Hackett and Harbaugh address recruiting, a "Meritocracy"
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2016/01/jim_harbaugh_we_dont_…
Looks like we didn't have to wait until NSD to hear some of the other side of the story.
Hackett:
"the stuff I've been reading, I would tell you, is not accurate."
"Michigan, Jim Harbaugh, Jim Hackett, Warde Manuel operate with total integrity and total transparency."
"The NCAA and the Big Ten are thinking about changing signing periods because part of what you have here is the observation that commitments are real and then we have people that don't show up for their scholarships,"
"I'm not speaking about any specific case here, but we may find out that we have (commits) who can't get into Michigan -- they haven't finished their boards or senior grades.....(Another factor) is they didn't perform. Recruiting has started so much earlier with sophomores and juniors. The nature of our program and competition is such that you've got to continue to earn your position on the team. If -- again not a specific case -- if there's somebody where that's declined, there's lots of conversations with them."
Harbagh:
"We're very much out there, we don't hide how we operate and with what we do,"
"It's a meritocracy. In everything we do in our program.
"It's going to continue to be that."
"They've got to continue to perform when there's early commitments. Both in the classroom, on the field and as a citizen in the community. That's how we're going about it."
"I don't hide from that at all and I won't. That's what we demand."
January 29th, 2016 at 1:18 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 4:49 PM ^
January 30th, 2016 at 10:38 AM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 5:40 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 1:24 PM ^
(And thanks for typing it out for those of us at work)
January 29th, 2016 at 1:25 PM ^
it sure sounds different when you start hearing both sides of a story. i feel this way, if you want to hate harbaugh or michigan just to hate, then just do it . but to attack anybody you dont know and go on and on about how "creepy, slimy, and dishonest" a person is when all you know is you dont like them and what you read and want to believe.
how can i "hate" urban and dantonio, when i have never had one second of interaction with them? and i have been around too long to believe most things i just hear or read about.
January 29th, 2016 at 1:52 PM ^
I can hate Urban and Dantonio. I don't even need a reason to do that. But if you need one, they wear the wrong colors.
January 29th, 2016 at 5:43 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 3:40 PM ^
I don't have to meet him in person to know that Dantonio is a flaming douche bag.
January 29th, 2016 at 5:49 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 1:30 PM ^
That is all you can ask for. Transparency and accountability. We want you, but you have to continue to get it done in these three areas to get here, then continue to get it done while you are here.
If toes get stepped on, that is tough, but also life. Hard for a 17/18-year old to learn that lesson, but that is what comes with the territory.
January 29th, 2016 at 1:32 PM ^
a very good response from a PR perspective, but it really does not hold up when put under a mircoscope. Look closer, and this says "we will offer who ever we want and then determine at some arbitrary point in time who we take, based on a criteria completely of our choosing." I guess they are being transparent that this is how they are going to operate, so I guess you can't call it shady. That settles that I guess.
January 29th, 2016 at 1:35 PM ^
that UM cannot yet officially comment on specific recruiting matters. The statement is intentionally vague because it has to be.
Whether they do officially comment on specific recruiting matters after NSD will remain to be seen.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^
Agreed. I thought Harbaugh responded perfectly given the limitations on details - pitchforks be damned.
January 29th, 2016 at 1:38 PM ^
I'm not sure what you're missing. Maybe you think I (and others) are being apologists, but when you offer a sophomore or junior you know full well they aren't D-1 ready at that point in their career. You just expect that they have a lot of talent and a lot of upside to develop into what you want. If the offeree doesn't work hard to achieve that goal, then why do they still earn the spot?
The concern people had was not with the practice of rescinding offers, but that the coaches weren't transparent about it. Seems like the coaches are much more transparent about it than the media would like us to believe.
January 29th, 2016 at 1:53 PM ^
just saying that it is no different than it was before these statements were made, the statements just framed the issues in the most acceptable manner to Michigan and its fans. I don't even object to the "tactics" or the recruiting philosophy and I don't think any of you are apologists. I just don't think that it is somehow more or less "OK" because it was framed as a "meritocracy." A commit in this "meritocracy" could do everything right, keep their grades up, read the bible, eat their vitamins and give 100% on the field and still not make the cut. I am just saying that it still is what it was 10 minutes ago, it just has a cool word attached to it now.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:11 PM ^
its "ok' because nothing was done wrong. harbaugh chose to use that phrase because it explains the reasoning behind the decisons. i dont get how this ever turned into a big story. derrick green was a very highly regarded recruit, michigan offered and he accepted. 2 years down the road it didnt work out and he chose to leave. did he waste 2 years of his life? was his liife ruined, no.
i brought that up because it is one example of hundreds you could use where things didnt work out the way everybody thought so you move on. a recruit is not promised a scholarship, he is offered one. like dozens of others were. at any time before signing both parties are free to change their minds, which recruits do on a daily bases.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:16 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 3:42 PM ^
would offer 18 to 28 (or so) of the same top 100 guys as everyone else, and would be scrambling to backfill on signing day.
It is like applying to college: universities accept many more students than the number that end up enrolling. The fine print of the acceptance letter says you have to keep up your grades, and take a rigorous course load. Students are typically accepeted to many schools, all with the same fine print. Heck, the might even make a deposit at one school, and switch to a better one if they clear a wait list or deferred decision.
The main difference is, rather than thousands of incoming Freshman class slots, there are only tens of football scholarships, and only ones in specific positions. So - football coaches have to offer enough recruits that they think they'll sign the right mix and caliber of players to complete. They cannot accept every commitment, and those they do accept have fine print.
The situation sucks, BUT it is the reality of life. That reality by the way includes almost all high school football players never playing in college. Both of these guys have offers from other D-1 schools.
January 29th, 2016 at 4:58 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 3:53 PM ^
"Why offer and accept commitment from someone less deserving of a spot?"
Maybe because recruiting is a two way street and the guys you may deem as worthy may or may not want to commit so you have to offer a wide range of portential recruits? And then you have to factor in that some will change their mind and go somewhere else or some will not live up to their end of the bargain and be dropped so, by the nature of the beast, you have to offer more kids than you have spots for. And then there are the awkward times when you have to drop people you would otherwise take because the expected attrition never materializes. It's very hard to forecast all the moving pieces to recruiting 2 years in advance. This kind of stuff is going to happen.
This same system works for general admissions to UofM. They accept more kids than end coming to the school because they know not everyone they admit will end up enrolling. And the University can pull their admission at any time and for any reason.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:56 PM ^
He's saying that the privilege of a scholarship is not just something that you earn once and then you're done. You have to continually earn that scholarship. Why would Harbaugh want to bring in a guy who works hard enough to earn a scholarship but then doesn't continue working hard enough to keep his grades afloat enough to get into the school, or doesn't work hard enough on the field and in practice to continue improving? It's not just a one time deal. If you're good enough now it doesn't mean you'll be good enough a year from now. You have to earn that. Some kids let those things drop off. Even if the staff had expectations that might have been too high for them, they challenged them to reach higher and it didn't happen. And it sounds like it has always been made clear to every recruit or player that if expectations are not met, however unfair you think they are, you will be passed by.
January 29th, 2016 at 5:02 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^
If those vitamins aren't steaks, then he should absolutely be taking all his OVs.
January 29th, 2016 at 3:50 PM ^
Based on how Harbaugh runs the rest of the program outside of just the recruiting aspect, I don't think that the recruits are clueless as to what is expected of them. Just as players know what is expected of them, on the field, in practice, in the classroom, in the community, etc. I don't think Harbaugh says "we have expectations and if you don't meet them we'll drop you, but I'm going to withhold those expectations from you until such a time as I have to decide whether we actually want to give you a scholarship or not." And while the coaches do get to choose what those expectations are, how else would you want it? For the kids to set the bar for themselves? That's not how anything in society works, let alone at a world-class university or with our football team.
January 29th, 2016 at 4:39 PM ^
So you are unwilling to take Harbaugh, Hackett and Schlissel at their word and believe that these comments were spin and they plan to act in a malevolent and capricious way towards recruits going forward. Thats some RCMB/11 Warriors shit there.
January 29th, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 5:32 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 5:40 PM ^
lets try this again. the coaches can not speak to anything said by or about a recruit untill after signing day. why is that so hard to grasp?
January 29th, 2016 at 5:55 PM ^
January 30th, 2016 at 1:51 AM ^
January 30th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 5:56 PM ^
in the media don't care about the facts or who they walk over. They just need to get that next story out in time to keep getting a paycheck. Many overlook this (fact).
January 29th, 2016 at 1:39 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 1:39 PM ^
Meritocracy is what I would hope for and expect. A good friend of mine was accepted into MIT, his admissions offer was contingent on maintaining his grades, etc. (fine print in the overall context of an admissions offer). He had some girlfriend problems senior year (and didn't attack his studies with an EUTM). He was normally an A+ kid, but ended up pulling a B or B- average in his final semester. His admissions offer was pulled right before graduation. He had to scramble and find another school to attend and luckily he got into NYU (although because of how late it was in the process, he didn't qualify for most of the need-based grants and had to take out a lot of loans).
That being said, he turned out ok and does well now in finance. But that being said, I wouldn't expect any less from an institution like MIT or Michigan, for that matter.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:00 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 2:06 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 3:28 PM ^
Wow, that girl really Turked him around, eh? :-D
January 29th, 2016 at 2:01 PM ^
a charity, this is not.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:11 PM ^
Not arbitrary.....read the part about ongoing communication.
Recruits earned an offer and will need to perform and meet certain criteria to keep that offer. They will be informed of their status with regard to keeping the offer and if that criteria is not met, the offer will be pulled.
- slack it on the field and in practice - you can lose your place
- fail to qualify academically - lose your place
- get into trouble that casts doubt on your character - you can lose your place
With regard to Swenson, by all accounts (including his own HS coaches, opposing coaches, UM coaches) he has not been working at his full potential and has been offered repeated opportunities to address that. He did not. i'm okay with pulling that offer.
Name a program that offers guaranteed scholarships to Sophomores/Juniors in HS with no conditions attached.
January 29th, 2016 at 2:21 PM ^
January 29th, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
It sounded like they were doing their damndest to help Swenson save face, and he wouldn't take the hint, as you said. Someone close to Swenson should have said, "Look...."
January 29th, 2016 at 4:38 PM ^
Someone close to Swenson should have said, "Look...."
Why shouldn't the onus be on the Michigan staff to be explicit and be the ones to say "Look..."?
January 29th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
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January 29th, 2016 at 4:35 PM ^