UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[lineygoblue]

Regardless of the official word, Harbaugh was offered the Michigan job. He didn't want it at the money that was being offered. His loss.

I think there was probably at least one additional factor. His wifey is a west-coaster, who reportedly wasn't too keen on the idea of moving to the midwest.

And you're correct that it is indeed his loss. He, along with Les Miles both reportedly considered Michigan to be their 'dream job', and now neither of them will ever get a shot at it again.

[Chuck Mallory]

The hell with JH and his big ego. I'll say it again I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have on M's sideline.

I'm not sure JH would of done as good as Hoke and company have did so far.

[SeanB]

Doesn't Harbaugh have children from a previous marriage, too? That's a very difficult variable with which to work. If he got a job he wanted, and got to stay in close contact with his children, then all the better. AA just wasn't going to work for him.

As the years go by, and if Michigan climbs back up, it will be interesting to see who comes into this staff to be potentially groomed as a successor. We all know it won't be Borges or Mattison. Too old. Hopefully as coaches "age out", Hoke will hire and up and comer with promise. Long way to go, yet, though. Just fun to speculate.

[lineygoblue]

it will be interesting to see who comes into this staff to be potentially groomed as a successor.

Watch out for anyone with the last name of Mallory. It wouldn't surprise me to see a former Lloyd assistant make his way back. Maybe someone like Scott Loeffler or Andy Moeller.

Its probably not going to happen for a while, especially if Hoke is successful. Hoke isn't that old.

[WM Wolverine]

From rivals: Things are moving in the right direction with Gunner Kiel QB... M leading for Aaron Burbridge WR and the competition is Sparty... Terry Richardson CB 'might' announce this week, M expected leader...

[hack]

Harbaugh may or may not have a massive ego, but chasing money makes him roughly the same as the other 6 billion people on the planet. Anyways, it ain't braggin if it's true. What Harbaugh did as a college coach was spectacular and he's got a right to be pretty proud of himself. we would have been very lucky to have him here, even for a few years. Or what we've got could work out quite well too, but based on their track records it's pretty silly to compare Hoke to Harbaugh favorably. I think it's a massive and perhaps reckless leap to assume that this was JH's last shot here. We haven't even seen Hoke coach a single game! I wouldn't be surprised at all if in a few years Harbaugh has fallen out of favor in SF and we are again mentioning him as a candidate here.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Interesting......

Yes, there's a chance Harbaugh does a Saban and flames out with the pros but chances are against it as he lived the NFL, unlike Saban, for 12 years. He's also got a ton of family support from members who have had very good coaching careers in the NFL. I think Harbaugh does well.

Comparing Hoke and Harbaugh? I think its fair to do that and I agree with you, Hoke's track record is not as impressive as Harbaugh's at face.

But from what I've seen of them, they are two very different kinds of coaches. One of the main ones is that Jimmy ball game is always about Jimmy. If Hoke has an ego at all, I haven't seen it on display. Second, Hoke doesn't say much. Right now, that's important. Not sure I'd want to be behind the curtain ready to drop the cane around JH's neck and pull him off stage for an ill timed remark.

All things considered and given that he and Mattison can recruit, I'm pretty happy that Brady Hoke is in Ann Arbor. I'll feel a lot better about it when we look back on the 2011 football season as a big success which includes beating our rivals.

[lineygoblue]

Brady Hoke is a guy that I really WANT to see win at Michigan. He's kind of an "everyman". The guy who if you sat next to him at Buffalo Wild Wings, would probably buy you a beer and talk football with you. Harbaugh, probably not so. He'd take his wings and beer and go to another table.

If Hoke strings together 9 and 10 win seasons, there ain't nobody going to get another shot at the job. Hoke will have Carr-like job security.

That being said, he's got to beat the Sucknuts, .. and soon.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Perfect description of Hoke v. Harbaugh at Buffalo Wings.

Last football season, a Stanford Football radio show would come on around 6:30PM on Rival's radio. I'd catch it occasionally. Harbaugh appeared at times at the place they did the show at in Palo Alta .... some kind of McBar I think.

Anyway, his demeanor on the show was sort-of distant, not part of the group and doing this as a favor to the lowly fans who went to the local bars and not the County Club sort of thing. He also did the coach speak routine and I remember going blah, blah, blah all the time when I'd catch him. Sure, not a great way to evaluate a guy but sometimes that kind of stuff is valuable and IMO, Liney's description is spot on.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Per Rivals .... 4* Cass Tech CB Terry Richardson will announce Tomorrow at 11:45 at a news confernce at his school. Offers include USC, Michigan, Alabama, Notre Dame and LSU. He was known to be a Michigan lean but planned to announce at a camp this summer. He's moved his announcement up and was at Michigan this weekend.

[Jeff Buchanan]

......on Richardson. Word at Rivals is that he is going to build some drama so expect some crazy stuff to come from various CFB boards. Was reported he tweeted about 30 mintues ago ...."Roll Tide, I might commit."

[Rocky Bleier]

What, no Sparty?

[Hannibal]

If he does make his announcement tomorrow, call the equipment manager and get him a winged helmet.

[Jeff Buchanan]

What, no Sparty?

Sparty fruitlessly offered but MSU did not make Richardson's top five when he narrowed his huge offer list down.

[Jeff Buchanan]

This gets filed in the Don't Count Your Chickens Folder but its pretty amusing:

"What is Michigan State's reward for beating Michigan three times in a row?

Nine players with Spartans offers have said "no thanks" and verbally committed to the Wolverines.

To add insult to injury, seven of those nine athletes are in-state players."

This was the bullet point on MLive that forced me to open up the Lansing State Journal article that was linked. I know this horse is dying, and the Fort is taking bats and boots to it like it was the fax machine in Office Space, but I can't help piling on....Near as I can tell, the following passage seems to suggest that their remaining strategy is to find late bloomers and sleepers....Unless the wiley Dantonio has something else up his sleave...oh well, good luck with that. I hope to be reading this type of article about tOSU and ND when it comes to recruiting in the not too distant future...."

From the linked article:

"But the Spartans also have a few things going for them heading through this recruiting season. While some recruits frequent camps across the nation and pile up offers well before their senior seasons are close to beginning, other players break out later and come on the scene right before or during their senior seasons in high school.

Some are sure to be noticed for the first time at camps this summer.
"I think it's important to know what happened over the months of June and July last year," Trieu said. "Ed Davis (Michigan State) and Jake Fisher (Oregon) didn't have big offers until they've gone to these camps. There's always going to be a few that break out. I think that's where Michigan State has done well in identifying those types of players."

Link: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20110514/GW01/105140325/MSU-football-U-M-off-to-quick-start-for-recruits?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE %7Cs