UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[WingsFan]

The Meathead over at Illinois wanted Hill badly, I know he's not happy F' him. I guess KU tried to snap him up with a nice big NIL deal.

[Cody_Russell]

Kansas? That surprises me because their class is junk. Would be like Hill being the only player they paid…. Hill is such a troll, but glad M was able to get him. I thought he was picking Purdue for like 5 seconds because of his announcement video.

Hill and Johnson for the next 2 to 3 years at CB. Pretty good. Now if only M gets Nic Harbor in the next few weeks…

[WingsFan]

My mistake UK

Now if only M gets Nic Harbor in the next few weeks…

I would be very surprised if he goes somewhere else, but you never know

[Hannibal]

rivals crystal balls are 100% for South Carolina.

[WingsFan]

247 has him 100% SC now too, just a few weeks ago it looked like Michigan.

[AlabamAlum]

His track coach since the 8th grade is a Michigan grad and big Blue fan. His dad went to Alabama State and is an engineer at NASA, his best friend went to Southern Cal, Maryland is the closest to his home, and South Carolina is recruiting him as a two-sport (football and track).

He’s another kid who I don’t believe will be recruited to a school because of NIL. He is a quality young man. I wish him luck wherever he goes.

[Big J]

For Michigan, the goal is going to have to be to keep recruiting players like Edwards and JJ, and then supplement their recruiting shortfalls with portal transfers. He's not going to be able to fill his roster with 5-stars, so he's going to have to use the portal and NIL to help move things along. There seems to be some resistance in the school leadership as far as diving into NIL, which I believe is a huge mistake. Recruiting can still nab a few Hutch, Edwards, JJ types, and the portal can fill gaps. And continue to keep quality coaching on the staff. I think that, as much as anything, is driving the recent success in portal commitments lately.

A lot of people think Ono is changing that already but will they ever go all in like schools in the south are doing? Is the problem fixed with transfers and the credit problem in admissions? Are we going to add more to recruiting like Alabama? Bama has so much money tied up in the recruiting department so its no wonder they recruit well. Will they stop nickel and diming with talented people here? We lost Morgan over money and you felt the difference in a single season after back to back big 10 championships.

If we ever want to have this program in elite status like Alabama has over the last decade then these are some issues Michigan must address.

[Big J]

Semaj Morgan https://youtu.be/e5s82kbdUfg
I think Semaj is an under rated prospect in the class. He is considered a technician in his route running with good hands.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Left without regulation - and talent correctly points out the risk of overdoing that - M isn't going to participate in the current wild, wild west theater that recruiting, NIL and the portal are. The money and resources are there. M principals that have a say in how M acquires football players are obstacles to entree into the game that other schools, most prominently in the SEC, are acquiring football players.

The transition to a 12 team CFP and the inevitable reshaping of the current conference landscape in CFB is going to clearly separate the teams that have the money and resources to play in the A league from those that don't and will be playing in a lower tier. I've already stated I'm not opposed to a two tier system. The question is which tier will M be playing in? One thing that is crystal clear to me is that playing in the A league is going to take a player acquisition system that gives a football roster some difference making elite players that are coming up from HS, forming a core of competent players; the portal filling in the roster where needed. It doesn't have to be a full roster of 5* but, depending on the style of play, a team has to have those dudes at the skill positions on offense and the freaks on defense that are difference makers on critical third downs or in high leverage situations.

My completely biased opinion is that Harbaugh has the team building experience to overcome M's lame approach - or at least what appears to be a lame approach - to recruiting, NIL and the portal in general. M has a lot to offer HS football players. I'm not as confident that outside of conference play M can compete and advance to the "final four" in the new CFP format. IMO, there will be very good football teams that simply can't overcome a lack of talent that went elsewhere and to programs that are fully unrestrained in doing whatever is necessary to sign said talent. Mitigating that imbalance should be the focus of any regulatory scheme that comes from the NCAA (doubt it) or the US congress (more likely).

[AlabamAlum]

Oh, it’s not just the SEC. UCLA, USC, Oregon, Oklahoma, TCU, and Florida State all have strong “rumors” about egregious NIL recruiting.

The NCAA has no idea at present how to regular it and coaches know that and some are taking advantage of it. And with HS students legally being about to strike NIL deals in 23 states), the rogue jock-sniffing boosters are able to groom the bluchippers in 10th grade and without fear.

You look at Alabama’s most notorious booster. Memphis multimillionaire, Logan Young, who owned (among other things) several new car dealerships. He infamously funneled a total of $200k to Albert Means’ mother (who was acting as his de facto agent) while Albert was in HS in the late 80’s/early 90’s. Now, that 100% would be legal as long as Young had Means do a commercial or put his face on a billboard or whatever.

You can apply that same scheme to Ed Martin and his $600k in “loans” to Michigan basketball. I have no idea what business Martin was in, but honestly there aren’t even rules that the NIL agreement has to made public or even mandating that it promotes a business. No one will be able to stop these boosters as it stands now. No one. It’s all wink and nod “legal” and inner city poor kids probably aren’t gonna turn down bags of “legal” cash.

This, plus the Portal, and expanding the playoff unnecessarily are going to ruin college football.

[DaGeezer]

Left without regulation - and talent correctly points out the risk of overdoing that - M isn't going to participate in the current wild, wild west theater that recruiting, NIL and the portal are. The money and resources are there. M principals that have a say in how M acquires football players are obstacles to entree into the game that other schools, most prominently in the SEC, are acquiring football players.

The transition to a 12 team CFP and the inevitable reshaping of the current conference landscape in CFB is going to clearly separate the teams that have the money and resources to play in the A league from those that don't and will be playing in a lower tier. I've already stated I'm not opposed to a two tier system. The question is which tier will M be playing in? One thing that is crystal clear to me is that playing in the A league is going to take a player acquisition system that gives a football roster some difference making elite players that are coming up from HS, forming a core of competent players; the portal filling in the roster where needed. It doesn't have to be a full roster of 5* but, depending on the style of play, a team has to have those dudes at the skill positions on offense and the freaks on defense that are difference makers on critical third downs or in high leverage situations.

My completely biased opinion is that Harbaugh has the team building experience to overcome M's lame approach - or at least what appears to be a lame approach - to recruiting, NIL and the portal in general. M has a lot to offer HS football players. I'm not as confident that outside of conference play M can compete and advance to the "final four" in the new CFP format. IMO, there will be very good football teams that simply can't overcome a lack of talent that went elsewhere and to programs that are fully unrestrained in doing whatever is necessary to sign said talent. Mitigating that imbalance should be the focus of any regulatory scheme that comes from the NCAA (doubt it) or the US congress (more likely).

True.

The first step toward competitive balance would be to have every team file a summary of their NIL and other payments to athletes. Now that the IRS is on-board with publishing individual tax returns, the returns of every athlete should be available. Athletes are rightly being paid for their contribution to a multi-billion dollar enterprise, but being paid means filing tax returns. Nothing wrong with that.

Next, there should be a generous limit on total payouts. Let's use OSU number of $ 13,000,000 (leaving out basketball). Eventually, this number will become the necessary amount to take part in big-time college football. If you want to be a part of a super-league, then pay up. If not, then play on with the current conferences, and let a 8-team playoff be the best 8 teams vying for one available spot in the NCG. I'd like to see a 24-team super-conference with 12 teams in each of two divisions. Play 11 games in the division and one crossover. Have a championship game that automatically gives the winner a spot in the national championship game.

[AlabamAlum]

Re: having the university provide a summary and setting limits:

The issue is the NIL isn’t a school deal. The high school players and college players sign deals on their own (as early as 10th grade in many states) without approval or oversight from any University.

Secondly, the courts have ruled that the individual players own their own name, image, and likeness and can sell it, rent it, and generally do with it as they please. Setting an arbitrary limit on how much they can make won’t be something they willingly give up. Any kind of limits would be a part of a CBA and that will only come to be if the players have a union.

[AlabamAlum]

The universities’ point of leverage is the game itself. Without the game, there would be no NIL for the players. We have no idea how to apply that leverage now, though. If the NCAA had been proactive, we would be in a different world right now. They weren’t and we’re gonna have to deal with the mess after the court ruling that was preceded by years of head-in-sand leadership from Indianapolis.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Unionization is probably coming for college athletes. Hard to predict when but it will happen. Mitigating against unions is the power, driven by pure dollars from collectives, that boosters aren't willing to relinquish. CBAs diminish that. It's a battle with an unknown outcome. I.think the CFB environment, it's trends, scream for regulation. It will probably be overdone.

[AlabamAlum]

Oh, I’m sure a Players’ Union will be coming. We will be faced with the potential for strikes and work stoppages as a leverage point from the players for more money. Coaches disciplining players will go through a public grievance process and little Jimmy may not have to run stadium steps or sit for a half or whatever and with that, the spirit and culture of college sports - something that makes many of us prefer it to pro sports - will be lost forever.