Fight for top 2021 MI prospects
Good article on The Athletic about the battle there will be for this great Michigan 2021 class. https://theathletic.com/1520142/2020/01/09/michigan-faces-a-fight-to-keep-top-2021-prospects-at-home/
"Spindler and Dellinger are two headliners in the state of Michigan’s loaded 2021 class. The state has five players in the top 100 of the 247Sports composite rankings, making Michigan a battleground for programs like Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and LSU, along with the hometown schools."
5 top 100's in MI is a rarity, making this a cruial recruiting year in the state. I hope Harbaugh really gets some great recruiters in these next coaching hires. Could be the makings of a dominant class, or another dong punch if they end up at our closest rivals.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:17 AM ^
Anyone have any insight to Spindler's leanings? Seems like he's been a heavy favorite for Michigan for a while but no real updates that I've seen lately.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:31 AM ^
Allen Trieu posted yesterday that while is crystal ball his on UM he said OSU has made up tons of ground and is gaining fast. Do you trust UM's recruiting department to clean up this year? This is what has been said about it just this week:
Wolverine recruiting analyst EJ Holland last night: "Michigan has a subpar recruiting department"
Allen Trieu yesterday afternoon: "Wiltfong isn't pulling this out of thin air"
Kirk Herbstreit to Angelique this week: "Michigan's recruiting is not good enough"
Tough pill to swallow. Harbaugh needs to get it together. That Oregon DB coach Sam Webb mentions would be a good hire.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:38 AM ^
I think it's probably not a bad thing to get a choir of critics going about Harbaugh's recruiting. He does seem to respond when the criticism ramps up, so hopefully, he'll make recruiting a huge priority in filling the vacancies for the position coaches.
I like the idea of hiring the KY DB coach Clinkscale who has the Oak Park ties. That would be a good place to start.
January 9th, 2020 at 5:04 PM ^
Clinkscale would be at A hire. Michigan better do something fast because Clinkscale will pull at least one of these top guys and Kerry Coombs is most likely going back to OSU and could easily pull one if not more. Both are elite recruiters in the state of Michigan with ties to numerous programs.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
Mods: Please rename this account Maizen## ASAP. TIA.
January 9th, 2020 at 1:00 PM ^
I dont follow recruiting so I wont even try to speak on that, but, I do see that something isnt right in the program and its not progressing.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:32 AM ^
Sam Webb was with most of these guys at the UA Future 50 things last week. Said we still lead for Spindler but maybe not as much as we did at first. ND, OSU are pushing hard. El Hadi is friends with him and pushing him to commit.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
I agree with you. We should hire Sam Webb to coach DBs.
January 9th, 2020 at 4:39 PM ^
So you haven't seen Spindler's List?
January 9th, 2020 at 11:20 AM ^
I'm not holding out hope that Michigan picks up most of the elite talent in the state. If kids want to be coached up and compete for championships, then Michigan is not the school for you.
Let's focus our attention on continuing to dominate MA.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:25 AM ^
To act like kids that come to U of M don't improve is dense. We put kids in the NFL every year. Horrible take.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
This guy shits on the football program at every turn. He has an agenda. Ignore and move on. The football program is worse than Hoke, Harbaugh sucks, Michigan will never be great again, etc. Etc.
January 9th, 2020 at 1:14 PM ^
Hadn't used that great new Troll Cave functionality in a while. Maize N Ute gave me a chance to "try er out". Still works great.
As an fyi - my personal creative Troll Cave member label shows as "Identified Dipshit". I like this as well as anything...
January 9th, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
You made me search the extension out and actually try it. Works great. I went with..
January 9th, 2020 at 11:26 AM ^
You’ve been holding out so long you’ve become a noodle. They have meds for that! Softy.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
I hope you splurge for the good toilet paper. With how much you shit all over everything constantly your anus will thank you.
January 9th, 2020 at 3:48 PM ^
I negged this, but it's hilarious.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:27 AM ^
We’re already behind for Damon Payne. I don’t know how you let a 5 star DT walk out the door considering the massive need there but just more typical recruiting misses under Harbaugh. OSU already has the #1 class and isn’t slowing down. Wiltfong post yesterday on recruiting made me sad because I doubt this never gets turned around unless Jim demands more hired better recruiters and gets more organized.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:30 AM ^
Payne has openly said he wants out of the state. Unless Michigan opens that satellite school in Florida, its bigger than Michigan. It's a desire for the kid to leave. Why recruit him heavily?
January 9th, 2020 at 11:33 AM ^
Actually he hasn't said that. Sam Webb also said his dad is a huge Michigan fan. It's amazing these narrative get pulled out of thin air like this every cycle.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:50 AM ^
Fair enough. I've never spoken directly to the young man. I cannot say he's said that from his mouth. You are right. He's been very courteous with his words. What he has said is he's looking for his best fit. Dad being a big fan is often a non-factor so that's as relevant as anything you feel is irrelevant. There is paywall information that alludes to the desire. I'll reframe. I also believe the coaches know whether the vibe is strong or not. Based on their behaviors, they have not been all in on him. I'll trust that.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:09 PM ^
It’s amazing you have so much time on your hands to keep making accounts after each one gets banned, maizen
January 9th, 2020 at 11:48 AM ^
OSU is the presumed leader. If he is going to like Georgia I could buy that argument, if he is staying in the midwest its a failure by the coaching staff.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:32 AM ^
I think this take is funny...
You have 5 good looking girls at a party with 25 good looking guys trying to ask them out and another 100 just standing there drooling. Not all 25 guys are going to go home with a phone number, but it's not for lack of trying.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:48 AM ^
At least tell me we're good looking.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:07 PM ^
Mom always said I was handsome.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
OSU tends to get 9 out of 10 in state guys they want. Georgia tends to get 9 out of 10 in state guys they want. Under Mack Brown Texas got whoever in Texas they wanted. Elite recruiting schools keep in state talent at incredibly high rates. Michigan has done it before too. But this coaching staff isn't an elite recruiting staff and the new coach shine has worn off and been replaced by just fine results. So we are probably going to lose a bunch of these guys that we would have gotten if this was 2016 and people were still excited about the program.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:15 PM ^
Meh, half the people that grow up in Michigan want to leave just because of the god-awful, 6-month winters.
January 9th, 2020 at 2:57 PM ^
... how is Ohio keeping their talent then?
January 9th, 2020 at 4:21 PM ^
Because it's warmer there and they get half as much snow as AA?
January 9th, 2020 at 6:08 PM ^
Because they win & the school load is easier.
January 9th, 2020 at 1:06 PM ^
Does Georgia get 9 out of 10 in state guys? I don't pay that much attention but I think while Smart is doing better than Richt I still think quite a few guys from Georgia go elsewhere.
January 9th, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
I agree with your overall take but the Ohio and Georgia comparisons are a little unfair. They don’t have a Power Five in state school to compete against and they are also have better talent j. general. Michigan can’t count on having more than a couple five stars in state.
That being said they do seem to play better defense in terms of keeping the top in state guys at home
January 9th, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
Michigan got 3 of the top-6 guys in the state last year, with only Rogers being a guy they probably would have taken if there weren't the type of clear warning flags that lead to UM, MSU, and OSU taking a pass and him winding up at Kentucky. In 2019 they missed on the two Belleville kids and Logan Brown, which would point more to your argument but then ignores 2018 where they again basically got the guys they wanted.
Michigan recruits fine in state. They'll have to compete with a lot of schools for some of these guys; they'll likely lose a couple because they'll want to play elsewhere. It happens. But this idea that the bloom has come off the Harbaugh rose doesn't match the fact they picked up a pretty good class last year and are consistently in the top-2 for conference recruiting since he arrived.
January 9th, 2020 at 2:03 PM ^
hard to have a discussion with someone who will just make up numbers. Mack did NOT get 9 of 10 texas kids. I'd be shocked if UGA ever did consistently. OSU might be the only real example as they are the only real school in state so there is no local competition. Recruiting needs to improve, but lets stop with the "every other program gets whoever they want" stuff.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
Hey unrelated to this topic but I've been meaning to ask you - how was your trip to Boston?
FWIW my wife and i had a great time in the city right up to the freaking Browns/Pats game. That wasnt much fun at all.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:00 PM ^
We're set at DT with Glasgow.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:06 PM ^
I thought that Michigan wasn't actively pursuing Damon Payne due to "reasons". The same "reasons" they didn't heavily pursue Justin Rogers either.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
I think it's interesting that Donovan Edwards said it was doubtful he'd use an official visit to Michigan because it was so close to home. Hopefully that changes.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:38 AM ^
Why? Official visit is pretty irrelevant if you live close enough to visit whenever you want. Use the official to go somewhere fun.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:40 AM ^
I wouldn’t read too much into that as long as he keeps coming to campus
You only get five trips paid for so it’s not uncommon to just unofficial the local schools.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:07 PM ^
He's been a couple times already I believe and two of his best friends are now Wolverines - Cornell Wheeler and Makari Page. Sam mentioned they aren't just teammates but are very close friends. It's not like that guarantees he comes here or anything but he'll be seeing some games this fall.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:29 AM ^
I will never, for the life of me, understand the obsession people have with in-state talent. Michigan is not a hotbead for high school talent. For a million different reasons, wanting to get out away from home, having an attachment to another school, etc.
I want better talent than we've been getting and I don't care in the slightest bit where it comes from.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:35 AM ^
Because highly ranked talent is talent no matter where it comes from. Landing in state talent should be the easiest considering the proximity advantages with making visits, the built in family allegiances most have, and the need to protect your own borders. I will never for the life of me understand how people continue to donwplay the importance of this considering so many of UM's greatest players have been from this state. Be smarter people and not like this guy.
January 9th, 2020 at 2:07 PM ^
Unfortunately, those hicks in East Lansing have a pretty large in state following, and some in state kids grow up with a hate for Michigan that makes our statewide recruiting more difficult. Everyone in Ohio prefers OSU. Everyone in Pennsylvania prefers Penn State. But little brother has such an inferiority complex they have to ruin both our chances by running third party.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:38 AM ^
I agree in principle with what you're saying, but the argument is more a matter of probability than anything else. Talented kids from Michigan are lower hanging fruit than ones in say, California or Florida. Also, they're more likely to have an affinity with Michigan already. It doesn't mean we should recruit all of them JUST for that reason though. There has to be a good fit with our program.
January 9th, 2020 at 1:21 PM ^
Measured response. Thank you.
I guess the better way to phrase it is the fixation with any decently rated in state kid being a must get Terry Richardson, JKP, Irving Bey, and a whole bunch of other were 4 stars and none of them panned out.
You're not facing amazing competition in most of your games in Michigan and the MHSAA rules prevent the better teams from getting to play national powers. If the Michigan kid is a transcendent talent like DPJ, by all means.
This is going to be a long off season
January 9th, 2020 at 11:39 AM ^
While at the end of the day, you want the best players period, in state recruits have a slightly higher value if the talent level is relatively equal. Because you will have years like 2021 where the state has 5 top 100 players. It helps if you’ve been recruiting the state hard and built the relationships with the in state programs when there is top talent in the state.
This doesn’t mean you take the 500th ranked in state player over the 100th ranked out of state player, but you have to recruit your state hard and value the programs because Michigan does have to go out of state a lot, but it makes it a lot easier on yourselves to lock up the quality instate talent.
January 9th, 2020 at 11:59 AM ^
Because its easier to get higher end talent that is closer to home. The state of Michigan has been down the last couple of cycles and that is part of why Michigan has struggled to get top 100 players
January 9th, 2020 at 12:14 PM ^
Are you actually trying to be this obtuse?