UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[iam416]

Just revisited M’s class and the offense is nice, but I’m a little surprised it’s the most complete in awhile.

[Whitley]

Well if you can't stop them....maybe you try outscoring them for awhile in order to prop the defense up. I think Alabama did that for a few years

[lineygoblue]

As long as Harbaugh is HC, even a good recruiting class won't make a difference.

Its like buying a Ferrari and driving it like a Ford Pinto.

Unrealized potential.

[WingsFan]

Point taken. I like Harbaugh and always will, but a real let down as Michigan's HC. All the rumors about Jims health, his home life and such, I hope are just that - rumors. The fact Michigan can have a top 10 (or close) class with a 2-4 team and no contract extension for the HC (yet), speaks to the the brand. I hate to say it, think losing Mattison is showing how a big loss that was also.

[iam416]

It's a top 12-15 class. They did a nice job with some in-state kids, but, honestly, it was set up to be way better. That was probably one of the best in-state classes in awhile. Edwards and El-Hadi are very good, but to miss out on Spindler, Dellinger and Payne...that's not good. I guess maybe they get Benny at the end of the day.

They also did a nice job getting McCarthy.

I'm not sure how they recruit on defense, but it seems like Don Brown is left to his devices. And that seems like a huge mistake. The defensive recruiting in this class is legitimately bad especially given what their defense is and what is currently in the pipeline. And I don't think that has anything to do with a house-cleaning or whatever. They just don't have good recruiters on that side of the ball and/or Don Brown tries to game the system with "diamonds in the rough" that will only fit into what he wants to do. Which is laughable. I hope they keep him forever.

Gattis is starting to get more pieces in place. It remains to be seen if HARBAUGH!!!! will give him the leeway to run what he wants to run (at least IMO). But, there's at least a hint that M could outscore some good teams in the future. That's a positive. There's no hint that they can stop good teams in the future. That's a negative.

They need to have a big 2022 class. They need to land at least a lot of the DBs they think they can land. They'll get Johnson, so that's a great start. But, it can't be just him.

[WingsFan]

Steve Lorenz


now will people please, finally, mercifully stfu about Jay Harbaugh and his recruiting ability; 4 Top247 backs in three cycles, all were tip top targets; a 180 RE: RB talent on the roster. Link to Michigan's commit list with Edwards in the fold: https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Season/2021-Football/Commits/

[Niffla]

I'll gladly take Edwards but the only reason he isn't in Columbus is because of the commitment of five-star TreVeyon Henderson. Or so it seems to me anyway. Didn't he straight up admit that Ohio State was in the lead for him for most of his recruitment? All the way up until (in all likelihood) that point?

Oh well though, like I said UM will happily take it. I mean I guess it could've been so much worse...he could have went to Georgia instead of Michigan after the TreVeyon Henderson commitment.

[iam416]

It was Evan Pryor. OSU wanted Edwards ahead of Pryor, asked him to commit, but he didn't. OSU told him that they'd keep recruiting RBs at that point and Evan Pryor jumped. Henderson was already in. OSU absolutely needed 2 RBs and DE knew that.

For that matter, I think OSU could have had McCarthy if they wanted him.

But, really, who cares. It's just sass material for me. McCarthy is really good and so is Edwards. Those are two huge gets for HARBAUGH!!!! and #SPEEDINSPACE!!!!

[lineygoblue]

I'm glad we ended up with Edwards and McCarthy. Its better to have them with us, than against us. I just hope they don't end up like Derrick Green and Dylan McCaffery respectively. That seems to be Michigan's pattern with top talent. Either its not developed to where it pays off, or they leave, or even a combination of both.

OTOH, osu never misses on anybody. They can sign 85 - 4-star players, and not miss on one of them. They all pan out, collect 4 gold panties against Michigan, and head to the NFL.

As long as Harbaugh is here, this is what we will see. And this is what the decision makers want.

[Niffla]

It was Evan Pryor. OSU wanted Edwards ahead of Pryor, asked him to commit, but he didn't. OSU told him that they'd keep recruiting RBs at that point and Evan Pryor jumped. Henderson was already in. OSU absolutely needed 2 RBs and DE knew that.

ah okay gotcha

[Niffla]

I'm glad we ended up with Edwards and McCarthy. Its better to have them with us, than against us. I just hope they don't end up like Derrick Green and Dylan McCaffery respectively.

I got a really good feeling about McCarthy (not that my feeling is worth anything but still).

Of course he has to display it at the NCAA level but the guy seems like a winner. And a gamer. What was he, 38-2 in high school or something? And in his interviews and just by the way he answers he seems to ooze legitimate leadership ability. I could be wrong, would be far from the first time and far from the last time, but I think he has that it factor everyone is looking for and will be special.

[iam416]

McCarthy is good, unfortunately.

[Hannibal]

The D class sucks. Very badly.

[lineygoblue]

He may be good, but they've got to give him more of a playbook than 3-4 yard dump off passes to the FB, and the 8 yard buttonhook to a covered WR. If he's got the arm strength to complete midrange outs, and deep fly patterns, they need to include that in the playbook to the level where opposing DC's have to game plan for it. Right now, Michigan's offense can be game planned by a JV HS coach, and successfully defended. As I stated before, they've got a QB in McNamara who can pose a serious threat to opposing defenses, but they use him the wrong way. They bottle him up with a bunch of "safe" passes, that even a good HS defense can cover. No wonder OSU laughs at us when they play us. (WHEN we play)

Same with Edwards. He's a fine running back. I saw his game against Clarkston, and he was like a man among boys. And, it was because his coach kept using him in situations where he had the advantage. If they take Edwards, and run him TnT on 90% of his plays, what do you think opposing DC's will do? Pack the middle.

Thus my Lamborghini illustration. If you have a Lamborghini, drive it like a performance car, not a mini-van. Make opposing defenses respect the QB's arm, and the running ability of someone like Edwards.

Look at what Nick did for Harris at Alabama. He made him the feature back, runs him outside, inside, and catches passes out of the backfield. Opposing defenses have no idea where he's coming from next. And if that's not enough, his QB can run the ball, and shred your defenses with his passing ability. Most teams can't defend that.

I don't expect Michigan to use either of these guys to their fullest potential. I expect both of them to be here a couple years, and then they'll move on either via the transfer portal, or they'll go to the NFL. It shouldn't happen, but it will.

Meanwhile, OSU will have a roster full of 4th and 5th year seniors, with talented underclassmen up the wazzoo just waiting for them to leave. They're going to dominate Michigan all the way through the 2020's.

[iam416]

M appears set to land a lower 3* OT for the class of 2022. I ordinarily wouldn't give two shits about a kid like that, but he is the absolute, 100% quintessential Warriner recruit. Very tall and generally not highly-regarded so Warriner doesn't really have to work to land him.