What is the biggest recruiting miss under Harbaugh?
August 21st, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
You should feel awful for this post.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:49 AM ^
IDK. I kind of like it. What do sports fans like more than complaining and self pity.
Winning I guess but I like the other two as well.
August 21st, 2019 at 4:09 PM ^
I kind of enjoy feeling self-superior to those who wallow in complaining and self-pity.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
Classic 5th Van Tyne resident behavior...
August 21st, 2019 at 12:35 PM ^
ha! I lived on 5th Van Tyne... more than 40 years ago
August 21st, 2019 at 11:38 AM ^
Alaric Jackson. Unlike Wilson, he even wanted to come to Michigan.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
Deverey Hamilton. Losing him to Stanford killed any depth behind Newsome. Newsome going down set our line back 2 years.
August 21st, 2019 at 8:04 PM ^
As a depth guy, you're right. According to Stanford's site, it looks like he saw action in 23 games, with 6 starts last year. Saw solid hair progression too.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:53 PM ^
1 Jackson, tie-2 Hamilton and Wilson.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:41 AM ^
AJ Dillon. Not sure he would fit our new offensive structure well, but perhaps if we had him we may not need a new offensive structure.
Maybe he doesn't count since did have an offer...albeit likely for a different position than RB.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
+1 for AJ Dillon. Would have really come in handy, if at RB, this year.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:08 PM ^
While I understand the premise of this thread and, especially AJ, we have no idea if he would have been able to do at Michigan what he has done at BC.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:24 PM ^
Interesting you say that about Dillon and the new offense. Isn’t Charbonnet the same style back?
August 21st, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I don't know why the fact that we have missed on top players gives you depression. Every single school - even Alabama, Clemson and THEOSU - miss out on top players. That's the nature of trying to compete for top talent. Unfortunately, it is also a symptom of us coming off of a very down decade with very little stability and the fact that I honestly believe that we recruit cleaner than most of the teams that dominate the recruiting rankings (didn't we hear that Gary was outright offered around $300,000 by another school)?
Also, hard to be upset about recruiting when, on average, we have been top 10 since Harbaugh arrived.
To answer your question, though, in looking at the current roster, I would have to say that our biggest recruiting miss would be a highly-rated CB or DE. We are weak in those spots. Pretty well stocked at most other positions.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
DE wouldn’t be an issue if Vilian ever lived up to his pseudo-5 star hype
August 21st, 2019 at 12:35 PM ^
Hasn't he been injured a lot?
August 21st, 2019 at 12:45 PM ^
Exactly. He's missed essentially his entire career so far due to injury. Assuming he gets a 6th year of eligibility down the road, he's only a RS freshman this year. He's had zero opportunity--through no fault of his own--to live up to any "hype" so far.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:46 AM ^
Najee Harris? I know RB wasn't really a position of need when we recruited him but he seemed like a generational-type talent.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:16 PM ^
To me, a recruiting miss is a blue chip prospect whom we narrowly lose out on to another program and who goes on to light it up at the other program. Najee Harris hasn't done much at Alabama yet. Granted, he had to wait behind Damien Harris (*sigh*) and Josh Jacobs, but this is the year when we'll find out whether he lives up to his recruiting ranking. Until then, we won't know if he was a major miss or not.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
"Najee Harris hasn't done much at Alabama yet."
Really? He ran for nearly 800 yards last year as a backup averaging 6.7 yards per carry. With two other backs in the mix, that's pretty damn good.
August 21st, 2019 at 4:46 PM ^
Najee has been very good at Bama. They just won't give him carries
August 21st, 2019 at 9:03 PM ^
He had 800 yards on nearly 7 yards per carry... in a loaded backfield.
Pretty safe to say that’s lighting it up. Especially when you consider he would have likely been at worst our backup back last year. Heading into this season as our unquestioned starter and an all-conference contender.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:28 PM ^
Is he playing like his hype? If not then not a miss at all.
August 21st, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
178 carries for 1,153 yards (6.5 YPA) and 7 TD's in two years of backup duty.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Last year at this time I would say Isaiah Wilson. As of today I would say Najee Harris. Would love to have an extremely talented back in front of Charbonnet. That is, assuming the Michigan-highly-recruited-running-back-disappointment curse wouldn’t have claimed him too.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Probably your mom.
August 21st, 2019 at 2:38 PM ^
Well, that takes "under Harbaugh" to a different level.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:49 AM ^
I would second Isaiah Wilson.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
This is an unusual one because they ended up with him in the end, but would 2016 Shea Patterson enrolling early have beaten out Wilton Speight or at least been better than O'Korn in 2017? I know he wasn't THAT close to ending up at Michigan initially, but he did like UM.
Other than that I 2015 and 2016 weren't missing just one guy, and 2017 was too far gone. Any of the OTs would have helped greatly last year.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
maybe josh jobe. they could use DT and CB depth
August 21st, 2019 at 11:56 AM ^
Dang I wonder what a DT/CB recruit looks like.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:01 PM ^
Rashan Gary?
August 21st, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Future topics:
- Appy State
- JT was short
- crabs
August 21st, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
And for the older members of the board I plan on starting the following thread for discussion:
1. 1979 Rose Bowl - Charles White and his phantom touchdown
2. 1990 Rose Bowl - The phantom holding call that wiped out the fake punt and made sure Bo didnt win his final game as HC
3. 1993 National Championship game in basketball - Weber's timeout
August 21st, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
Nothing like a little fresh blood from some old scabs.
1. I was 9 yrs old and that is my first real memory of an M Rose Bowl (a harbinger, no?)
2. Homered by PAC10 zebras in the Rose? Say it ain't so.
3. At least that wound is self-inflicted.
Why don't you throw in Eddie Brown tackling Desmond in the marshmallows/end zone?
Can't forget Spartan Bob.
August 21st, 2019 at 3:17 PM ^
Or Crable drilling Troy Smith out of bounds...
August 21st, 2019 at 1:50 PM ^
Fortunately the Supreme Court corrected that heinous call in the 1979 Rose Bowl.
August 21st, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
Don't forget Trey Burke's "foul".
August 21st, 2019 at 3:07 PM ^
When did “Appy” St. become a thing? I thought it was App St., which sounds infinitely better.
August 21st, 2019 at 3:11 PM ^
I bet some Rutger student came up with 'Appy'
August 21st, 2019 at 11:52 AM ^
Rashad Weaver, Eno Benjamin, Alaric Jackson, and AJ Dillon.
All 4 are NFL bound. All 4 wanted to come here.
If not for Shea, I would add KJ Costello.
If you follow umbig11 and believe him, there was nothing the staff could have ethically done for Wilson.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:11 PM ^
What happened to Weaver? I don’t remember that guy.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
he was a satellite camp find by the michigan staff. he committed but was then processed.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:37 PM ^
He was an the leading sack guy at Pitt last year, projected 1st team All-ACC this year but tore his ACL a few weeks ago and is out for the year.
August 21st, 2019 at 12:39 PM ^
But are Benjamin, Jackson, and Dillon actually misses? UM had them, but turned them away (more or less), for whatever reason. I'd say a miss is more like Najee Harris and Zach Harrison.
Isaiah Wilson was a miss I would've liked to have hit. Not sure, yet, about Harrison... (Hopefully, the DE's we did get will cover for that loss.)
August 21st, 2019 at 1:29 PM ^
in my mind, players you turned away are even bigger misses than players that you were a top contender but not chosen
August 21st, 2019 at 12:41 PM ^
Who’d have thought Weaver would be a better college player than Rashan Gary?
Bummer that Weaver just tore his ACL...he’ll miss the 2019 season.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^
I lived in NYC and now Long Island so for me it’s Isaiah Wilson then Jeremy Ruckert.
Ruckert obviously probably not as important and now I loathe him more than any other player but he was a top 100 guy from Long Island (rare) and I remember getting really into TE recruits because of Butt. Isaac Nauta too.
August 21st, 2019 at 11:54 AM ^
Hard to compete with bagmen