GBMWolverine: Mailbag Question -- Michigan Football Recruiting -- In Regards to Recruiting

Posted at 6:00am — 7/12/2011

GBMWolverine: Mailbag Question — Michigan Football Recruiting — In Regards to Recruiting

Hey GBMWolverine!

My questions are about recruiting.

What are the differences between the type of players that Coach Hoke and staff are landing versus Coach Rodriguez?

CoachBt keeps stating how he likes the offensive line commits as well as the recruiting prospects that are seriously looking at Michigan right now. Again did CoachBt not like the offensive line group before or are these recruits just more what he likes in a group?

Do you believe Coach Rodriguez would have been able to capitalize on Ohio recruiting the way Coach Hoke and staff has since arriving? It seems to me with an untrained eye that Coach Hoke seems to really be aggressive in recruiting the top elite recruits in Ohio and doesn’t seem to shy away even if the recruits were or could have been, a lock towards Ohio State.

Sammy B.__

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GBMWolverine Response:

First thing, we do like Coach Hoke’s recruiting philosophy very much, and this approach and success is something our site has been talking about for months.

We are true believers in building a football team from the inside out, that is, from closer to the football outward.

Every team that we are familiar with, on every level of football, that uses this philosophy and has the necessary talent, is successful.

Second, we like the fact that Coach Hoke is putting extra emphasis on recruiting the Midwest, in particular Ohio and Michigan.

It is not that there are not good players in other areas, California, Texas, and Florida for example, it is that we believe Michigan has the best chance of getting top talent closer to home. We have a hard time believing Michigan will consistently out recruit Texas, USC, and Florida’ schools for the elite level talent in those areas.

We have received good players from those areas in the past, but in the big picture it is hard to make a living or devote most of your time and resources in those areas to get most of your roster. Yes, you can get some players from those areas, but again it will be extremely tough to battle for the elite level talent against those big-time programs in the recruit’s home state. So, cover the home front and welcome those prospects outside the Midwest with serious Michigan interest.

Covering the home front is the exact recipe that Coach Hoke laid out to all the high school coaches who attended the coaches’ clinic this spring.

Coach Hoke informed the coaches that they will not agree all the time about how the staff is recruiting, but UM will make every attempt to recruit the home base that includes Ohio and Michigan, then they will expand to the Midwest, and then if the staff cannot fill needs they will venture out to every part of the country.

As for specific areas, we like the offensive line haul because of the players’ size, frames, and nasty attitudes. These are the type of linemen that have allowed Wisconsin and Iowa to be consistent top tier competitors. These are the type of linemen capable of moving the line of scrimmage backwards, something that never happened under the old regime.

We don’t really want to make this into a Coach Hoke vs. Coach Rich Rodriguez debate because quite frankly it is time for Michigan fans to move forward.

What is very important to most Michigan fans, alumni, and donors of the school is that the program graduates student-athletes, and while in the program players keep their nose clean and get involved with the community. Yes, winning football games and dealing with the media spotlight are also important.

If the above happens the support of almost the entire Michigan fan-base will be secured, but again there will always be doubters and skeptics who believe the team and coaching staff could do better.

To answer the second question, we doubt that Coach Rodriguez would have made the current inroads into Ohio, regardless of the situation. He never built the relationships with the Ohio high school coaches, or spent enough time in Ohio to get results.

Yes, Coach Rodriguez received commitments from some Ohio recruits that were not highly ranked. But to compete and get the best talent in Ohio coaches need to put in the time and effort by going to camps, clinics, stopping and visiting coaches, and making sure coaches get courtesy calls even if they do not have a prospect that year. There are numerous rewards that may come forth from coordinated and relentless recruiting.

The collective group of high school coaches has many eyes and has established its own communication network. This was the Tressel formula that secured the state boundaries.

By the way, winning games greatly helps recruit against a power like Ohio State.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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