UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[Rob F]

Sure hope you're right about being wrong, Liney!

WM keep up the good work with those recruit rankings. Do you plan on taking down the 2012 list at some point? I think it might be a better idea to keep that list up there permanently; it'll be fun to look at it when those kids---most of whom won't even arrive on campus until this coming August---are juniors and seniors.

Looking at that 2012 list now and it's funny when I realize that:

1) I've gotten so involved in reading up on the next couple classes ('13 & '14) that I've somewhat forgotten some of the names on that 25-man list; and

2) seeing 11-3* ratings and being disappointed (when practically the entire '13 class will be 4* or better) is such a change from the previous few years when we settled for mostly 3* or even lower.

[lineygoblue]

is such a change from the previous few years when we settled for mostly 3* or even lower.

Yeah, its nice that we're not competing with Central Michigan and Akron for recruits anymore.

[iam416]

M is recruiting at a very high level thanks to Urban being very picky about who he offers in Ohio (when he does offer, its always too late),

That's actually selling Hokattison a bit short. They do a really nice job of recruiting, especially Mattison. And for a number of the Ohio kids they got, they offered early -- like last summer -- and have been building that relationship for a full year. And they do a really good job doing that. That's the advantage they have on UFM and they're doing a nice job making it count.

Recruits from outside of B10 country typically are going to be more difficult pulls and decide later than kids in the B10 region as a lot of them don't get to visit Ann Arbor (and/or other schools to compare to) till the summer or even fall...

Exactly. Honestly, I think Hokatisson are recruiting like Tressel. Tressel really did a nice job in Ohio and, for that matter, in the midwest. He pulled some big-time kids out of the south (Grant, Berry, Sabino, e.g.), but those were the exception. UFM, in contrast, is an aggressively national recruiter. It's almost comical -- there are threads on the Scout premium website complaining about his unwillingness to offer Ohio kids. Those have died down a bit recently, but there's still a real frustration over not hitting Ohio hard enough.

[Rocky Bleier]

Sounds like RichRod. He handed Michigan to Sparty while trolling Florida. ;-)

[Chuck Mallory]

Who is everyone most excited to see coming from the '12 class. Its Kalis for me. Can't wait to see that road grader as an anchor on the oline in a few years. Actually about 2014-2015 I can't wait to see what Michigan's offensive line will look like.

[WM Wolverine]

I still see Levenberry as a coin flip,

[Hannibal]

I worry that Kalis will be the next Steve Schilling -- i.e. a guy who should be playing guard, but will be forced to play tackle for two years because of lack of depth at that position.

Holy crap, are we ever thin on the offensive line.

[Hannibal]

Are we trying to land a NT in this class?

[lineygoblue]

Chuck - I think I'm looking forward to Kalis as well, but I think Joe Bolden is the dark horse of this class.

BTW .. I believe Steve Schilling is still on somebody's NFL roster. I'm too lazy to look up the team, but I believe it was mentioned over at Rivals.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Schilling played for the Chargers last year. He played in 9 games and started 2.

http://www.nfl.com/player/stephenschilling/2499259/careerstats

[Hannibal]

He was a really good (and underappreciated) guard. Might have been multiple year 1st team all Big Ten under more favorable circumstances.

[Da Geezer]

The player I'm most interested in seeing play is Pipkins. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised, because he is arguably the most needed freshman. WM: your rankings are every bit as good as any of the services, so I hope you keep up the great posting.

But, on another matter, WM Wolverine implies to me you are from WM. Owosso is nowhere near the Coastal Empire! GR is the eastern boundary of WM, IMHO. An alternate qualifier is if you speak Dutch.

[hack]

Pipkins for me, cause I'll miss Martin so, so much.

[SeanB]

I'd like to see how the safety position pans out over the next 2-3 seasons. Kovacs is a gamer and I love the way he plays and I think he'll be a great team leader (and already is, actually). When he leaves, there will be some holes to fill in that regard. I try not to poor mouth a player's athletic ability, because they do stuff I simply can't, but I do think he does have some limitations in that area. It will be interesting to see what a more gifted athlete can do. Although I have to admit just being physically gifted doesn't always translate, as we all know.

As I understand it, Mattison's safeties are key to what he tries to do with his playcalling and packages, and we need some real talent back there to be successful long-term, IMO.

[lineygoblue]

Mattison likes to screw with QB's and OC's heads. He likes to give a lot of different looks, but he can't give credible looks unless the players he's using are a threat to do what it looks like they're doing.

For instance, if it looks like he's going to blitz a safety, then that safety has to have a "rep" that he can get there on the blitz. The remaining guys have to have the rep that they can cover, even though the safety is blitzing. Just giving a "look" isn't enough. Whether its a bluff, or its real, its got to be credible.

This is where its so important that the talent level of our defensive personnel continues to grow. With great talent, you have more options. (like he had with the Ravens, .. i.e. Ed Reed and Ray Lewis)