Michigan Tuesday: More Answers to U of M's 2010 Recruiting Class

Let's start today off with a question from John MacLean: Not a comment on your blog as much as on the "poll." My vote: give me 4 years and then we can tell. Isn't that the (way) Bo would have done it?

BHB: John, thank you for the question and yes, your 100% right on Bo and his evaluation after 4 years. Though that is sort of like saying, I can win the lotto after I have seen the numbers drawn. Sure the only way to truly tell how these kids will transition to college football is after they see the field in practice and in games. With that said, let me give you my biggest reason, why I think this is a solid class right now.

One of the reasons Michigan is having trouble on the defensive side of the ball is due to depth issues. The last few years under the Carr Era, Lloyd didn't focus on the defensive side of the ball in his recruiting efforts and it's now showing the effects. Coach Rod said at his NSD presser that last year they had 24 defensive players on scholarship and you want between 38-40. That's a huge issue.

So, John to go back to your question. Recruiting classes have a number of goals including: replacing starters (CB- Donovan Warren, both safety positions, DE- Brandon Graham, Punter - Zoltan) but they also need to fill the important depth positions with 2nd and 3rd team players as well. So when you see Michigan sign 16 quality defensive players to add depth, I consider that a good recruiting year. Thanks again for your question.


Star Rankings? So I have seen a number of messages boards, radio shows, etc talking about Michigan and it's lack of 4 and 5 star players in the 2010 class. Or another way to say it is: Too many 3 stars!!

Would you be surprised to learn that no college program averaged 4 stars in their overall rankings on Scout's recruiting service? #1 Florida came in at 3.89 and Michigan's average was 3.33. Now to be fair on Rival's, there was one school that was over the magic 4 star average: that was USC at 4.20, Florida was at 3.89 and Texas at 3.92. Michigan's class on Rival's has an average star rating of 3.19.


CollegeFootballNews.com liked Michigan's class and ranked them in the top 10:

9. Michigan The Class Is Heavy On ... Defensive backs. If Rich Rodriguez was in trouble, you wouldn't know if from this fantastic class. The offense got more options with Devin Gardner a 6-4 playmaking quarterback to give Tate Forcier a push, while RB Austin White is a dangerous running back prospect with speed and good all-around skills. RichRod also stepped up the receiving corps with Ricardo Miller and Jerald Robinson leading the way. But for all the good things about this class, nothing was bigger than pulling off a shocker with the signing of Demar Dorsey out of Florida on Signing Day to join Josh Furman and Marvin Robinson as some of the team's new safety stars. Cullen Christian out of Pittsburgh is one of the nation's best corner prospects with NFL size and quickness.


More Walk On News: Quintin Tucker a former teammate of Tate Forcier at San Diego Scripps Ranch will walk on at Michigan and join their 2010 recruiting class. Quintin is a middle linebacker and comes to Ann Arbor at 6"1 and 230 pounds. Quintin said, he turned down some scholarship offers to play at Michigan. As you may have noticed from the recruiting class, Michigan signed a number of defensive backs and rush linebackers, not a lot of middle linebackers. Quintin seems to be a solid pick up at a position of need.