Monday 19 December 2011

Weekend Updates

I've gone back home for the holidays, so I've been busy lately; let's catch up on some recruiting news!

- Jehu Chesson visited Iowa yesterday and will decide sometime this week. He'll talk it over with family/coaches etc and Michigan should be the choice. It seems like he had a good time at Iowa, but I don't think it will be enough to pass up the opportunity at Michigan.

- Yuri Wright visited Notre Dame, and Michigan is up next for him in mid January. Firstly though he has the Army All American game.

- Michigan is in a good position for Armani Reeves still, but the fact is that he remains a Penn State commitment, and his decision will largely come down to who their new head coach is. Usually in this situation the recruit wants the new coach to be someone already on the staff, because they have a relationship already, so if Penn State hires externally, and assuming its not Urban Meyer (jokes!), I think we'll get him.

- Speaking of Urban Meyer, he just landed a commitment from Noah Spence, the number four player in the nation....wow. I know we're not meant to get carried away with all this recruiting hype around OSU, but look at their current DL recruiting class: Spence, Washington, Pittman, Schutt. There are some monsters right there, so just be thankful that we have the best OL class in the country: Stacey, Bars, Braden, Magnuson, Kalis + one more in the future!

- Josh Garnett has named a final three of Michigan, Notre Dame and Stanford. It's surprising that Washington didn't make the cut, as he's been a frequent visitor to them and of course they're the in state school. Stanford are the favorites in my book, they've got great academics, he's already visited them once before, and he's still got his official there to come.

32 comments:

  1. I read a post somewhere that Spence really wants to play TE at the next level and Urban offered him that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Has anyone heard any buzz coming out about who Penn State has on their list of possible coaches? I have never saw a coaching change go so quite. Seems like they are making no noise about it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If your a 5 star recruit and you told Urban Meyer you wanted to be the water boy, he would offer it to you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/story/2011-12-16/penn-state-coaching-search-tom-clements/52008580/1

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm really not feeling good about Yuri. Sounds like he had a phenomenal time at ND and was blown away. I think in the end it comes down to us, Rutgers and ND.

    I'm really not surprised that Garnett cut Washington; one of his biggest things is academics and Washington just doesnt match up to ND, Mich and Stanford in that category.

    In terms of Urban Meyer, he makes me very nervous. Not only can he recruit, but he is a dang good football coach. I think his worst year ever as a head coach was his last year at Florida when he was 8-5

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm tired of hearing how good of a coach urban meyer is. He won at Utah but what conference was he in again? He won at Florida with Ron Zook recruiting class, without Tebow he has done nothing. Yes, Tebow was recruiting by Florida but he always wanted to go to Florida. He recruited in a state where he could turn over in bed and a 5 star recruit was at his door. If your a coach in South and especially a major school in Florida it isn't that hard to recruit. Winning with Tebow, meyer should of had the exposure of kids wanting to be part of a winning program. That class should of been stack with Tebow departure but then realize he was garbage as a coach.

    ReplyDelete
  7. i still think ncaa is a bunch of crooks. meyer has an advantage by recruiting now and not doing bowl stuff. wait and see osu will get off easy. might just say what they did is fine. play in any bowl and get the jump on other schools. now i really really do hate them. both ncaa and osu

    ReplyDelete
  8. I think OSU is keeping Fickell on as D-co. That's most likely why they get two head coaches right now.

    ReplyDelete
  9. These Florida players currently are all Urban's, 6-6? I'm not worried at all about Meyer. He's a good coach, good recruiter. Personally I think UM is about to have Ohios number for a while. I give Urban 3 years and hes out. If he thinks it was stressful and high pressure in the sec at Fl, wait until he gets going at ohio with those bums. He hasn't coached in the B1G. As long as we keep our staff in tact, we are going to be NC and BCS relevant annually. We're getting players too. 3,4,5 star players, can all be the same, its proven every year. I'm confident Hoke & Co are recruiting the players that fit in at Michigan.
    This is Michigan, no reason to fear anyone.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Changed my display name lol was Uncle Bobby for my nieces little blog.....I'm now appropriately named...........MgoBlue!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. @Mr. Banda:
    Im kind of tired of this double standard that everyone has. We were praising Hoke and saying he was a great hire and a great coach for having pretty good success at Ball St and SDSU. I mean I dont think Hoke beat a BCS conference school in his coaching career before coming to Mich, yet we praised him and we were right, he has so far turned out to be a great hire.

    Now we are saying that a coach who is 104-23 as a head coach and has won 2 NCs and 2 additional BCS games hasnt yet proven that he is a good coach?

    He won with Zook's recruits? So what? Hoke is winning with RichRod's recruits, does that mean Hoke isnt that good of a coach?

    He only won because of Tebow? Having a great leader at QB helps, but Meyer did manage to recruit him. Isnt that part of a coach's job? to recruit great players to help you win games? Meyer was 35-6 with Tebow as a starter, he was 69-12 when Tebow wasnt his starter, identical winning %s.

    Meyer's recruits went 6-6 this year? True, but Meyer also wasnt the coach. They also played a pretty brutal schedule (Bama, @LSU, @Auburn, Georgia, @South Car) down the stretch.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love Hoke but it's going to be a battle... Meyer is going no where because he obviously can bring in the big guys... Not scared but Michigan fans should be alarmed by his success... Meyer already has OSU top 10 class in 2 weeks and top 5 class on scout. 1 or 2 more recruits he has passed Michigans class on scout atleast. So we should pay very close attention...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Are we in trouble in the Yuri Sweepstakes?

    ReplyDelete
  14. OSU is hot, but we are still going to land Garnett, Y.Wright, Chesson and Pharoah Brown will be forgiven and welcomed home. Ok maybe wishful thinking, but I am far more confident in the direction of the UM program in both the short-term and for the long haul. Hoke is going no where for at least the next decade (maybe longer). Mattison has stated, that the only coach he would have left the Baltimore Ravens for is Brady Hoke and for Michigan. He has spent 30+ years coaching and only 3 of them at the NFL level. He is paid like a head coach and he is not going anywhere. I think Borges will stick around for awhile too, although he may get a HC opportunity in a few years if the offense becomes a consistent juggernaut. How long will Meyer be around and even if he does stick around, I am SO confident in our coach's ability to coach and develop their players that I am not worried about the Washingtons, Pittmans and Spences of the world. I can see in the 2016 NFL draft guys like Wormley, Pipkins, Strobel and Ojemudia being drafted just as high as any of the OSU DL recruits. The ability of Coach Montgomery, Mattison and Hoke teaching technique and skill development will be amazing to watch these guys develop. Michigan is the team to be worried about in the Big Ten. Not Ohio and their "Flavor of the week" coach. Urban is a great recruiter and knows how to coach, but Michigan is still Michigan and we have A LOT to offer recruits and its only going to get better.

    BTW, for some of you saying how does Notre Dame consistently get these elite level recruits without being relevant in years/decades? If you have ever been on campus you know why. The town of South Bend is pretty lame, but the Notre Dame campus is AMAZING! I hate to say it but I have been there three times and everytime it is overwhelming. 17-18 year old kids are blown away by it. The stadium is also very similar in layout and only a little smaller than the Big House. Tradition is great, but lots of schools have great traditions, great academics, excellent TV exposure and an opportunity for early playing time, but the campus is what separates Notre Dame from almost anyone else and what keeps recruits coming back even amid the on-field mediocrity. I love Michigan's campus and the entire environment, but Notre Dame's is pretty special. So, all those wondering why they are relevant in recruiting year after year, that in my opinion is a major reason why.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think the basis of the frustration is this... Urban comes into a scenario where there SHOULD be sanctions... Wont be... but should be. You have Hoke trying to recruit as well as prepare for a game that is VITAL to our success. Michigan needs to win this bowl game. Absolutely needs to win, so his focus is split between preparing the team and trying to secure recruits... Meyer doesnt have to worry. Not only is their bowl game not really important if they win or lose, but he doesnt have to prepare for it. So... He can spend all of his efforts hitting these recruits. This would be an advantage for a any coach, let alone one that is as good a recruiter as Meyer is to begin with. But if your the NCAA here, your credibility is at risk. Here you have the situation at hand, which is bad enough. But you also have a coach allegedly telling recruits that the NCAA is not going to do anything? WOW...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Just a note: Per Josh Garnett's twitter last night he said the fans in Seattle were ripping hard on him for stating Michigan, Notre Dame, and Stanford as his top three.

    However, he state he could use alot of that MICHIGAN fan love right now.

    He never mentioned ND or Stanford. That should show we may be #1 with him.

    So if you twitter, show him some MICHIGAN love and support.

    ReplyDelete
  17. @hail....
    We have nothing to worry about. We did the same thing last year he is doing now. Once all the buzz of Meyer being the new coach dies down they will level off. And really I'm not too impressed with what they have done anyway. Rating don't take into account needs. They didn't fill a roster in this class...they got some good d-linemen, running backs, and a couple wideouts. Other then that they really stunk it up.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Didn't Mattison recruit Tebow for Florida? Not Meyer.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It'd be huge if we could some how grab Diggs, put him with Denard and Fitz, and i dont care who urban brings in. our offence would look like a track team!

    ReplyDelete
  20. @JCARTER

    Garnett was just being interviewed on his local radio station where he said Mich, Stanford and ND are all tied. I wouldnt read too much into that tweet.

    @Jer89

    Mattison was on that staff and Im sure helped recruit Tebow, but Tebow ultimately picked Florida because he and Urban Meyer had a very special relationship.

    ReplyDelete
  21. @ everyone lol im not saying we will get beat especially with who we have returning compared to them but! Urban is getting great talent because he lies so well! Plus 1/2 his recruits are x-penn state players who were d-commits! I just dont like how big of an advantage he has over Hoke in recruiting... While we practice, he talks to recruits. Either way with DRob, Fitz, and a good group of recievers coming back regardless of Diggs or not our offense looks strong and our defense imo will be lights out and even better. Even though we lost Martin and RVB. Those guys taught the next to how to work which helps Roh and Campbell! Ill pick Michigan 27... Ohio 10 next year in the shoe lol with another 10-2 year....

    ReplyDelete
  22. @Twins Yep, you're right they played a tough schedule, and they really weren't competitive in any of those games. The coach is important, but the players and their execution is more important. Ohio will always get talent, just like Michigan. I welcome Urban, it only means this rivalry will be more heated, be back to Nationally relevant like 2006, and THE GAME is back. Why worry about it? I'm going to love UM beating up on Urban, which we're already 2-0, and UM beat the mighty Tebow/Meyer team. I believe UM/Ohio will have multiple seasons playing each other twice, and I believe next year may be the first. If Urban Cryer maintains his health/ work/life balance, the country again will be watching THE GAME, the best rivalry in sports.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Meyer said while at florida

    Greg Mattison is the greatest recruiter in the country.

    Mattison recruited Tebow. Sure Meyer was part of it, but Mattison was responsible.

    What defensive player doesn't want to play for a coach who has national championship rings, and coached Ray Lewis and Ed Reed?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I asked this question before, but am still looking for answers. When will the OSU sanctions take place? And what is expected. Last time asked the answer was soon, and nothing additional is expected. From my standpoint I don't know how anyone could come to that conclusion, even with keeping in mind that Meyer is telling all his recruits that. My thought is Gene Smith told him nothing more will happen so that he could get his man in Urban Meyer, and Urban is telling his recruits what Gene is hoping for. But can anyone tell me the last school that faced failure to monitor and suffered no consequences? The resignation of Tressel, and the forfeit of wins happened before the failure to monitor. Therefore, Ohio gave themselves self imposed sanctions before the failure to monitor charge, and more importantly the NCAA gave them the failure after the existing self imposed sanctions. So shoudnt we expect ALOT more to take place??

    ReplyDelete
  25. I heard Wed... I even sent the president of the NCAA a email asking for clarification as to how he thinks its fair across the board that TSiO is allowed 2 coaching staffs. But Wed is when the judgement will be addressed I hear.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I read somewhere earlier that Meyer said he got the same waiver at Florida, so it is not uncommon for him at least. In addition, Meyer said that he has "friends" in the NCAA, and they have told him that no bowl bans or harsh penalties are to be expected. All we can do is wait and see at this point if he is calling the NCAA's bluff. In truth, after that whole fiasco down there,the NCAA is going to be the biggest joke in sports if they allow Meyer and the rest of those jennies to go scot-free.

    ReplyDelete
  27. This is the way things should be - Michigan and ohio the 2 best teams in the conference. But Hoke is a great coach and a great recruiter, and I would take him in a heartbeat over a guy with 30 player arrests at Florida.

    Meyer might have all day to recruit, but he's still a latecomer to most of these kids. He flipped a couple of guys from the PSU catastrophe, and a guy at MSU that has been a suckeye fan for life. Big deal.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Ok I am really getting depressed at all this crying and whining about why Ohio hasn't had any sanctions at this point. Also getting tired of hearing Michigan fans down Meyer for his suck-sess at recruiting. He has only done good if you rate players on scout.com or a comparable page. Look at the roster as a whole...it licks! Getting back to the bigger point....we do not need Ohio to fail for Michigan to succeed! I would rather beat a Ohio team on all fours then to whip one that was already laying on its back! GO BLUE...who cares what Ohio is or has done lets just line them up and quit whining!

    ReplyDelete
  29. The difference between Coach Hoke & urban meyer is that Coach Hoke CAN COACH!
    meyer won because he had awesome talent at times when the rest of the s.e.c. was weaker, as soon as that talent left and the rest of the s.e.c. got better his true coaching short comings came to light.
    That school(institution) will get good talent, but so will Michigan. The only difference is that our talent will greatly improve over their four year careers.
    Go Blue! F*$% you sucknuts!

    ReplyDelete
  30. The NCAA will Sanction Ohio State, but remember the USC Sanctions took a while before they were announced....We may not know for another 6 months....Then again it is significant that OSU was hit with a failure to monitor....The NCAA has to do something....let's just hope it is soon....for the sake of the integrity of the NCAA.

    ReplyDelete
  31. So the joke is coming at 3 pm today.... Lets see how easy they go on the Sucknuts.....

    ReplyDelete
  32. I am guessing one more year of probation.

    When is Chesson announcing?

    ReplyDelete