Well that would really suck. Not as bad as losing Will Johnson would have but still.
Tom Loy's crystal ball isn't surprising. Wiltfong is usually accurate though.
Agreed. Loy is a ND slappy, but Wiltfong usually spot on.
Notre dame? 
I realize this is the key every year, but we need to show some results on the field this year. I feel these new coaches have already proved they can attract interest of top talent based off commitments and feedback from recruits, but winning cures all.
Damn that Rudy factor!
Wasn't there a defensive system reason that altered the direction of his recruitment?
Loy CBs every living prospect to ND-the consummate homer.
Does Wiltfong then just follow Loy without doing his own research?
Wiltfong uses the CB as a current pulse of the recruitment, where he would go if he decided to day, not necessarily where he thinks the recruit will end up. So a Wiltfong CB is not as bad as a Lorenz or Webb CB, but it sounds like we have some work to do. It all worked out in the end with Will, so not too worried right now. Obviously needs some time to bond with the new staff.
Time to go through the Crystal Ball stages of grief
To compare, Sam Webb's all-time Crystal Ball accuracy is 92.3%; Tom Loy's is 79.5%.
Wiltfong's is 90.9%. He uses the pulse approach, but his sense of the pulse is pretty good.
Wiltfong also changes his picks often. So he will end up with the correct pick with a few incorrect ones (that don't count in 247's calculation) along the way.
Wiltfong is generally quite reliable but he also games the Crystal Ball system. Some of us caught him doing it some years ago and he became very defensive about it.
GIST: Wiltfong got word that a player was silently committed to a school other than the one many were expecting. Wiltfong changed his prediction a few minutes before the player made it public (iirc on twitter) b/c someone (who was more in tune with the recruitment) confirmed it for Wiltfong.
There should be a rule that your guess has to be in 12-24 hours before a player commits. (The restriction can be lifted for NSD b/c there are twists and turns on that day.)
And I thought only truckers still used CB's, good buddy.
I’m not your buddy, pal
I am not your pal, friend.
I’m not your friend, champ
I am not your champ, buddy.
Assuming he doesn't appreciate Brian Jean-Mary leaving so suddenly. Need to turn on the Sherrone Moore/Linguist ace recruiter bat signal and pull off a Braiden McGregor 2.0
Uh what? Seths write up on Friday made it sound like this was the lockiest of all locks.
right?
You were supposed to make us feel better, Seth.
that's a pic of Braiden McGregor lol
Oh. Well then.
I always find myself reading your posts in David Spade nasal tome voice. It is subliminal and catch myself doing it sometimes without intent. It just seems right.
We’ll need the Uber Eats guy to report on this blog if the picture of Lloyd was replaced with a picture of Lou Holtz.
Loy CBs everyone to ND.
Yes, but Wiltfong is almost always right....
Wouldn't Trieu, and Sam have a better feel than a national guy?
Trieu, Sam and Steve are investigating. They have all said there is real weight to these crystal balls based on a recent meeting between Josh and Marcus Freeman/Brian Kelly. They are pushing hard for him and that timed with the turnover at LB coaching has caused the tides to shift towards ND. The hope is that Michigan can pull a similar feat that landed Will. Put the full court press, get McDonald, Linguist, Helow and Harbaugh on the phone with him and start building the relationships again.
Brian Jean-Mary's departure is addition by subtraction imo.
I don't think it's entirely coincidental that we had the worst LB play of the past 10 years when he became coach. He inherited a lot of experienced talent but the unit grossly underperformed. (That said, I understand that our less than stellar DL play made things more difficult for the back 7.)
When BJM was hired, I expressed my concerns. Unfortunately, those concerns came to fruition.
Let's agree not to discuss football so we can just enjoy basketball the next month. We can start punching ourselves in the nuts starting in April.
Speak for yourself about the nuts, except below:
As long as he doesn’t actually commit to the Irish, I think this staff/defensive scheme and his family loyalty can pull him through. But the upheaval of the staff has probably put a lot of uncertainty in his role at Michigan. I believe he wants to take visits so he may want to hold off until after the dead period ends at the end of May
Agreed, it will be a matter of when a decision is made. Hopefully he holds off for a few months and gets the opportunity to visit and build a relationship with Helow and MacDonald.
If so, this would be the classic Michigan in-state recruitment:
- Michigan has an in and is considered the leader
- Michigan fucks it up in some way
- Michigan rallies and closes it out
The Michigan Difference.
To paraphrase not Winston Churchill,
Michigan can always be counted on to do the right thing…after they have exhausted all other possibilities.
4* OLB from Traverse City
Loy I'm not remotely surprised; he'll stan every recruit to ND until he sees them in another helmet, then immediately comment that ND cooled on them. Wiltfong likely knows he's trending to ND, and that's not surprising. ND made it to the playoffs (admittedly they didn't look particularly competitive) and UM went 2-4. You gotta win some games and then we'll see how it plays out.
I will never understand the argument, “they didn’t look good in the playoffs...” They were in the playoffs...again. And they played Bama closer than OSU did in the playoffs. So unless it’s Bama talking, nobody should really bash anybody losing in the playoffs. ND has been twice in three years. ND has been in 33% of the CFP’s & BCS Championships the last 9 seasons. Kids want to do that.
I mean, I'm a Michigan fan. I think Brian Kelly is an asshole and generally believe his teams make the playoffs due to uneven schedules that let them dictate favorable paths to the playoffs whereas they'd struggle to replicate that success if they had to play a conference schedule on a more consistent basis. If I can take a dig at them while UM is coming off a 2-4 season where they looked awful I will. I'm not going to be rational about it.
If he was trending Michigan two weeks ago, it seems unlikely the playoffs had anything to do with this apparent change of heart. It seems far more likely that changes in the defense and defensive staff have played a role.
As much as this would suck, we are still really early in the recruitment period. Anything can happen
Loy crystal balls are always iffy. I have no clue how we lose a kid who is a lifelong Michigan fan and has been considered essentially a lock to Michigan since we offered to Michigan's rival unless something odd is going on
It apparently only took one season of hanging around in Dabo's conference for Purple Kelley to learn Dabo's ways.
I suggest we win some football games this year and see if that helps.
In the meantime, let's enjoy Michigan hoops.
That fact of the matter is...Win Games. Need to be better than mediocre. Beat Ohio State. Win against top 25 teams. Win an underdog game. Win a Bowl game. Then and only then we should not be concerned about losing top in-state recruits every year.
I really believe with the new staff on board, we are heading in the right direction. Just look at the basketball program. Winning program = #1 recruiting class.
This logic seems sound, but the conclusion is off. Winning will translate to better recruiting, but better recruiting does not always hinge on winning. Juwan locked in that number 1 recruiting class before the season started.
Moussa Diabate committed on Nov. 9 and Caleb Houstan on Oct. 30. Michigan basketball’s first game was on Nov. 25.
Sure, the basketball team winning will certainly allow for better (not much better than number 1) recruiting, but the basketball recruiting was already better because the right hire(s) was made.
just like with the football program and this new staff; they seem to be out-recruiting the previous staff despite having shown nothing on the field.