UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[Rocky Bleier]

What a strange twist...


You have to be somewhere you have less distractions and be around people that do what you do, go to class, be football players, be a student-athlete. That’s the environment I want him to be around, and not be in close proximity to his friends.
“I want him out of Michigan. I don’t care if that’s Ohio State or Florida State.”

http://247sports.com/Article/Malik-McDowell-Signing-Day-Decision-In-State-Out-Of-State--175081

[iam416]

Yeah, that's what I was referring to. It seems like the parents know he doesn't want to go to M and have no intention of letting him go to MSU, so it's "out of state" for MM.

Apparently he also wants to be close enough so that his parents and grandparents can see him play. That doesn't exactly jibe with FSU. I dunno. Anyway, it's not a huge position of need for OSU. He's pretty good, though. Eh, whatever. Right now if OSU hangs on to Jamarco Jones and calls it a day, that's a damn good class. MM would be a cherry on top.

[Rocky Bleier]

I'm getting tired of a team whose head coach is a d-line coach and can't recruit top d-linemen. I can only use the "RichRod didn't recruit defense" excuse for so long.

[Mike]

One could argue it's been used too long already.

[SeattleLionsFan]

One minute is too long.

[Rocky Bleier]

No, there was definitely truth to it. He wrecked the defense both in terms of depth and talent.

[Rocky Bleier]

Sam Webb live chat replay:

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140203/SPECIAL01/140202001/LIVE-NOW-Join-Sam-Webb-football-recruiting-chat-?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

[WM Wolverine]

Sounds like a Sparty to me but his parent are pushing him elsewhere (out of state).

[SeattleLionsFan]

No, there was definitely truth to it. He wrecked the defense both in terms of depth and talent.

Excuses are like assholes (or belly buttons).

[WM Wolverine]

RR certainly wrecked the defense, he mismanaged the defense worse than I thought was possible...

The talent here still isn't quite good enough in terms of All B10, NFL ready draftees. I think we'll like having Frank Clark, Jake Ryan & Desmond Morgan as senior starters. Plus James Ross is an upperclassman, as is Blake Countess...

Defensive line after Clark is weak but has some talent; guys like Ondre Pipkens, Willie Henry, Chris Wormley, Tom Strobel, Mario Ojemudia, Taco Charlton, etc need to live up to their billing a little earlier than expected.

[The Oracle]

Yes. That's why I'm not hell bent on what McDowell is doing. Be great to get him, but they need to figure the coaching shit out first. Coach the guys they have up and the talent will come.

[hack]

Whilst I agree, this is just bad overall. It's not program-killer bad and there's no need to lose sleep over it, but Michigan has to get its fucking act together or there will be more of these.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Fans are putting too much stock in recruits that do or don't show up as 2014 signees on 02/04.

Hack has it right, among others (Oracle) ..... figure out the coaching shit and they will come.

I have a suspicion that there were massive chemistry issues among coaches and between coaches and players during 2013. The stuff going on with Lewan and Brenden Gibbons contributed.

We saw this with Rodriguez. He didn't handle squabbles among his coaching staff well and relied too much on his insider friends. Meanwhile the kids didn't give a shit and their performance on the field was an indicator of that. Hoke's 2013 season was a repeat of RR's last year almost in spades.

The difference is that Hoke probably fired the right guy and Rodriguez didn't. I'm going to be open minded about 2014 but this is a show me year for Hoke. I think he knows it's a show me year as far as Brandon is concerned. Brandon is f'ed if Brady fails and he won't wait around for him to fail on his watch. He's out next year if he does.

Many poo-pooed the idea of Nussmeir coming in as a threat to Hoke. Personally I don't think Hoke had anything to do with Nussmeir's hiring. That was a Brandon deal and it was deal made for the express purpose of preparing a suitable replacement for Hoke if one is needed. I don't think Brandon gives a shit about what Hoke thinks and he's lying through his teeth when he says Brady Hoke runs the football program not me. Bull shit.

There is too much at stake here for Diamond Dave. He may be an idiot, and I think he is in terms of building and nurturing the fan base the Athletic Department depends on over the long haul but the most important thing for Dave is not to look bad and he is going to look bad if Hoke fails by repeating 2013 in 2014. Dave knows he better have a messianic savior ready to fill in. Nussmeir is the guy.

[Ghengis Jon]

Thats kind of cynical, but it has a definite ring of truth to it. Brand-On! has stabbed many during his tenure (some in the back), and now he stands (out of self preservation) prepared to cut a major throat. Protect the revenue regardless of the body count is a trait of today's CEO mentality. So let's look at the math. Doesn't Hoke have a 5 year contract? I know the buy-out was pretty steep for the first few years (lesson learned from the RR affair) but what is it for the final (5th) year? Salary plus...? That figure balanced against the projected loss of donations and tv contract pricing tells you exactly what Brand-On! will do. Fan/alumni concerns and program health are very distant 2nd and 3rd considerations versus the revenue stream. It's all about the money for him. It could also very well be that he is simply following his orders from above (the so-called Eichmann Defense). The BoT might be very content with his 'leadership', not really giving a damn about athletics beyond it's money generation potential.

[iam416]

the most important thing for Dave is not to look bad and he is going to look bad if Hoke fails by repeating 2013 in 2014. Dave knows he better have a messianic savior ready to fill in. Nussmeir is the guy.

It's hard to imagine a scenario where Nussmeier is the "savior" and Hoke fails in 2014. If M fails in 2014 it will most likely result from choppy offensive play and a disastrous OL. The defense is what it is. It should be fairly consistent and more than able to match most teams on M's schedule.

So, if Hoke fails it's most likely going to be because Nussmeier failed.

Further, if Hoke fails I don't see Brandon and M settling for an f'n coordinator.

Buchanan's cynicism when it comes to M always brightens my day, but in this case I think it's unwarranted.