UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[iam416]

Heh. Josh Metellus (and others) are in fact visiting this weekend. A chance for JH to flip another kid or two!

[iam416]

Bredeson is more important for pure recruiting purposes. IMO Gary would be the huge difference-maker

Well, heh, yeah! Bredeson is the one, IMO, that M has the best chance with. That's why i say he's most important for pure rankings purposes. If they miss him, they could easily -- and I mean easily -- go 0 for 3. Plus, he's pretty damn good. So getting him and adding the Taylor kid from Maryland fills out a really nice OL class.

[hack]

Right -- for rankings, and also perception. Probably Bredeson's impact is first felt on Michgan forums.

[iam416]

IMO, the most important recruit for M in this class or next is Peoples-Jones. Gary, obviously, would be an awesome get, but that's going to be a war with everyone. And even though JH hired the Paramus coach, that's still a battle. But if they lose Gary, IMO they lose him South.

DPJ is in-state. He's the outside gamebreaker they absolutely need (no disrespect to the Indiana kids). And if he doesn't go to M, he's going Sparty or OSU. Plus that's a kid that JH will have ample time to recruit and build a relationship with. If I were a M fan, I'd consider him an absolute must get.

[hack]

Absolutely. That would be a loss -- of perception, and of serious talent to a rival. Yes.

[WM Wolverine]

Not counting on Kelly or Gary either. M is in on a lot of other LB'ers other than Kelly so he's not a big loss. I think he decides late and M will keep a spot open for him but expect him to stay out in California or goto Oklahoma...

Gary plays a position of need, not immediate but M needs a blue chip DT in this class and M hired his former coach. Gary has a good head on his shoulders and M's competition right now is mostly Bama and a bit from Ohio, hopefully this recruitment goes the opposite of Da'Shawn Hand...

Bredeson like Kelly isn't a critical recruit, M is doing very well with their top offensive line targets. I see him as a high floor recruit (very likely a good B10 OL) but he's not certainly an offensive tackle at the next level so I'm not as high on him as most (or all) recruiting services...

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I expect a strong weekend with M's camps in Ann Arbor. Quite a few players I think could decide for the Wolverines rather soon. I'd put the O/U at 3 commits for the weekend, hopefully they are more the 4-star caliber than the 3-star variety..

Devin Bush Jr. LB, Josh MeTellus S & Devin Gil S, teammates, all visiting this weekend. M isn't doing particularly well with their top safety targets (DB's in general) so landing a couple 3-stars at safety that the staffs likes wouldn't give me cause for concern.

[WM Wolverine]

I'm not one to judge ones recruiting acumen on one recruit; e.g. Peoples-Jones. Yet he's a playmaker M has been lacking since Denard, the type of talent opposing defensive coordinators will soften itself elsewhere to help defend him...

M is in good position thus far with most the in-state '17 recruiting class other than Ambry Thomas (MLK) of the top 9 recruits. Success on the field in '15 will determine how well M does here.

[hack]

I don't know if it's true or not that DPJ is either M, MSU or OSU, but he's ranked #12 in that class or something? Michigan won't face Gary or Kelly once a year if they don't come here, but would with DPJ if what Talent is saying is true. Our loss would be the gain of a chief rival there, plus the matter of controlling one's home state.

[Hannibal]

IMHO if Hill is flippable then he is at the top of my list as far as important recruits goes. Bredeson is up there too.

[WM Wolverine]

Gary and DPJ are difference makers. I'd take those two even if it means missing out on all of Kelly LB, Bredeson OL, Mitchell WR, Daniels DT, Hawkins WR.

[The Oracle]

Hill sounds like he'd be flippable if M turns up the heat. I haven't seen a lot of his film, but the book on him is he's good in tee shirts and shorts, but just ok in pads.

[iam416]

Gary and DPJ are difference makers. I'd take those two even if it means missing out on all of Kelly LB, Bredeson OL, Mitchell WR, Daniels DT, Hawkins WR.

There's a lot of truth to that. Hoke's recruiting was sort of the anti-version of this -- very solid, deep classes that lack difference makers (except Peppers). I guess it's the NFL approach to first round draft picks as well.

I see it with OSU, too. An elite QB, DL or Offensive Edge player can elevate a team. I think of Alabama last season if they didn't have Amare Cooper (who was totally elite as a recruit). In contrast, think about Oregon's skill player injuries and how that affected them. Being able to stress the defense in both directions with speed is a massive advantage. Being able to dominated the 1-3 gaps can cripple a run game.

The one other type of player I would add is the hybrid defender (Darron Lee). IMO, it seems like JH is very aware of this. I think it's also possible that those kids don't rate super high because they're evaluated either as a S or a LB. In reality they have to be both -- I almost think they should create a "Star" or "Hybrid" recruiting evaluation for defensive kids that is analogous to the "Athlete" they use for offense. That's exactly why JH wants Dytarious.

[Da Geezer]

BR has headlines that Saban is going hard after Gary. Sounds like Gary has visited almost every school in the SEC. Saban is in this week's SI complaining that he is not on an even playing field with the B10 camps, particularly Harbaugh's.

I was trying to look up Saban's record at MSU, and there was a note that he had to forfeit 10 games. Does anyone know when that was? Was it more of the Perles cheating, or was it Saban cheating?

[Hannibal]

It was Perles.

[Hannibal]

Low 3-star Antwaine Richardson (CB) commits.