised?  I'm not.  He decided he wanted the UCLA money the first time around  and he is probably now getting Nike money.

Also, JJ isn't coming back.  Stop pretending he will.

I think JJ is sticking around for one more year.  Wishful thinking?  Maybe.  But he strikes me as a guy that truly values his time at Michigan.

Enjoy your beatings. 

And don’t come crying to transfer to Michigan next year after you get what’s coming to you. 

Football player re-commits to the school he originally committed to. Film at 11.

Wow, sure feels like every year Michigan always ends up the bridesmaid on damn near every top recruit it’s in a real hunt for. 

I know that happens a lot with top programs. They don’t get all the commitments they want, but they lure in plenty to make that one loss fairly negligible. With Michigan, it feels like every true blue-chip talent is enamored with the culture, the academics, and program as a whole, the family loves them, and then wouldn’t you know it, Michigan gets stood up at the altar. 

Harbaugh has Michigan in a place right now where that doesn’t matter quite as much as it used to, but it doesn’t make it any less crummy to lose these guys. 

Better hope JJ stays next year. You’re not going to find many top flight guys, if any, waiting around until the end of January for JJ to make his decision. 

The prospect of having to hand the keys over to Jadyn Davis, a very talented but still very true freshman player next year, with the kind of schedule Michigan has, is terrifying. 

I think what we as a fanbase need to be thankful of is the fact that our program is really one of the few programs where as a unit the goal seems to be universally: winning and the TEAM.

I'm not saying that there is any player who goes out on Saturdays where their focus isn't on winning.  However, that is the easy part. Michigan's culture the past 3 years has been different than almost any team in America. The level of selflessness that has been displayed by these past 3 teams is unique in college football. For example, you don't really see someone like Corum or Zinter who were projected to be amongst the top 3 players drafted at their past position, come back to try and achieve something that supersedes individual success. It started back in 2021 when Aidan Hutchinson forgo a 1st round potential draft position to come back and help rebuild this program and lead it to its highest heights. In the world of the transfer portal and NIL, Michigan right now is different.

Could you imagine Caleb Williams if this year USC was in the playoffs and suffered a loss similar to what we did last year vs TCU coming back for USC? Absolutely not. Just look at his body language during that Utah game. He looked as if he wanted to be anywhere else but with USC. 

It's stuff like that as to why we may have only the 10-15 highest composite roster ranking, but we have been the 2nd best program in America the past 3 years. Now, I'm not going to be naive and say this is sustainable for the long term. JJ for example, despite being a 5* has OUTPLAYED his 5* ranking (when comparing him to other 5* QBs). RBs like Corum do not come around every cycle or even every decade. There will need to be some sort of a way that we can attract some higher level recruits and portal players. However, I don't see that happening at the expense of what we have built these past 3 years. I know it was preached half a century ago about "The Team, The Team, The Team", but Coach Harbaugh has engraved that into this program better than any coach in recent Michigan memory; and better than any team in America. The bottom line of this program is winning; and as crazy as it may seem, that isn't the bottom line for a lot of teams and players in College Football right now.

Man, we really need JJ to stay for next year (which I doubt happens).

Objectively though, I mean, is it a surprise? Oregon runs an offense that features QB play, we'd rather run it 70% of the time if we can. Our head coach may or may not be suspended for a good chunk of next year if he's even here at all. Looking at things through that lens and without our inherent bias to love UM, the kid probably made the expected decision.

Reading this thread made my head hurt...

I don’t want to sound overdramatic but how concerned about recruiting should we be? Seems we haven’t pulled any five star players last cycle or so. 

Wow. How surprising - not.