Malik picked MSU which pretty much stuck a fork in the Wolverines 2014 class which is now done.
1:00 Update: There is some drama in the MM situation. We all know Mom is not on board with the MSU decision and Dad was expected to sign the LOI. The fax has yet to arrive in East Lansing and there is talk about which parent has custody and who is able to sign the LOI. He is not coming to Ann Arbor but it's fun to have a little bit of NSD drama.
Something or Nothing: Michigan is yet to validate Lawrence Marshalls LOI. Confirmed in at 10:53. Team 135 is now set (minus walk-on's)
The Michigan coaches expected to close with the likes of 5 star Deshawn Hand and 5 star Malik McDowell, they didn't.
The last commitment in this class was 8/9 and Jared Wrangler and they took the grey shirt of Brady Pallante shortly there after.
So how do I rate this class?
I love Peppers and could be a Woodson type player. I expect to see him returning kicks, punts and playing probably in Nickel situations next year.
I also really like Drake Harris and if he wasn't hurt his entire senior year would probably be another 5 star prospect. He said on the radio today he is 100% healthy now.
Those are the top two player in the class in my mind.
Two picks that concern me are Wilton Speight and Brady Pallante. Wilton seemed like a strange offer and maybe a Big AL pick. There were plenty of higher rated guys interested in Michigan when he committed. I like he is a bit older and got on campus in January. That should help him but most of the "national" guys are not high on him. Michigan should not be offering too many 3 star QB's.
Brady Palllante was never expected to be in the class until Hand turned Michigan down. So the coaches went from a 5 star guy player to taking the gray shirt off a 2 star (at the time) guy to replace him.
How does the services rank this class?
Scouts: 23
Rivals: 29
ESPN: 12
24/7: 17
That is a really low number from Scouts and Rivals. Yes, it is due to a small class and overall star rating but still Michigan should be in the top 10 or near the top 10 every year in the rankings.
Why Can't Hoke and Staff Close a Class?
I'm not sure. The results on the field have not been positive the last two years and that might have something to do with it. It's hard to go from Hand & McDowell to basically nobody. It is also clear that Hoke likes to get commits early and not come down to signing day decisions. I think that is a smart move but with zero commits between early August and early February is a bit troubling.
With the way Hoke has closed classes it really doesn't make a ton of sense to turn down commitments/strong interest from guys like Tommy Schutt from last year and this year Montae Nicholson.
Brady Hoke has had a very poor/troubling past 6 months.
- Sounds like MM's dad will have to sign his LOI to MSU because we know Mom isn't signing it.
- Michigan has only 11 spots open for next year, which will go up but probably not more then say 16-17.
- UA Game Star Jeff Jones stayed with Minnesota. It was between them and Iowa State. The rumor mill was spinning that he hadn't taken his SAT and ACT yet. Which is probably why Michigan and others had to back off.
9 comments:
With Coach Matty being touted as one of the very best recruiters in the country, Michigan being one of the top academic schools in the country.....
What other than on the field performace or under the table benefits could it be keeping these top prospects from coming to A2?
It would seem that a lot of schools have a reputation for over signing, pulling scholarships from upper classmen that aren't panning out and giving them to new commits, shouldn't that catch up at somepoint?
Is Coach Nuss going to be a 'closer' on the recruiting trail?
If things don't change, sparty will be passing us in recruiting. They're pretty close right now.
Go Blue
It's happening now: Rivals has MSU #23, Scouts MSU #21. Colin Coward just said he had a insider say that Michigan QB recruiting has been poor. Nuss better fix that quick.
Hoke is not in a good position. He essentially has to field last year's team and we all know how well they fared. Hoke's record is moving in the wrong direction (11-2, 8-5, 7-6 ... and that 11-2 was created by a couple lucky wins). At least Rodriguez's records moved in a positive direction (3-9, 5-7, 7-6). Hoke's time as head coach at Michigan is closing fast.
Renegade,
I agree... RR and Michigan weren't a good fit, but he's an effective coach. The program was improving (wins vs losses year over year). RR's downfall was 1. he didn't learn and embrace the history/culture at U of M. and 2. he left the D to someone else and picked the wrong someone else to leave it to....
You can say the same for Brady's handling of the Offense.
Everyone wants to give Brady the benefit of the doubt, because he's NOT RR and because he does have Michigan ties and he came in the door saying all the right things..
All that aside, the past two season have been terrible, recruiting seems to be in decline and the handling of the gibbons mess isn't good.
Wins erase a lot of bad memories, but 2014 will either be Brady's redemption, or the writing on the wall... I believe.
Regarding MM...I believe he is a talent that could have helped some on the field, however, I believe in hindsight his not coming may be a blessing in disguise. As I've said before, if kids don't want to come then don't make them, why waist a scholarship on a potential acting out problem waiting to happen because they’re mad at mom or dad? All of the kids that have signed their LOI's want to be here and I wouldn't want it any other way.
Michigan signed the best player in the country, Jabrill Peppers (not Deshawn Hand). He's THE marquee player in this class, so msu gives MM the opportunity to be their marquee player. I truly like MM, but I wouldn't change a thing or trade these guys for anything. I wish MM well in his future but not against Michigan. IMHO
Everyone has great points today! Hoke was clearly stressed during his press conference. He is very aware of not being able to close classes and how much heat he is getting. Though he says he never pays any attention to it.
Last point, does the two empty spaces, jump out to anyone else on the Michigan 2014 board? Every time I sell that picture, I think there should be two 5 star names in there.
see that picture! :)
An eighteen year old kid said it all about Michigan football. What everyone knows but is afraid to say.
"They're not getting better," Webb says. "The coaches aren't developing their talent."
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