Our Incoming WR Corps

Submitted by skegemogpoint on

if we land Oliver Martin and Nico Collins to go along with DPJ and Tarik Black, would this be the best incoming WR corps in UM history?  Methinks so.  Oh, and btw, Sam Webb just mentioned he has a "gut feel" that Martin will be joining the class.  

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Mr Miggle

January 30th, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^

Have you not watched how Harbaugh operates? He brings in good players and lets them earn their way onto the field. I'd be a little surprised if Black, Martin or Collins redshirted, shocked if two of them did.

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Wolfman

January 30th, 2017 at 11:46 AM ^

Harbaugh has proven damn good at evaluating talent, obviously, and as Mr. Miggle correctly points out those that are highly rated have a far better chance of seeing the field their first year than spending the entire season learning what they can during practices.

Of course, the exception is with the QB position and that, too will change when he feels we have two capable starters with more than a year of eligibility left. In some cases, where we manage to have the predicted starters for multiple years on the roster, then he may want to RS a certain position group due to that. However, the receivers on roster,except for the two freshman last season haven't demonstrated separation from the pack, and in the case of Harris who I suspect may me just too fragile for sustained play at this level, I am hoping he proves me wrong and begins using that superior speed we saw in high school to fly past defenders in the same manner. 

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Goggles Paisano

January 30th, 2017 at 9:42 AM ^

While issuing the "gut feeling" for Martin this morning, Sam also said Michigan still leads for Nico and Solomon.  He said he won't issue the gut feeling for Nico but he feels good where we stand.  He also feels good about Solomon and said he wouldn't issue a gut feeling for him because of his volatility - he compared it to Weber going from Michigan when he went to bed to switching to osu when he woke up.  

On Willie Gay, Sam thinks Miss St will be the choice but also to keep an eye on it.  If he wants to get away from Mississippi and also please his mom, Michigan could be a compromise choice for him.  

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Seth

January 30th, 2017 at 8:48 AM ^

At 4.87 stars, I have DPJ third among M receiver recruits since 1995. Terrell and Walker from my own class of 1998 were higher, but then there were fewer rating services out there. Both were Parade All-Americans and were Lemming's #1 and #2 receivers. The 4th, 5th, and 6th were DiAllo Johnson (and ATH), Mario Manningham, and Tai Streets. Guys rated that highly are as close to can't-miss as you can get in recruiting.

Tarik Black (4.34, 13th overall), Oliver Martin (4.24, 16th overall) and Nico Collins (4.23, 18th overall) are all in a close group that includes Adrian Arrington, Kekoa Crawford, Ahmir Mitchell, Toney Clemons, Aaron Wright, and Junior Hemingway. Guys in this range are about 50-50 to work out, so expect one or two of those guys to wind up being NFL players.

Brad Hawkins (3.93, 28th overall) is a little further down the list, in range of guys who get a 4th star but maybe just miss the top 300 or whatever. Greg Mathews, Ronald Bellamy, Terrance Robinson, Devin Funchess, Dennis Norfleet, Tyrece Butler, Jeremy Gallon, Carl Tabb, LaTerryal Savoy, Jerry Dioron-Johnson, and Steve Breaston were in this range.

I can't find another year when Michigan recruited 5 receivers. This is the closest:

1996:

4.20 Aaron Wright, 1996-'97, 0 starts, Transfer: playing time
3.85 Jerry Dioron-Johnson, 1996-'97, 0 starts, Degree/Medical
3.75 Marcus Knight, 1996-'99, 23 starts, Played out eligibility
(transfer) Russell Shaw, 1996-'97, 21 starts, Played out eligibility

2008:

4.52 Darryl Stonum, 2008-'11, 25 starts, Behavioral: dismissed
4.01 Terrence Robinson, 2008-'11,1 start, Degree and a Handshake
3.70 Martavious Odoms, 2008-'11, 28 starts, Played out eligibility
3.59 Roy Roundtree, 2008-'12, 42 starts, Played out eligibility

2012:

4.05 Amara Darboh, 2012-'16, 28 starts, Played out eligibility
4.01 Devin Funchess, 2012-'14, 25 starts, Early NFL
3.97 Dennis Norfleet, 2012-'14, 4 starts, Transfer: Coach
3.51 Jehu Chesson, 2012-'16, 25 starts, Played out eligibility

With 96 starts the 2008 class has the biggest contribution, followed by the 2012 class. You may be sensing a theme: a new coach comes in and wants different attributes in his receivers, so as soon as possible he'll grab a lot of them. FWIW the 3rd place team in starts was 2002, with Steve Breaston, Carl Tabb, and Jason Avant. If you imagine adding an Adrian Arrington and a David Terrell to that class, that's the kind of upside we're talking about here.

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Eastside Maize

January 30th, 2017 at 9:10 AM ^

This and the previous WR haul, are setting the foundation for us having an All American candidate every year. When Desmond left, D. Alexander took the reins. When Derrick left, Toomer took over. We are on our way back to that.

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Wolfman

January 30th, 2017 at 9:24 AM ^

to be considered the early favorite for the "go to" wr for next season.

Darboh and Chesson, although being targeted by a far less experienced qb,,seemed to have left room open last season for one of the frosh to separate themselves. Although much of the excitement caused by McDoom was based on jet sweeps and a few reverses, I think he stood out as the "most likely" future game changer based on last season's results. Crawford only caught 4 passes in the 6 games he saw time in so I really don't know what your feeling is based on. 

Realize with each new season comes unexpected performances so I would not be terribly surprised if, indeed, he moved forward, but that is based on expectations coming out of h.s. rather than anything i saw last season. I think its just as likely the log jam at TE could see any of the top three see more pt in a non-conventional manner and my guess would be Asiasi due to his entire skill set, which I believe makes him the most likely to have a true breakout season not unlike Shockey or Winslow Jr. while at Miami. If there is any team where a TE could emerge to make a great wr corp even more dangerous, it would have to be Michigan, based on nothing more than numbers and talent. In any event, should be quite interesting. 

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Bb011

January 30th, 2017 at 10:08 AM ^

While it is a damn good class, not the best in wr history. We had a wr class in the late 90s that included the top 2 receivers in the country.

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MadMatt

January 30th, 2017 at 10:20 AM ^

I would say that the two recruiting classes that had Anthony Carter and Desmond Howard are still the all time leaders.  Just looking at it from the perspective of performance on the field, which yeah, is hindsight but also the measure that really matters.

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Ron Utah

January 30th, 2017 at 10:32 AM ^

Yes, this is the best WR class ever, if we get Collins and Martin. I say that confidently because of the size and quality. 5 guys, 4 of which are top 150 recruits including a 5 star. Yes, the 98 class had two amazing prospects, but this class would be rated higher because of quantity while still being high quality.



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Michifornia

January 30th, 2017 at 10:46 AM ^

Until maybe 2-3 years from now.  We all know stars are necessarily an indicator.  I'm pretty high on these receivers, especially DPJ and Black but we all know if 2 of these receivers pan out, that's pretty good.  I'm hoping the guys who have been around for 1-2 years already will break out this year.  Let's wrap up this stud class and look to Spring ball!

GO BLUE!!

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