UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[Mike]

Great news!

[Jeff Buchanan]

Explains the Schutt situation .....

Bet Pipkins was a silent months ago.

[Hannibal]

Sounds like a great pickup. He's a 4* guy everywhere, and it sounds like he still might be rated too low. I'd still feel better if we'd get another blue chipper at DT this year though. Still don't get that. I hope that it's a positive sign that the staff feels good about the abilities of Matt Godin and the underclassmen currently on the roster.

[Jeff Buchanan]

No where that I'm following discussions has the DT recruiting made a lot of sense. It makes no sense in light of Hoke's background.

OTOH, there is no question that NFL defenses have moved closer and closer to exlusive use of odd man fronts. That's also the trend in college ball. That approach requires the use of more agile body types both inside and outside and those guys are tweener LB/DLmen.

I'd have to go down the list of players on the current roster and look at 2011 recruits to see if what it appears Mattison and Hoke are doing fits the trend I mentioned above. I think somebody at one of the sites has done some of that and I know WM has mentioned it.

No question RR wanted an odd man front with more agile defenders up front. His problem was he didn't have a coaching staff that had a clue how to run one with one guy in particular blowing smoke up his ass that implied he did.

[Hannibal]

Even if we're moving to odd man fronts, I think that I might want another NT type.

[Rocky Bleier]

The beat goes on!

For your enjoyment:http://michiganstate.247sports.com/B...rbal-1094473/1

[WM Wolverine]

Matthew Godin is a likely 3-tech DT and either of Chris Wormley or Tom Strobel could play there too. In this defense you want a 5-tech DE to almost be the size of a 3-tech DT...

Some analysts see Pipkins has a top 100 type talent.

[Rocky Bleier]

Except clueless ESPN which listed him as a 3 star, then said he had offers from Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. What dumbasses.

[lineygoblue]

ESPN is historically tough on kids from the midwest.

[Hannibal]

WM Wolverine what do you think of Jordan Payton?" We supposedly made his top two.

[WM Wolverine]

Here is my ranking of M WR targets (in order):

*Amara Darboh (4*), Jordan Payton (3*), Monty Mandaris (3*) & Jehu Chesson (3*)...

Darboh is a idea #2 receiver, not someone with a ton of speed/elusiveness yet still plenty athletic that can turn a solid gain into a big play. Kinda in the mold of Adrian Arrington... Jordan Payton might get a 4th star from the recruiting services because he started real high from getting noticed early. He's been leapfrogged by tons of more athletic receivers who've outperformed him in recent camps. I like his talent and would like him in this class but imo was overrated initially. FWIW he's real high on M and is a potential commit when he takes his official... Monty Madaris is another WR I'm not as high on as a lot of others, he's a big target with long arms and physical but isn't going to outrun many defensive backs. Kinda of a more athletic Jeremy Jackson. Like Payton, I'd like him in this class but would hope he's the 2nd receiver in a 2 WR class... Jehu Chesson is still on my board but I don't think M would take him until the others have decided, I'd probably rate him as a solid 3*, while the other couple WR's on my board (Payton & Madaris) are strong 3-stars...

Those who go to camps and watch 7-on-7's have a lot more authority to speak about receivers. You can only tell so much from highlights and game film; most notably a receivers routes/cuts are already made usually by the time the camera pans on them. A WR's 'drops' are obviously not on his highlight reels, maybe a receivers most important attribute is his hands. Even then, your relying on a likely suspect high school QB to get him the ball and many times they are being covered by someone that can't run a 4.8 forty.

Result is when I watch WR's highlights I see a lot of guys outrunning the DB's for bombs or are wide open; not a lot to really gauge their 'skill' other than their athletic ability. Good WR's with good QB's look great while good WR's with lousy QB's look mediocre.

Anyway, I think WR is the only position where M hasn't done well in recruiting (so far); this after taking no receivers in the previous class. Blue chips in '13 can come in and play immediately.

[Da Geezer]

Wasn't there a lot of talk of how well Pharoh Brown did as a receiver during the 7 on 7's?

[Jeff Buchanan]

yes ..... but I doubt he is anything other than a deep, deep back-up WR in the minds of the coaching staff at this point in time.

If he did play WR, he'd be one of those big rangy guys without a lot of break-away speed to gain separation but apparently he has good hands and in a battle with a 5'9" 190 pound corner, he wins those battles.

As WM points out, the focus for recruiting right now is WRs (along with a RB).

[Da Geezer]

Boy, how do you turn away a talent like Schutt from the BBQ. Maybe they thought he was a silent committ and would try to recruit attendees.

[lineygoblue]

I think its becoming evident why Schutt was turned away. It looks to me like the staff knew ahead of time that Pipkins was getting ready to commit, and my guess is that O'Brien will follow as well. So, they could afford to say no to Schutt. I don't think they lose anything by taking Pipkins and O'Brien instead of Schutt.