Renewed pursuit of Martin could signal end for Nico
January 17th, 2017 at 12:37 PM ^
Weird that Georgia would be doing that. They seemed like one of the last bastions of hope in the SEC. Smart bringing his Alabama recruiting techniques over? No way Alabama is riding just success to an 8th straight #1 recruiting class.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:48 PM ^
was the one thing holding Richt back. He wouldn't be alone down there.
January 17th, 2017 at 2:43 PM ^
This is no secret and something UM will continue to be fighting an uphill battle regarding "perks" with going forward. If Stanford can be successful, though, UM will be even moreso.
There will always be an Ole Miss, Georgia, UF (under Meyer) upstart that cuts corners, be it bagmen, academics, lack of discipline, etc.
I am not naive enough to think UM won't play in the "gray" area, but I think since the Fab 5 fallout, and with the football program being under Lloyd's guidance and now Harbaugh, you won't see straight up rule breaking here.
We need to believe that the draw of playing for Harbaugh will outbalance the quick perks other schools are willing to dish out. Saban and Meyer will continue to be successful and win and cut the corners they have historically and that their institutions are comfortable with, so I expect those two, based on pedigree and "ethical" flexibility to continue to recruit at the top of the sport.
If Harbaugh can get top 5 classes at UM, we are fine - he is a superior coach (acumen, pedigree, game theory, talent identification, establishing a system) to anybody outside Belicheck in today's game.
The quick cheating upstarts will always exist and probably flame out in a few years. Georgia will be interesting in that Richt was very clean and relatively successful - now add in the cheat factor to get a few elite players and perhaps they make the leap to challenge Bama in the SEC. However, Kirby hasn't proven much as a coach, so a couple meh years with elite classes and the kids not interested in playing school will find the next hot thing dishing out benefits.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
I wonder if something is fishy here like with the Wilson recruitment. UGA is the new UCLA with regards to being thorns in Michigan's side. Oh wait nvm UCLA is still a thorn with respects to DTR for 2018. Blahhhhh.
Here's to UGA underperforming again like usual next year to wear off that new coach "luster."
January 17th, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
it was obviously a big surprise to the staff. Somebody-Webb I think-made a comment to the effect that there is more to the story that will come out after signing day. This may be more fuel to that fire.
January 17th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^
first named us his leader, Lorenz warned Michigan fans it would be a long process with some twists. Paraphrasing best I can. You could take that different ways.
January 17th, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^
An alternative explanation is that Collins has family up in Michigan and this was a good way to package going to see them. There was also the fact his dad is a huge Michigan fan and this was a way for him to make Dad happy. Once you get down to it, maybe he doesn't want to leave the South and he may have always felt that way. I just don't think the number of unofficials was very determinative in his case.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:27 PM ^
even if they are different kind of WR's you can't help but see the trend to Georgia and think this is the case. I assume the same thing about Ellis Brooks and Willie Gay even tho they too are very different kind of LB's.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:40 PM ^
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January 17th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
trade Nico to UGA in exchange for Solomon.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
Why? So that we can coach up all their recruits?
January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
Me too, Dave, me too. Especially since DPJ, Black, and Hawkins I feel are better than Collins right now. Add in Crawford, McDoom, Johnson and the TE's and Collins is no more than a luxury.
January 17th, 2017 at 1:32 PM ^
Collins is like 12 feet tall. Height in a receiver would be nice. Worked with Funchess and he didn't even have a QB throwing to him.
January 17th, 2017 at 2:59 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:28 PM ^
2 departed coaches.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
I did have a short "what the fuck" moment.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
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January 17th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
She hasn't committed anywhere afaik.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:29 PM ^
in the least if Martin is on UM"s roster this fall.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:31 PM ^
Urban Meyer has an in-home scheduled for Thursday, also. Kid's stock is on the rise and sounds like he was very impressive in practices at the All-American game. Maybe the renewed interest doesn't have anything to do with Nico.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:32 PM ^
It could also mean that there are more slots available than the coaching staff expected so they think they'll have room regardless.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 1:06 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:34 PM ^
Hope we didn't blow it with OM... Was a bit disappointed when we seemed to cool on him... I thought he'd be a great addition to the class.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:38 PM ^
I think the coaches are just covering them selves. They feel things trending away with Nico, I'm sure we still have a shot at him but need to have a backup plan if things don't work out. Plus if we get both, yeah thats a lot of recivers and only one ball, but there have been rumors of Nate Johnson wanting to transfer so it might be that too. Either way I like it after watching Hunter Renfrow tourch Bama, Martin reminds me of him a bit watching his film.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:39 PM ^
Given the coaching changes, the renewed interest could also reflect a preference on the part of Pep Hamilton for someone with Martin's skill set.
I agree that it's also indicative of some shakey movement on Collins, but I don't think it's an accident that Pep is doing an in home this week.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:59 PM ^
if he wants to take an extra WR.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
Lest anyone conclude otherwise from the OP, I don't think Webb is saying that interest in Martin means Nico is gone; to the contrary, he said this morning that we're still in really good shape with him.
Myself, I've never counted Collins in the class anyhow, and since we've already got DJP and Black, I'd be happy with a glue-fingered slot who catches everything thrown in his direction.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:43 PM ^
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January 17th, 2017 at 3:30 PM ^
I listen to Sam in the morning for a variety of reasons, among them his recruiting contacts and information. I never go on twitter unless somebody posts a link here. I don't care about the predictions stuff, even though he's right far more often than he's wrong.
If you prefer another source of U-M-oriented information, fine... I'm not among those negging you, either. Some people like Sam, others Lorenz... it's all good as far as I'm concerned.
January 17th, 2017 at 1:35 PM ^
Care to give us your reasoning behind this comment? Seems kinda wierd to dismiss Sam Webb in such a manner.
I did not neg you either.
January 17th, 2017 at 2:18 PM ^
I did. If you can't follow Sam after a 17/18 yr old didn't follow through with what he predicted (not guaranteed but "predicted") would do, then you probably need to stop following recruiting so closely. "Nothing in recruiting is a straight line" as Sam Webb would say. Besides, if you seriously believe Sam Webb was trolling at this point, you clearly either haven't listened to the reasons for why that prediction was there in the first place (speaking of Najee) or you just look for someone to blame for your severe disappointment.
It's like predicting the weather. Living in OKC, it's a huge deal when winter weather (snow or ice) makes its way to the city - the amount of hype was comparable to the Najee Harris recruitment to Michigan I could argue. This past weekend, all predictions were saying OKC would get a major ice storm. Schools were cancelled in prepration, many employees of businesses and also businesses themselves closed. Again, this was in preparation of what was expected to happen. And what did happen?
Well, let's just say kids weren't sliding around on ice anywhere enjoying the fun. Roads were clear. No power outages. No disaster. Nothing. Does this mean we should never listen to weather guys again (since basically all Oklahoma meteorologists predicted the same thing)? Well, I guess that's for you to decide as to whether you can handle the idea of someone predicting something wrong or not. I say no. I say let's just define that as "weather." Sure, we can gripe about it, but I'll be tuning in to Channel 4 like I would a "Buckle Up" post on this here blog the next time a winter storm is predicted because I understand that weather is not something meteorologists are in control. Just like recruiting is not something Sam Webb is in control - all he can do is report and project, which is what we love him for in the first place (most of us at least).
January 17th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^
Great analogy. Weather and recruiting are inherently chaotic systems that are impossible to predict with 100% accuracy, especially because random and unforseeable perturbations can result in significant departures from initial trends.
January 17th, 2017 at 4:51 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^
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January 17th, 2017 at 12:42 PM ^
Not unreasonable given the current safety depth chart.
January 17th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^
I was hoping Hawkins could have an impact this year!
January 17th, 2017 at 12:43 PM ^
January 17th, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^
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January 17th, 2017 at 12:57 PM ^
or he feels the quality of our WR recruits is much better?
January 17th, 2017 at 1:02 PM ^
in front of him. It is a lot of competition going forward.
January 17th, 2017 at 1:22 PM ^
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