Steve Wiltfong criticizes Michigan FB recruiting
From Allen Trieu's podcast Notorious B1G also transcribed on the 247 board.
“They haven’t filled (Patridge's) role, and we’ll see who they fill it with because Michigan is one of those schools where assistant coach recruiters are incredibly important because they don’t recruit in the same traditional way that almost every other program that we cover does,” Wiltfong said. “There’s not recruiting meetings. There’s just a lot on the assistant coaches’ plates to go out in their territories or in their position rooms and find guys they think are good enough to help Michigan win championships.
“Chris Partridge was a guy that wasn’t afraid to go into SEC country with his winged helmet logo on his golf shirt and go toe-to-toe for big-time guys and try to get them to come to Michigan. He had some big wins. He also had some close losses. I mean, Willie Gay was a guy who had Michigan in his top two. Otis Reese is a guy who had Michigan in his top two. He really got after it and worked.”
In general, Wiltfong didn’t feel like the Wolverines were recruiting at a championship level with Partridge. He felt Ohio State and Penn State made it more of a priority, so losing Partridge could only widen that gap.
“I just don’t think, collectively, this staff is recruiting at a level to win a national championship across the board,” Wiltfong said. “It’s a blow losing a guy in Partridge, who I feel like is one of your best recruiters when the emphasis on recruiting at Michigan isn’t the same as it is at Ohio State and Penn State right now. We’re starting to see it on the field.”
January 8th, 2020 at 7:45 PM ^
247 seems especially click-baity today. Michigan recruits differently than other schools? That's his criticism?
January 8th, 2020 at 7:46 PM ^
He's just looking for attention. Michigan coaches meet and talk and rank recruits they want to go after by position. They have a recruiting coordinator in Matt Dudek. They have a fucking Michigan plane to hop on and go see recruits. What else are we supposed to be doing? Texting daily emojis to them?
January 8th, 2020 at 7:52 PM ^
You're joking right? Dudek hosts recruits nothing more. OSU has Mark Pantoni running their whole recruiting operation with their coaches and they all go balls out to land the highest ranked players in the country. You will never hear the stars don't matter shit come out of Columbus. Sean Magee is supposed to be doing that here but he's worthless and Harbaugh is a disorganized mess. But sure, there isn't anything they can do. Holding recruiting meetings and getting our shit together on the trail is just too much to ask as OSU racks up 5 star commits and beats our ass every November.
January 8th, 2020 at 7:56 PM ^
Please expand on your dudek knowledge.
Are you a coach? Staffer? Donor? Journo? Insider of some note?
I would love to know more about the inner workings of the program from an insider such as yourself, as im sure the board would..
What are you seeing?
January 8th, 2020 at 9:35 PM ^
He's nobody. He shows up on 1/2/2020 to bash Michigan after our loss to Alabama. He's a troll.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:21 AM ^
It looks like he cares more about Michigan football than you do.
January 9th, 2020 at 9:13 AM ^
Use your brain. He's here for the Schadenfreude. Flat out troll.
January 9th, 2020 at 9:46 AM ^
No. I think you're wrong.
January 9th, 2020 at 9:47 AM ^
No. I think you're wrong.
January 8th, 2020 at 7:57 PM ^
I would be interested in hearing more about opportunities for Michigan to improve recruiting beyond just paying players. If there's something broken with our process, ok - let's discuss.
The issue I have with people yelling on this board is when their facts are flat out wrong. The myth that Michigan was some national power in the 90s is false....I was there. The 1997 season was amazing, but every other year had 2-5 losses and would have set these same people off on a rant. You have to go back to Bo before you find us as a consistent national power.
Also, while Hoke was a good recruiter, the idea that he was somehow blowing away Harbaughs classes also needs to be clarified. Hoke got a five star in Kyle Kalis....does that make him better at recruiting than Harbaugh getting Peppers? DPJ? Gary?
Venting and being frustrated and asking for better is great....just don't bend history to make your point.
January 8th, 2020 at 8:22 PM ^
You can’t even get your facts straight. UM won 5 big ten championships in the 90’s and beat Ohio state 7 times. But who’s counting. Oh and Peppers signed with Hoke not Harbaugh. Who needs facts though.
January 8th, 2020 at 8:23 PM ^
We won a national championship, had two heisman winners, and went to 4 rose bowls in the 90s. Seems a hell of a lot better than now.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:29 PM ^
When you say 1990s, I don’t think you were paying close attention in the early 90s. We were ranked #1 in the country multiple times. Even when we ended with a couple of losses, the Bo halo was alive and well and we were regularly among the very best teams in all of college football.
1990: we lose on a “luck of the Irish” Lake Dawson tipped pass in a game we by all rights should have won in South Bend (#1 vs #2); weeks later we are #1 in the county and lose when MSU gets away with tackling Desmond in the end zone (no call) on the deciding play. That team runs up 700+ yards on an SEC opponent in the bowl game. M beats OSU in CBus. Final AP/UPI rankings: 7/8
1991: we got pantsed by FSU in Ann Arbor at the height of its powers, otherwise we are a super strong team all the way up to a Rose Bowl loss to the national champion Huskies. M beats OSU in A2 (hello Heisman!) Final rankings: 6/6
1992: Undefeated but with three kisses of the sister (back when ties were a thing), including a really frustrating game at home against ILL. M ties OSU in Cbus. Final rankings: 5/5
Those rankings don’t lie: we played tough schedules and ended up solidly in the top 10 every year — despite not having many breaks go our way (though to be fair Lou Holtz losing his mind and settling for the tie in South Bend in ‘92 was a gift).
Wheels started coming off in ‘93, as we were chasing our sixth consecutive outright or shared Big Ten title....
January 8th, 2020 at 9:53 PM ^
Per 247, Hoke signed Derrick Green and Jabril Peppers as 5 stars in his four years. (And Peppers class had only 17 players, which included Wangler, Pallante, and O'Neill.). Hokes classes were ranked 4, 6, 20, and 30.
Harbaugh has signed Gary, DPJ, Aubrey Solomon, and Dax Hill. Harbaughs classes are ranked 5, 8, 8, 11, 22, and 37 (transition class).
Hell, Lloyd's last five classes were 5, 5, 6, 10, and 11! He got the one great year in 2006.....when we still lost to OSU and in the bowl.
I want to see Harbaugh do better....but the data says that there are basically five schools at the top of recruiting and everyone else. That seems true over these three coaches and despite whatever concerns these guys raised about our approach.
January 8th, 2020 at 10:18 PM ^
Hoke had the #1 class in the country in 2014 for a long time. Damien Harris, Mike Weber, George Campbell, Chris Clark, Darien Roseboro, and a few others were all commits at one point. Also you need to look closer at the numbers instead of just the final ranking. OSU is #5 this year and UM is #11, but OSU has 9 top 100 commits and UM has 1. The gap is huge. UM needs to recruit better because after 20 years of OSU ass kickings and them out recruiting Michigan for 17 of those 20 years I think it's safe to say what the problem is. Just accepting that we can't anymore is fucking the dumbest shit I'll ever read.
January 8th, 2020 at 8:29 PM ^
When was the last time Alabama or Clemson turned a player down due to having poor academics?
There is your answer wiltfong.
January 8th, 2020 at 8:35 PM ^
The idea that Michigan has these high academic standards for their athletes compared to other programs is laughable.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:10 AM ^
A book for you to read: Overtime, by Bacon. It explains how recruiting is for Michigan.
What is laughable is that you don't know what you are talking about but are so sure of yourself.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:31 PM ^
Catchafire, you do realize that 99.9% of the recruits that get into Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, OSU would get into Michigan too. When was the last time Michigan had an elite recruit that wanted to come but couldn't because his grades weren't good enough
January 8th, 2020 at 9:36 PM ^
Oh there are a ton of top kids every year that we don’t even try to recruit for this very reason. You never hear their names because we put zero time in on them.
That’s not to say we’re doing some incredible job in recruiting. Obviously we are struggling big time. And I’m not arguing OSU is just waving in the degenerates SEC-style. I think OSU is just a machine right now, and they are largely bringing in kids we’d gladly take from admissibility standpoint.
But don’t confuse that with the MORONS going to many of the SEC schools that would never get past our admissions process. At least not in any large quantities.
Spoken as a guy who has lived in the South for over a decade now....
January 8th, 2020 at 9:48 PM ^
What top 200 kids from the last 5 years would not have been accepted by Michigan academically?
January 8th, 2020 at 11:19 PM ^
You're asking for an actual list. I wouldn't expect to get one.
January 8th, 2020 at 10:45 PM ^
Calling high school kids degenerates and morons for not living up to your academic standards...this is why people hate Michigan.
January 8th, 2020 at 8:30 PM ^
WTH? everyone is dumping on Michigan. What is going on? this is very depressing.
January 9th, 2020 at 9:40 AM ^
Most people are on board with Michigan. We do have an entitled sub category of fans who are very vocal and think they are getting cheated out of national titles and imaginary national domination from the past.
January 8th, 2020 at 8:59 PM ^
When has Penn State had a higher ranked recruiting class than Michigan’s?
Someone can prove me wrong but in terms of class rankings I’d venture to say Michigan has out recruited Penn State under Harbaugh no?
Addendum: Looked it up Harbaugh classes have only been ranked lower than Penn State twice. 2015 & 2018. I’d only genuinely ding Harbaugh for 2018.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:02 PM ^
I believe this far more than whatever an OSU coach says about Michigan to recruits. OSU is at an all time level right now, but Harbaugh could and must narrow the gap.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:16 PM ^
Its pretty obvious
January 8th, 2020 at 10:18 PM ^
To read Thunder talk about how upperclassmen are not disciplined and leaders is an indicator too.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:22 PM ^
Section1 is Steve Wiltfong?
January 8th, 2020 at 9:29 PM ^
No, but he certainly is a troll.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:26 PM ^
You guys really didn’t see how disorganized this program is?? I posted on this a couple weeks ago. They also had no idea how to recruit kids to fit the system because they have taken 5 years to try and decide on a system. Are we slow down, 150 word play calls, running team? Should we go shotgun and “check with me?” How about we recruit WR all 6 2 and above. Nah we need quick shifty slots under 6 foot. Oh wait we don’t have outside WR in a year. Let’s go Tempo now. Let’s get guys who play both sides of the ball and bounce them back and forth as freshman because we have no clue where they fit. Ah shit there in the portal.
The biggest mistake ever made by Jim was not addressing the OL properly right when he took over. Besides QB it was the biggest problem by far. Set the program back.
Last, what happened to the days of what Rickey Powers had said about Michigan? I love and hate Michigan. I loved my time there and what it did for me but I hated it too because I was the number 1 back in nation coming out of high school and that didn’t matter because the very next year Michigan is recruiting and getting the next top back in the nation and so on it went. That has stopped under Harbaugh. One good class followed up by a mediocre(Michigan standards) one. It’s never get the best every single year.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:32 PM ^
There is no doubt that Powers’ quote had so much truth to it. We were at the height of our (modern) powers in the late Bo-to-Mo years.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:32 PM ^
Good post.
January 8th, 2020 at 9:52 PM ^
In state recruiting was the biggest cluster you’ve ever seen a couple years ago. Just straight ignoring the necessary high schools in state. It’s fixed now as far as attention but the realization is Harbaugh and Don Brown go in and “they are two extremely corny guys that can’t relate”
And Dudek is an ass clown. He’d rather go at fans on twitter than do his job
January 8th, 2020 at 10:51 PM ^
I'm mixed on this, because there's a lot here that's accurate and a lot that isn't.
- I agree; after years of fighting it, I cannot argue that Michigan isn't terribly organized in the way it recruits. The evidence is unmistakable. And quotes like the one in the OP suggest that they're not great at unifying on a strategy regarding players to get. But...
- Harbaugh is not stupid, and he fits schemes to the guys he has. Michigan has tall receivers AND fast receivers (and guys who are basically both). There is good sense in having different types of guys and Michigan has them. The use of tempo or not tempo isn't really relevant to the talent they're recruiting.
- Agree on the OL. It was the #1 problem with Hoke and Harbaugh had the wrong guy (Drevno) working on it. The OL's merely ok-ness cost us in both Iowa and OSU in 2016 when a powerful OL that could run for first downs would have won both games in the fourth quarter. The absolute disaster that was the OL in 2017 has left a significant mark on the fanbase and program that has still not been resolved (not to mention, getting our two best QBs hurt, forcing us to play O'Korn in a winnable game against OSU). Even this year our tackle situation is suboptimal.
- Michigan recruited very well in the early 90s but Harbaugh actually put together two terrific classes in a row. Alas, most of those guys are gone now (only a few due to graduation) and the follow-up classes have not been as impressive.
Carry on.
January 9th, 2020 at 1:59 AM ^
Wolverine recruiting analyst EJ Holland tonight: "Michigan has a subpar recruiting department"
Allen Trieu: "Wiltfong isn't pulling this out of thin air"
Kirk Herbstreit to Angelique this week: "Michigan recruiting is not good enough"
It's amazing people are still fighting this.
January 9th, 2020 at 7:50 AM ^
This isn't high school SJK you don't have to "Fit the scheme to your players" You get to choose your players in recruiting that fit the scheme you want to run. The scheme has changed way too much along with scapegoating multiple coaches for a failed vision from the top.
January 9th, 2020 at 9:42 AM ^
IIRC in the past four years we've had 3 top ten classes.
That's not exactly trash.
January 9th, 2020 at 3:26 PM ^
This is exactly right. The lack of a consistent offensive philosophy has been extremely damaging (though finally we have the right one).
Also, I totally buy the disorganization theory of Wiltfong, and here's why:
- Why the hell have we not recruited DTs when everyone could see that we needed DTs?
- When we were weak at OL, and everyone could see that we needed more OLs, why did we wait until 2018 to bring in a real OL class?
This is the stuff that is maddening, and can only be explained by disorganization.
January 8th, 2020 at 10:08 PM ^
Hmmmmm, I think a lot of you don't know who Steve Wiltfong is.
January 8th, 2020 at 10:17 PM ^
People who keep claiming (via varying creative use of comparisons) that Michigan operates the same as Alabama and Ohio State with regard to admission requirements and demands on athletes are choosing not to read up on the details. Or ignoring known factors that don't fit your constant whining about Harbaugh.
And of course those factors matter in recruiting. Not having online classes, strict study hall requirements, attendance expectations. Also limits about what can be done with regard to remedial placement to make sure a guy gets through.
Michigan, Texas, Stanford, Notre Dame (to name a few) operate in ways that make it more challenging for their football coaches to accumulate and retain talent. Texas made that point very clear when it was flirting with the SEC a few years ago. They wanted standardization and par with Bama on academic admissions for football and there was no interest from Bama.
Reality. Call it excuses if you want. But it's the reality.
January 9th, 2020 at 12:41 AM ^
It is an excuse, not reality. The red herring of online classes is a joke. That’s why Fields when to OSU??? OSU has grad assistants follow up to make sure every player is going to class. They also follow up with making sure they are given the food they are required to eat during the day, not just at training table. In addition to food they have GA’s waiting befor class to give them the fluids they are required to drink. They take in season hydration tests at every day and if they fail they don’t practice until they pass and are in the doghouse. You can’t tell me that maniacal attention to detail doesn’t make a difference. Remember how half our team was plagued with cramps at ND and the problem popped up several other times? OSU didn’t have those issues. We didn’t have them either this year and while I don’t know what changed, why the F are we always a year or two behind. The S&C coach is a huge part of their success and they had a dramatic decrease in soft tissues injuries after the mandatory daily hydration began.
The Dir of Player Personnel (Pantoni) and S&C (Marriotti) they Meyer brought with him are key factors in their success. I just know what I read but I have to ask if we are at the same level with those programs at UM. Bench press competitions where players slack to rest the days between the competition (wasted sessions) combined with Wilfrong article make me question if we do. At some point we need to be on the leading edge, not following a trend 2-3 years behind the elites. That applies to recruiting, conditioning and even bringing in a new OC.
Stop being a cuck and giving excuses about online classes and realize we can and should do better. We don’t have the power to do anything about it but we don’t have to excuse it either.
Currently OSU has 6 top 75 recruits for the 2021 class, we have 1, the problem isn’t going to just go away.
January 9th, 2020 at 7:52 AM ^
Someone gets it
January 9th, 2020 at 8:55 AM ^
You don't get it. Don't you realize that every program better than us cheats and take questionable academic players - even though we all recruit the top players. We're totally clean and honest Michigan
January 9th, 2020 at 9:55 AM ^
and even bringing in a new OC.
And they are available. Graham Harrell at USC is willing to move to another team.
January 8th, 2020 at 10:27 PM ^
Recruiting and the glory days...
I remember when there was 3 former Wolverine QB's starting on Sunday for different teams. Now we can't even get one drafted.
January 8th, 2020 at 10:33 PM ^
????
Shea is 10/10 getting drafted. It'll be late round but he will get a shot like Rudock did. Their numbers in their last years were comparable
January 9th, 2020 at 5:09 PM ^
I would be shocked if that is the case. I would be he would sign as an undrafted free agent. Who drafts QB's that can't hit wide open receivers down the field game in and game out.
January 8th, 2020 at 11:30 PM ^
Wouldn't we need only look at the QB situation for this class to realize there's a laziness to recruiting? I know the medical DQ was completely a surprise, but the fact that UM was not in contact or pursuing other options the entire time bothers me. I'm all for loyalty but if a recruit can decommit at any time we should be prepared.