UM Football Recruiting - by WM Wolverine

[iam416]

Davis is ranked like O’Korn? Didn’t realize O’Korn was a high 4* top 100 player.

[lineygoblue]

My comment about O'Korn was about where he was when Michigan had the 'good fortune' of landing his services. He was horrible.

Unfortunately, that is where Davis is headed.

I wish just once that Michigan could recruit a top quarterback.

Just once.

[Mike]

Chad Henne was a 5*. So was his planned replacement, Ryan Mallett.

[Whitley]

Chad Henne was a 5*. So was his planned replacement, Ryan Mallett.

Wasn't Drew Henson a 5 star too?

[Mike]

He would have been but I think he predated star ratings. Pretty sure he was regarded as the top HS player in the country.

[lineygoblue]

No, fellas. Stay within the forum guidelines here. Those guys sucked, because they didn't win any NCAA championships.

By forum standards, Brian Griese was better than Tom Brady.

Only NC's count. And since ours was only a 'half', Griese is hanging by a Florida chad.

[iam416]

The current starting QB for M.

But, it takes a special kinda of bitch to (a) nail himself to the cross because Jadyn Davis is only ranked #60 overall and only ranked 6th best QB; and (b) be so hilariously wrong about so much including bitching about Davis only being ranked as the 6th overall QB beause, afterall, he finished 6th in the Elite 11.

This could actually can be and has been a pretty good thread. For those who actually care about recruiting. For those who want to play martyr at the fucking slightest of sleights against all things M, then it's a waste of time. The fallback to the persecution complex when completely wrong is, man, so pathetic.

[iam416]

He would have been but I think he predated star ratings. Pretty sure he was regarded as the top HS player in the country.

I think Henne was pretty widely regarded as the best QB in the class. He certainly had all the physical tools. He was a definite 5*. Henson, Henne, McCarthy -- all 5*. Jadyn Davis -- high 4*.

[iam416]

I remember under UFM, Ohio State got a verbal from Danny Clark -- as a sophomore QB. Maybe even Frosh. He was a 5* as a sophomore. 4* as a junior. 3* as a senior. Eventually ended up at Pitt, I think. I remember when he dropped, my reaction was --- well, yeah. I saw him play. He ain't a 5*. And by the time he ended up at Pitt, I was glad he wasn't using a scholarship. It was just a matter of building a knowledgebase on him to get the far more accurate picture of what he was. Sucked for him that he got a giant "O" tattoo on his arm in HS, but that's life.

Davis is way better than Clark. He's a legit mid 4*, top 10 at his position (I'm higher on Davis than WM...heh). Those are players you can win with. But, he's also not a 5* top 20 overall player.

Speaking of 5* recruits, I was looking M's last 2 classes -- and it's funny -- JJ, Edwards and Will Johnson are the 5* kids in that class. El-Hadi and Colson were other top 100 kids in the 247 Composite for the juniors-to-be. I wish HARBAUGH!!!! had recruiting more 3* kids instead of those guys. Fucker.

As an side, 247Sports making it way harder to sort composite rankings is bullshit. That was the genius of their website. I don't care nearly as much about the actual 247 ranking. Now it's a giant pain in the ass to get to composite numbers. Fuckers.

[AlabamAlum]

Any reasonable person who looks at it knows recruiting matters greatly. The old line about, “It’s not the X’s and O’s, it’s the Jimmys and Joes is absolutely correct and to test that you can look at championships or win%. The teams with more bluechippers win more. It’s easy to verify.

Those who say it doesn’t matter or that it’s made up (or in Liney’s case, that it is monkeyed with to hurt Michigan) love to look at anecdotal stuff: “Well, Joe Blow was a 3-star and he became a franchise player in the NFL.” or “Jimmy Smith was a 5-star and he was horrible and now sells insurance for Nationwide.” It reminds me of cigarette smokers. If you tell someone who doesn’t want to quit that smoking three packs of Marlboro reds a day is bad for them, they tell you a story about how their great-grandmother lived to 103 and she smoked FOUR packs, or how a neighbor who never smoked just died of lung cancer at 33…

Anytime you use anecdotal counters as a proof against established data you run into giant problems. It’s a very human thing to do, though, as it helps us hang onto our biases and promote the results we want to see.

[THE_WIZARD_]

...as the Beatles once said...."...all you need is HARBAUGH!!!!"

[WingsFan]

Any reasonable person who looks at it knows recruiting matters greatly.

I agree, you got to have the horses. Michigan fans do like saying "Stars Don't Matter' when its a down recruiting period or they (SEC/OSU) dropped him the 💰💰

Whatever the case, wish it was a more even playing field.

I predict Oklahoma is going to have another down period - especially after they join the SEC Not crazy Nebraska bad, but way down for a few years.

[AlabamAlum]

Sacks of cash are ostensibly legal now. The big money boosters can and do sign kids to do ads and whatever. Michigan is doing it (maybe not as well as others, but they are doing it, nonetheless). Schools are shadow coordinating NIL collectives. It needs to be regulated but this is the world we live in now.

[lineygoblue]

I really liked Chad Henne. He had the misfortune of playing the ends of his last two seasons at less than 100%, one of his OSU games with a separated shoulder. I thought then, and still do, that he was one of the best HS QB's that Michigan had recruited in the modern era, along with Drew Henson. But Henne never really got a chance to shine at the end of his last two seasons, due to injury issues. Michigan played OSU in his last two seasons with him hobbled, along with Mike Hart at less than 100%. They both deserved a better end to thair M careers.

I think JJ McCarthy is probably even better than Henne, and likely the best since Henson. I hope he can stay healthy and productive. If Michigan can give him a strong running game, it should make his throwing more effective, because it won't be the only way that M can move the ball. But they need to focus on keeping him upright.

I think Michigan has loads of talent in other areas as well. I really like how the trenches are being developed. The OL is probably as deep as any other time that I can remember. Same with the DL. I'd like to be excited about that, but I dare not show that here.

I think our RB room is probably the strongest its been since the days of Tony Boles, Tyrone Wheatley and Leroy Hoard. Throw Tim Biakabatuka in there as well. This group is really special. I think that Ben Hall and Cole Cabana are two sleepers that could have a major impact this year, but I can't really get excited about that in here as well.

Overall, I think Coach Harbaugh and his staff have really committed themselves to improve the talent level of the team, especially since 2020. I think its working, and the results show it. But, again, Harbaugh has never won anything, so I can't get too excited about that either.

So, real world, and not tugging at Talent's chain, ..(I really shouldn't have caused him to swear) I like Michigan's recruiting over the past 3 years, and I think they're poised to get even better. I think they've filled needs, even if it doesn't meet the robust standards of the recruiting services. I guess we'll see how it all pans out going forward.

There you go, Mr. Talent Esq. Blast away. you have the final word.

[iam416]

There's nothing in there that's insane or even anything I'd do much more than quibble with. I never said M's recruiting was "bad". I've actually said it's good. So have all the recruiting services. Indeed, based on roster talent as measured by recruiting rankings, M has more talent than 11 of the 12 teams on their schedule (and same last year). That's pretty good recruiting.

The only knock I've given M's recruiting is that it's not at a level to win the CFP. And that's just my opinion. They can win everything else and that's a pretty good season.

McCarthy has the best arm strength of any M QB in ages. Probably since Henson. He has areas he needs to improve, but he has, without question, NFL tools. And Edwards and Corum are total badasses. And, as WM mentioned, HARBAUGH!!! almost "overrecruited" OL, but they have enough depth/bodies that they're playing the odds that they'll get 5 that can play -- and that's working for them.