Mailbag question: I have a recruiting question for you guys.

Hello:

I have a recruiting question for you guys.

Why does it seem like we are battling Michigan State for kids more than programs such as Ohio State and Notre Dame in the Midwest?

Is it the type of player or the different schemes that Michigan is using now?

Seems to me at least, we are battling the Michigan State ‘s, West Virginia ‘s, and even Indiana and not only battling, but also losing kids to these programs.

Maybe this seems a little selfish and myself being a Michigan fan, but I liked when we battled the Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, USC type of teams for kids. At least if we lost to them it would make sense, but right now losing kids to Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia and yes even Michigan State does not (at least to me).

One last question it seems like we offered a lot of kids, but do not seem like the “hot team” for kids. Is this because of the record last year or the coaches falling behind? Not trying to get on the coaches at all, but it seems like we have lost a lot of momentum from earlier in the recruiting year.

Thanks,

Q – 96.1

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Thanks for the question. Good question by the way.

First off, the team coming off a 3-9 season has made some of the top, elite level kids a bit hesitant to early on commit to Michigan. But again, in some cases recruits actually like that they are going to an “elite team” that has struggled, because this might mean a greater chance of playing early. Coaches in Michigan’s situation are selling the very realistic point of “you could be the player, the class that helps bring Michigan football back”.

We understand your concern, as well, that Michigan is not battling the area big-time programs for some premier players right now. But hopefully that will change very soon. We are concerned with the lack of top talent recruits interested in Michigan as well and have heard some individuals say that they have had infrequent communication from Michigan lately.

As a result of the above factors and others not discussed, right now a program like Michigan State has the momentum against Michigan, since Michigan State won last year and seems to be concentrating more in-state for recruiting. Much of this scenario can be changed by simply beating Michigan State this year and changing the perception of the Michigan program not only in-state, but nationally as well.

Secondly, Michigan is implementing the third different defensive scheme in three years, with their third different defensive coordinator. Recruits want to see how they fit in, or where they will play in a scheme. And also, they want to know that the defensive coordinator that they are going to be playing for four to five years will be there. Or at least the scheme will be there, so the potential player will be comfortable in the same defensive scheme.

Third, Michigan is playing a different scheme on offense than Notre Dame and Ohio State, hence a somewhat different skill set for several positions, compared to Notre Dame and Ohio States’ pro style offenses. We understand the worry and puzzlement of not engaging in some of these traditional/historical recruiting match-ups. After all, usually the Wolverines play Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Michigan State annually. And barring a very unforeseen future change Michigan will play these teams for decades to come. In short, winning will make the recruiting battles easier.

Fourth, Michigan uses a somewhat different recruiting philosophy, especially on defense. Coach Rod is looking for very good athletes, who can run and demonstrate a defensive mentality. The Michigan coaches are less worried about positions, believing that through excellent strength and conditioning and coaching them up, the positions will take care of themselves.

In summary, the easiest and most effective remedy is for Michigan to win games, get some of the negative comments behind them, and start to reel in the elite talent. If that happens, along with what Coach Barwis can do, then Michigan’s program will become elite again. Coach Barwis told us several times that if he has his choice he will take the elite talent every time, because the ceiling of elite recruits is higher than that of lower rated recruits.

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