This Week's Obsession: Drafta--recap (and Hand-Wringing)
This Week's Obsession:
Ten Michigan players were drafted and everyone's angry about it. Where do you fall on the "everything is fine" vs "panic and run around screaming" continuum?
Ace: Should we explain why people are angry? I’ve stayed off the internet this weekend and had no idea this was a thing.
David: Yeah, I missed why everyone is angry, too.
Brian: There's a combination of things.
- Josh Uche went in the second round and Michigan took heat for his low snap counts
- Michigan had the same number of draft picks as OSU and got nuked for the second consecutive year
- Bleed-over recruiting anger because the first round was 24 four or five star players and M hasn't recruited a four star defender.
Seth: Without looking I'm going to guess the responses to today's hello post for a 3-star cornerback from one of the biggest schools in the country will tell you all you need to know about the current fan zeitgeist.
Brian: So this weekend was a resurgence of the fanbase schism. Fun! But also what else we gonna talk about.
Ace: Ah. So the draft bit I think is most worth pointing out in this context is that, despite Michigan getting ten players off the board, Shea Patterson very much wasn’t one of them.
David: That's a very big point...I don't even think he signed a FA deal, yet?
Ace: He has not.
Brian:
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┻┳| •.•) maybe the charting guy was
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Seth: Neither was Lavert Hill for whatever that's worth. This doesn't so much apply to Shea, but sometimes there's no accounting for NFL taste.
Ace: Hill got snatched up within hours (possibly minutes?) of the draft ending. Also: quarterback is a very important position.
David: Yeah, McKeon signed right after well...so, 12/13 guys had an NFL team by Saturday night.
Brian: Princeton's QB signed with Cleveland.
[Hit THE JUMP for, eventually, a rundown on where Michigan's players went in the draft, plus more of this.]
relative draft position is important [Barron]
Ace: So when we’re looking at the gap with Ohio State, there’s (1) the chasm in quarterback play, and (2) the similar chasm in draft position. Most of Michigan’s action was in the late rounds.
Brian: Relevant tweet:
Michigan having ten guys drafted shouldn’t really change the priors. they had two guys taken in the first 3 rounds compared to the five elites (LSU, OSU, UGA, Bama, Clemson) having 33 taken in that time. they’re a very good program that’s still a step down from the elites
— Rick Masters (@nedflinders) April 25, 2020
Ace: It’s almost like Michigan’s recruiting spin isn’t meant to be taken at face value by fans. Or shouldn't be, at least.
David: Also...DTs the last couple years. Very different games since the time of Hurst/Glasgow, etc.
Brian: I think people are inclined to be mad because Michigan can't beat OSU and every little thing sets them off. But... I mean, FAIR ENOUGH RIGHT
Ace: I’m also upset about this, yeah.
Seth: Another Twitter thread noted that catching Ohio State and performing at Peak Michigan Since WWII are two very different targets.
Brian: I have that one as well, Seth.
1/9
— Richard Winters (@_RichWinters) April 26, 2020
Warning: Big picture, @UMichFootball #NFLDraft thread upcoming.
This table shows the total number of draft picks by school over the last five years, from 2016-2020. pic.twitter.com/K2ZpzfGCzS
7/9
— Richard Winters (@_RichWinters) April 26, 2020
A dismal stretch against OSU has made it feel like they are a mountain top that Michigan can’t quite reach. In reality, it’s a moving target that has continued climbing.
Ace: Thanks, I hate it.
David: Wow, that's almost like recruiting rankings.
Brian: Since we've addressed #2, that segues into #3. Recruiting is a problem.
Seth: To me it is quite simple: kids want to go play in the playoffs and only a few teams can make it to the playoffs.
Brian: Maybe they'll recover but they picked up a five star QB super early and he has not had a pied piper effect at all. This comes on the heels of a year in which Michigan barely sniffed a top 100 prospect.
Ace: It’s equally concerning that they’re targeting some, uh, guys Ohio State wouldn’t look at. I hate to say they’re putting a ceiling on the program that falls well short of OSU’s, but…
Seth: The last guy Ohio State definitely looked at.
Ace: Woo, one guy.
Brian: So if you're looking at the draft as a confirmation that recruiting sites know what they're talking about it is an ominous signal.
Seth: It doesn't necessarily mean Michigan needs to get beat by 50 every year in The Game. They were an average John O'Korn performance away from an upset in 2017.
Ace: That also brings us back to point one. Michigan couldn’t fully utilize a second-round draft pick because they didn’t have enough talent at a critical position.
55.6% of snaps, #60 overall pick [Bryan Fuller]
Brian: Point one is the bit that the program defenders have the best ground to stand on.
Ace: Ehhhhhhhhhh
Brian: Michigan played BEN MASON at DT this year.
David: and Jess Speight!
Ace: It's all relative, I guess. That’s not a point in the program’s favor, in my opinion. But we’re looking at it from different angles.
Brian: Well, the specific tactical decisions that went into Uche's snap counts. Not having any DTs is a big problem, obviously.
Ace: Yeah, I understand why he didn’t play more. It’s also super frustrating that he couldn’t play more because there weren’t usable defensive tackles. Then we look at Michigan’s recent defensive tackle recruiting, which seems to be “hope this three-star SDE becomes a DT.” I have concerns.
Seth: So was not having a good interior OL in 2016 or a third QB in 2017. This is all too common about teams that cannot quite recruit at an elite level. Some positions are not going to work out and you're going to have holes and you need to have no holes to get to the playoffs, and playoffs to recruit the elites.
Brian: Michigan played all power runs to spill last year because 1) their DTs sucked, 2) they had two good run stopping DEs, and 3) they had fast LBs. You're either putting Uche at the LB level instead of two drafted LBs--meh upgrade on talent, horrible fit--or asking a 240 pound OLB to play to spill.
Ace: I’m not arguing with Uche’s usage last year! I’m saying the program failed by making that necessary.
Brian: I'm not arguing with you I'm arguing with the internet.
Ace: Fair.
David: Good luck, Brian.
Seth: And we are back to the only conversation you can have about Michigan right now, which is they can only be so good and they need to be better to satisfy anybody.
Brian: as i said what else are we gonna talk about
Other people are fighting about the Bad Boys/Bulls series from 30 years ago. Which is a good option!
Seth: We can project the 12 new NFL players and live vicariously through their pro careers?
Brian: To... NFL teams? Without looking it up I'm gonna guess one is on the Ravens.
David: 2.5 went to New England.
Brian: .5?
David: Asiasi
Brian: booooooooooo
David: Four offensive linemen got drafted! I think that's only ever happened once before?
Brian: Oh yeah I forgot that was #4. 4. 4 OL drafted, #77 run game.
David: Probably not because of the RBs (mostly).
undrafted, to our surprise [Eric Upchurch]
Ace: Cesar Ruiz, New Orleans (1st round, 24th overall)
Josh Uche, New England (2nd, 60th)
Ben Bredeson, Baltimore (4th, 143rd)
Khaleke Hudson, Washington (5th, 162nd)
Mike Danna, Kansas City (5th, 177th)
Mike Onwenu, New England (6th, 182nd)
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland (6th, 187th)
Jon Runyan, Green Bay (6th, 192nd)
Josh Metellus, Minnesota (6th, 205th)
Jordan Glasgow, Indianapolis (6th, 213th)
Lavert Hill, Kansas City (UDFA)
Sean McKeon, Dallas (UDFA)
Seth: So... Cesar Ruiz, 1st Round, Pick 24 to the Saints. A first round center. Hit.
David: Also, not a bad organization/offense in which to start your career.
Brian: Lavert Hill being a UDFA is the most baffling thing I can remember in Michigan draft history.
Seth: Ace pulled out 2nd Roundee Jonas Mouton in the podcast.
Ace: It’s hard when you’re that small and not an absolute killer athlete. Jourdan Lewis hasn’t quite torn it up for Dallas.
Brian: It wasn't 100% crazy to watch Mouton's excellent plays and project him to the NFL, and the context on defense made it look like he wasn't responsible for the fact he was in the wrong gap 50% of the time. Hill almost had more PBUs than downfield tackles in his career.
Ace: Hill also didn’t run at the combine. Unless he was hurt, I have no idea why he wouldn’t do that. He did the bench only. Bizarre. That raises some questions for NFL teams. And "is the short guy fast enough" is a really important question to answer.
Brian: Yeah, that is weird.
David: And yet...DPJ tests out of his mind and 6th round.
Brian: Al Davis never would have let that happen.
Ace: That felt like an overreaction to a lack of production that wasn’t entirely his fault. Bruce Feldman pegged that as Cleveland’s steal of the draft:
Browns: Donovan Peoples-Jones has first-round talent and ended up as a sixth-rounder. He wasn’t helped by shaky QB play in his career and also can be a weapon in the return game. He has a lot of upside.
Seth: Draft falls have a certain momentum after a time. Teams start to wonder why somebody wasn't picked and guess at reasons.
David: It was weird to see him go after Mike Danna.
Ace: This was also an incredibly deep year for receiver prospects.
David: That is also very true.
Seth: He might have more targets in Cleveland this year.
Ace: …I take it you haven’t looked at their roster in a while.
Seth: I haven't, actually. Are they all Browns still?
Ace: This is when I remember I’m the only full-timer here who watches pro sports.
Seth: I watch the NFL. Just very passively.
David: Thank you for the full-timer qualifier, Ace.
Ace: It was for you, man. Anyway, Glasgow also gets mentioned in that Feldman article as a potential Pro Bowl special teams player, which… yeah.
Seth: Don Dufek 2.0.
Ace: Timely.
David: Or Matthew Slater.
Ace: Better.
Brian: yes now I can spike the ball:
Plus blitzer, excellent sideline to sideline, reliable tackler. Draftable? Not crazy, right?
David: What is he in the NFL, though?
Ace: Glasgow is a special teamer first and a hybrid-ish weakside linebacker second, in my opinion. You can draft for that in the sixth round. He’s a good guy to have on the back end of the roster. For the same reason, Khaleke Hudson could carve out a role early in Washington.
Seth: People should learn what a Dufek is. Imagine in 30 years when Michigan fans think a Glasgow is a city in IreScotlandia. Don Dufek is an NFL archetype. He was a great special teamer who could play safety or linebacker, and was always the last guy to make the Seahawks roster. This happened for 10 years. Khaleke is also a Dufek.
Brian: <fin>
Shouldn’t we be seeing the next generation of Dufeks pass through the pipeline? I mean, Sparty never runs out of Bulloughs.
A current Dufek is Sherrick McManis. Played at Northwestern. Been in the league since 2010 as a 5th rounder. Special Teams guy. Averages 14 tackles/year, is still in the league.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherrick_McManis
Glasgow can totally be that guy.
the point about the small number of team who can make the playoff is sound. There are 7-8 teams that have a decent shot come November and only 5 have regularly made it (Bama, OSU, LSU, OU, Clemson). So that will limit the interest that A) fans will have and B) recruits will have in temas not listed above.
It's the opposite of what used to be the case when there were 12 -15 teams who could conceiveable make a new years day bowl in the old days. and another 30-40 who thought a 22nd-3rd tier bowl was worth getting excited about. It's the opposite of what every pro league has done - which is EXPAND the playoffs to get almost every team involved in at least thinking they have a shot at the playoff toward the end of the season. Wild Cards, smaller divisions, etc.
While there are a small number of teams that can make the playoffs every year, they cannot take every single 4 and 5 star and yet our recruiting this year seems to not account for that very well. Like why are we losing guys to PSU?
Well, for one, James Franklin has done better at PSU than Harbaugh has done at Michigan. Or at least a solid argument could be made for such a conclusion.
The truth hurts...not fun to admit at all...but at the end of year 5 Harbaugh has Michigan (at the very best) the 3rd best team in the B10 and probably realistically is the 4th best team (Behind OSU, Wiscy, and PSU). Kids are going to programs that look like progress is being made. Where there seems like a hope of a turnaround.
Fairest comparison of Franklin and Harbaugh is B1G record since it equalizes the competition level (weeding out stuff like drawing Alabama in your bowl game instead of Memphis).
Franklin’s B1G win % is .654; Harbaugh’s is .727
I'd take Franklin"s winning percentage and a Big Ten title over Harbaugh"s winning percentage.
And a win over Ohio State too
April 28th, 2020 at 11:27 AM ^
And a Rose Bowl appearance.
Well, they aren't exactly Pitt.
IMO, M is in a distant tie for 2nd in the B10 with W and PSU. All 3 are equivalent, with the notable exception that Wisc is in a crappy division.
eh, hell, it's been said a million times.
What 4 and 5 stars have we really lost to PSU? Not sure if Hamler was a 4 star but Michigan didn't want him. Also, PSU has been every bit as good as Michigan for about the past 40 or 50 years. They're a blue blood program with better in-state talent. They should be doing about as well as Michigan really.
Ok for real, I don't know what the actual bull honky is going on with the defensive recruiting, but god damn, it sucks. Ass. It sucks ass. Bring back Hoke & Mattison defensive recruiting! Mattison gets a lot shit (rightfully so) for being a traiter... twice.. but him and Hoke were both part of the recruiting aspect of creating 2 of the 3 best UM defenses in the modern era ('97 & '16).
If the rumors are true that Harbaugh's recruiting structure is different and somehow more difficult than other schools, then WTF? What is definitely true is that something is not right.
I don't think anyone understands Michigan's recruiting strategy. We probably don't need to understand it either because if Jim continues to get pantsed by OSU at the end of the season, he will be gone. I think if he is not competitive in the next two seasons there will be a change.
Mattisons last year at Michigan was not great recruiting. I have no desire to bring him back. Better to take a shot on a young guy. Hoke I would at least entertain the idea. For all his faults he loves UM, seems like a good guy, and would put in the effort to recruit.
The lack of meaningful chances to play for a title every year undoubtedly hurts recruiting somewhat; I strongly believe that OU isn't fundamentally a better team than schools like UM, ND, PSU, etc. but because they occupy a mediocre Big 12 they get a clear run at the playoffs every year.
That tweet about draft picks highlights the bigger issue - OSU is on an historic run for them and Michigan is just a step behind them. I'm honestly not sure what you can do on that front - OSU hired well, seemed to not give a shit about things that Michigan at least gives lip service to, and won a ton of games when Michigan was down. It's hard to catch up. I've said it a bunch of times but Michigan is going to have to catch OSU instead of waiting for them to fall back, but at this point you might need some luck there. If Day really is this super-elite recruiter as well as an offensive genius, I'm not sure what UM can do except hope he (a) leaves for the NFL or (b) implodes somehow due to on- or off-the-field issues.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised Michigan had that many draft picks, and didn't see how that was a bad reflection on the program. And I'll say this about Uche - he made immense strides in his overall game this year, but even the NFL types wondered about him as a tweener. Yes, if Michigan had monster DTs he would have seen the field more, but he never felt like a great 3-down lineman and for as much as we talk about tempo killing DTs you don't necessarily want to trap your undersized DE out there if the other team wants to just run over him.
I'm not sure what UM can do except hope he (a) leaves for the NFL or (b) implodes somehow due to on- or off-the-field issues.
UM has been saying that about OSU for going on 20 years. (b) happened, essentially twice, and both times they came out even better in the end. OSU is just more dedicated to winning, and everyone associated with the school and program are willing to pretty much do whatever it takes to do that. UM is not, UM clings to doing things a certain way, even if it is just lip service to some. UM will not ever be at OSU's level unless they begin to function like OSU, and I don't see that ever happening.
It hasn’t happened twice. Yet. Once definitely. But it’s still early for Day.
One of UMs issues compared to OSU is there is generally more highly rated talent in OH than MI. While OSU does get 4/5 stars from out of state when there are 4/5 stars in stats they want they get them. Osu has no in state competition for those kids since they’re the only P5 program. That allows them to focus on other states more. And it means if their national rep slips they still have an fertile recruiting base that will always love them.
For the past few years you can’t really claim MSU has been a reason Michigan hasn’t locked down the instate talent. Top players from Michigan over the past 5-10 years have also gone to OSU, PSU, Notre Dame, Alabama, LSU, Wisconsin.
My perception is OSU does not suffer the same problem. If there is a top kid in Ohio, they go to OSU. That’s my perception, but I have not followed how many times OSU has lost out on an instate kid they really wanted to a PSU, Notre Dame, Alabama, etc.
I don't necessarily think Michigan is immensely more "moral" than OSU on a lot of things, but there are implosions that can submarine a team. And the first off-the-field issue with OSU (Tressel and the tattoos) led to Fickell, a guy who would have run OSU competently but likely wouldn't have set them up for immense success.
There were plenty of off the field issues before then: The whole Clarrett not allowed to fly back to Ohio for a friends funeral before the BCS championship game, the Clarrett saga went on for a couple years too, a couple players reporting a few thousand dollars in cash stolen from their house - those are just off the top of my head.
But those were relatively small issues; Clarrett (and Mike Williams at USC) pushing to go to the NFL early wasn't necessarily a bad reflection on the programs as much as pointing out the hypocrisy of the NCAA.
The couple thousand dollars stolen from places happens a lot of places; there's money that gets into players' hands and UM has had similar stories (or at least rumors) for decades. But it being known that players were trading game merchandise for drugs (the tattoos were clearly a cover) was a big deal, plus Tressel knowing and not giving a shit. That's the type of event that, maybe not now but definitely in the early 00's, that "meant" something to people who still wanted to protect the NCAA's image.
April 28th, 2020 at 12:32 PM ^
Clarrett alleged there were a lot of rules being broken at OSU (links below). Now whether it was just a disgruntled player making stuff up or embellishing some, who knows. But based upon Tressell's history at YSU, and other stuff that transpired at OSU under Tressell, I tend to think there's some truth behind what he said.
Agree on OSU. Expecting them to fall back to UM is asking a lot. It's gotta be a combo of UM getting better and OSU maybe not having a year where they are a well oiled machine.
At the same time, it's not just an OSU problem. OSU is obviously the biggest problem but it's not like UM is going 12-1, 11-2, 12-1. UM has lost at least 3 games every year under Harbaugh: 10-3, 10-3, 8-5, 10-3, 9-4. One thing that might help UM's recruiting is not losing as much (shocking, I know). If Harbaugh could get some 12-1/11-2 maybe they could start signing more high level recruits.
Maybe Seth could have followed up the part about the newest recruit being a three star from one of the largest schools in the country. Maybe remind people that would mean there has never been a lack of scouts eyes on him and he’s still a generic three star. That means he’s not a hidden gem that someone found. Let’s fill the backfield with Brandon Watsons and see how that goes.
Seth has bad opinions.
He's an optimistic homer compared to the rest of the staff, which is fine.
April 28th, 2020 at 11:00 AM ^
I'm realistic, but I hold onto hope. My expectation the next time we play is Michigan won't be any better than they were in 2019. But there's enough despair around that I don't need to share mine.
April 28th, 2020 at 11:16 AM ^
You don’t have to share your despair, but there is no need to blow smoke up our asses.
I'm not sure you quite landed on a summary of the draft. I get the OSU and "elite" comparisons leading to frustration. Michigan matches OSU in picks, but ours are later and it is rare to see a skill player up there.
But is it fair to say this all boils down to getting 5-stars? The draft data suggests that Michigan is putting out players that the NFL wants every year and many of those started as 3-4 star guys. So player development is okay. But we have no shot at the elites unless we get 5-stars? (Or change to a division that doesn't make us have to go undefeated against one of the elites and one of the other next-tier teams...)
I was hoping for more in depth discussion - either about this topic or the OL topic. I think the 77th run game is a legit question. How much of that is scheme? How much of that is Shea sucking at the read game? How much of that is having to play against several elite defenses?
It boils down to our offense having no elite skill-position playmakers year after year and by that I mean players that are elite offensive talents in college AND have NFL potenial at their position (sorry Denard, I still love you though). Don't peak, can you name the most recent drafted Michigan player on the offensive side of the ball that was not a lineman that made the Pro Bowl? By that, I mean start with the most recent draft until you find a player that meets the criteria I laid out. No, in case you were wondering, it was not Brady, but it still has been many, many years.
Something has to change with respect our offensive skill position players. College football 2020 is flag football with pads and we have to score points. In my opinion, it is what is holding this program back, more so than other program issues. Either our schemes are bad, the recruiting eye is bad or we can't develop players well. Something has to change with those three things.
Success begets success. Just going from my memory, Kareem Walker, DPJ, and Shea Patterson were all 5 star players.. two had rather pedastrian careers, the third transferred. Those are just the 5 star offensive players I can remember. UM has had elite talent on the field, it just didn't translate into success on the field.
None of those three were ever elite on the field.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:40 PM ^
Not arguing that... so which was it? Lack of player development, or a complete whiff by recruiting services and other P5 coaches?
1) Shea had no business being a 5 star, and Brian said the same thing when he transferred here. He wasn’t overly tall or physical. He also did not have a strong arm. He had decent speed for a QB but he wasn’t Denard out there. How he ended up with 5 stars is a mystery to me. That said, I think his time at Ole Miss ruined him (happy feet in the pocket) and he had no confidence throwing the ball down the field.
2) Kareem had off the field issues so I’m sure that in some ways derailed his time here.
3) DPJ had a few bumps and bruises, played with QBs that had a hard time hitting downfield targets in rhythm, had no position coach for one or two years and did have some self-inflicted wounds as well (drops). He was also never peppered with targets for whatever reason.
By my count I have one recruiting whiff, one that fell victim to the off the field monster and one that was not properly utilized or developed. That sums up Michigan football in a nutshell, really.
April 27th, 2020 at 11:16 PM ^
U-M needs to learn from Oklahoma. OU doesn’t get OSU/Bama/Clemson-level talent either—that’s evident by their defensive stats. But they’re always in the mix because they score like crazy.
On the bright side, U-M appears to have gotten the message. Painful as last season was, getting away from the body-blow approach and moving toward a wide-open attack was a necessary step.
April 28th, 2020 at 12:52 AM ^
Maybe we should join the Big XII.
April 28th, 2020 at 10:03 AM ^
Yeah. Then we could lose multiple games a year when the opponent scores 60 points. The idea that defenses are just shit in the Big XII is such a homerish take. Our defense would like like shit against a bunch of Big XII teams too. It's not like the Wisconsin that throttled us last year was some sort of high powered offense.
I remain baffled by Hill not being picked. Flat out stunned. I know he's not big enough for the outside and not fast enough for the inside. I also know that he's locked down players for 3 years and can't be that much different than Lewis (3rd), Long (3rd) or even Clark (7th). Hell, Jeremy LeSeur and Morgan Trent got drafted at CB and they were....not as good as Hill let's say.
I think the NFL draft has a bit of herd mentality that was magnified by the lack of scouting this year due to Covid-19. Mo Hurst fell a ton despite having info from Michigan and Harvard saying that his heart was fine. He was a stud for the Raiders. Random SEC linemen were picked earlier this year despite checkered scouting reports perhaps because the scouts watched a lot of film of those schools for the elite prospects.
Still.....I'm happy for Glasgow and Danna but can't figure out why they got picked and no one took a flyer on Hill or McKeon. Hoping those guys find their way on to a roster whenever the NFL returns.
"...Locked down players for three years...", seriously? I don't how many PI flags Hill got this past season as he grabbed WR's who were blowing by him, but it was plenty (someone who charts stats please respond). It seemed like he got slower over his years at Michigan, and my guess is his current 40 time is just too slow in comparison to the other CBs at the Combine, so he waived showing it. The fact is, his best work occurred when he was paired with Jourdan Lewis (2016) and David Long (2017, 2018), maybe because the overall pass defense was so strong that everyone's stats were boosted. So, no, I wasn't surprised at Hill's disappointing draft results, in spite of my fandom!
Who would've ever thought that Danna would be drafted before DPJ. Boggles the mind.
I love the kid, but you point out that he's not big or fast, but you're stunned that he didn't get drafted?
Brian: Michigan played BEN MASON at DT this year.
David: and Jess Speight!
Me: and Jordan Glasgow!
Recruiting in college football is the rich getting richer now. NFL caliber recruits don't get scared away by stacked rosters, they are attracted to them, because they see Bama and OSU put 10 guys into the NFL every year. In contrast, Michigan's guys have a tendency to get stuck with the wrong players (e.g. DPJ with Shea), underperform, and drop. And when Michigan has fewer elite prospects, one guy's underperformance is magnified.
It's bigger than just Michigan, though. It's legit the playoff contenders attracting more guys every year. The playoff is everything and there are a handful of teams that can get there consistently and Michigan isn't one of them.
It looks more and more like European Soccer, where a handful of superteams vacuum up the money and the top players and everyone else is fighting for scraps. Even a shocking result like a Leicester City is league only, the equivalent of Minnesota pulling off a shocking B1G champ game win and then getting trucked by 35 in the playoff.
Without a draft or a salary cap, I don't see much that will reverse this trend.
The first point is crucial. I watch quite a bit of college football and there were guys getting drafted from Georgia, LSU, and Clemson whom I had never heard of. The elite programs can reasonably tell recruits that even their depth guys get a shot in the NFL.
The other point: except for extreme circumstances such as the situation with Ole Miss and Patterson, Michigan is, for whatever reason, not a destination for non-grad transfers. I don't know if that has to do with the program, the AD, or the university, but it is another source of talent that is seemingly shut off.
DPJ is not a victim of poor QB play. NFL teams are collectively are smart enough to distinguish whether a player is truly good while taking into account teammates, especially when said player is a freak of nature, a combine superstar.
DPJ is simply not a great football player at this point. They watch the routes he runs. They watch the drops. They watch the inability to take advantage of the athleticism in live football. And they saw a sixth rounder.
So, what you're saying is, a top athlete at receiver can go to Alabama with other 5-star receivers and get drafted in the first round, or he can go to Michigan (DPJ was a higher ranked prospect than Jerry Jeudy, Tee Higgins, or Henry Ruggs. Look it up!) and develop so poorly that he can drop to the 6th round?
It's almost as if the program matters. And some of that is the people they play with. Now, DPJ should have come back, but there's something to be said for how the team develops and uses the players. Or doesn't, in our case.
And that development aspect also factors in to recruiting. If the #1 WR comes to Michigan, does essentially nothing, and then barely gets drafted - why would anyone think that you could convenience another similarly good player to come here after seeing that? Either the coaches would have to talk down DPJ (which isn't ideal) or admit that they did a poor job developing him (also not ideal).
When the odd 5 star fails to pan out at Alabama, they have a huge history of solid development over many years to point to. Harbaugh's Michigan team doesn't have that outside of a few spots. They definitely do NOT have it at QB.
So, what I'm saying is, a top athlete at receiver can go to Alabama with other 5-star receivers and get drafted in the first round, or he can go to Alabama and develop so poorly that he can drop to the 6th round.
It's partially on the coaching, and it's partially on the individual player.
April 27th, 2020 at 10:32 PM ^
It's easy to fix college football. Just implement a star cap.
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