The second National Signing Day for the class of 2023 is tomorrow, February 1. While most recruits signed back in mid-December, there are always some high-profile players still lingering in February, along with kids who were just unsure or who were fielding late offers. Below are a few of the big story lines for Michigan fans, along with the uncommitted offerees:
Cameron Brandt - DL - Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon
Brandt is "committed" to Stanford, but he committed last summer when David Shaw was still at the helm. Now that Shaw has been replaced by Troy Taylor, all bets are off. He's a 3-star, the #51 defensive lineman, and #453 overall. Brandt took an official visit to Michigan this month, and the Wolverines now hold a 2-to-1 advantage in crystal ball picks. It appears likely that he will end up sending in his National Letter of Intent to the Wolverines on Wednesday.
Hit the jump for more.
Nyckoles Harbor - TE - Washington (DC) Archbishop Carroll
Harbor could be the jewel of Michigan's class . . . or he could be a giant letdown. At 6'5" and 225 lbs., Harbor is a world class-level sprinter who wants to participate in the Olympics. Originally thought to be a defensive end/outside linebacker, he now has his sights set on playing more of a flex tight end role, because he doesn't want to add the bulk that would be necessary to play an edge position on defense. He's ranked as a 5-star, the #1 athlete, and #19 overall. Nobody seems to have great insight into where he will end up, but LSU, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, and South Carolina are all in the mix to some degree, but some recent reports suggest it's down to Oregon vs. South Carolina.
Jamel Howard - DT - Chicago (IL) Marist
Howard is a 6'3", 320 lb. nose tackle who was considered to be leaning toward Michigan prior to the early National Signing Day. A former Wisconsin commit, he pushed back his signing to February. While Michigan still holds the crystal ball lead (60%) as of this writing, nobody really seems to think he will pick the Wolverines. He has taken visits to Illinois, LSU, and Miami in January, and it's still possible that he could reunite with Wisconsin, despite the Badgers having a new coach in Luke Fickell. Howard is a 3-star, the #129 defensive lineman, and #1190 overall.
UNCOMMITTED PROSPECTS
Jaden Booker - RB - Naples (FL) Palmetto Ridge
Jshawn Frausto-Ramos - CB - Mission Hills (CA) Bishop Alemany
Jaren Hamilton - WR - Gainesville (FL) Buchholz
Andrew Harris - LB - Altamonte Springs (FL) Lake Brantley
Michael Harris - LB - Altamonte Springs (FL) Lake Brantley
Jaeden Jackson - DT - Andalusia (AL) Andalusia
Deldrick Madison - CB - Duncanville (TX) Duncanville
Rodrick Pleasant - CB - Gardena (CA) Junipero Serra
Desirrio Riles - LB - Jacksonville (FL) University Christian
Antonio Robinson - CB - Fort Mitchell (KY) Beechwood
Devin Strange - DE - Argyle (TX) Marcus
David Vadala - LB - Fort Lauderdale (FL) American Heritage
We may have to get used to relying on the Portal
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteFor sure. It's the free agency era in college football. I know that's a cliche, but it's true. We can't evaluate NFL teams ONLY based on their draft, we have to also look at their trades and their free agents.
DeleteAs CFB fans we'll have to look at off-seasons differently. It's a foundational shift and I don't think many folks are appreciating it fully, yet. HS recruiting is still important (just like the NFL draft is important) but it goes from 80% of the story (20 years ago) to maybe 20-40% of the story.
When we talking about "recruiting" we'll have to talk about multiple things. In order of importance (in my mind):
1. Recruiting high caliber starters with NFL-options to stay via NIL (e.g., Zinter, Keegan)
2. Recruiting kids at other schools to come play for you to address roster needs (e.g., Olu, Nugent)
3. Recruiting rising sophomores and juniors (and others thirsty for playing time) to stick around for depth, future opportunity (e.g., El Hadi, Persi)
4. Recruiting HS kids to come
When you talk about recruiting you at least need to look at the new faces coming in (group 2 and 4). The vet transfers are going to be generally more impactful than the HS kids - the majority of which will not last 3 years let alone 4 or 5.
What has changed this year in that Michigan is able to take in so many transfer players. It used to be near impossible in the past.
ReplyDeleteIt's a new strategy. It was always possible, it just wasn't utilized very much.
DeleteI think some of it is that Michigan is seeing they are going to get fewer blue chip recruits out of HS. They are simply getting priced out by teams willing to take bigger financial risks. NIL is in the "Wild West" phase and will settle down over time but in the meantime, Michigan can rely on brand prestige and being an NFL-feeder to attract safer and (arguably) more impactful options via the Portal.
DeleteI don't think it'll last forever but for right now, for Michigan, the benefit/cost ratio is a lot higher for veteran transfers than HS recruits. Like - how many HS recruits do you have to go through to land an All-American level performance like Olu just produced?
I think there are a few different parts to that:
Delete1. Michigan opened up to the idea of transfers. Some coaches don't like transfers (Dabo Swinney), so they don't really consider it to be an option.
2. Michigan is taking young transfers (like Ernest Hausmann) who doesn't have 3-4 years of credits that won't transfer, and they're taking grad transfers (like La'Darius Henderson). I still don't think Michigan will land undergrad transfers in the third or fourth year.
3. I don't think it's a coincidence that this transfer run happened when Santa Ono took over as president. I have to believe he opened the door a little bit with admissions in order to support athletics.
Aren't Stewart and Hinton undergrad transfers in their 3rd or 4th year?
DeleteThunder, do you think Michigan can continue to be successful in the future about taking transfers? Is this a strategy Michigan can rely on to be successful in the future? Given the high-bar of Michigan admissions, I feel like this year is going to be the exception rather than the norm.
DeleteMichigan admissions (elevated academics standards) are a challenge but have not prevented Michigan football from recruiting at a top 10 level over the last few decades. I am skeptical it will be any different with the portal. You exclude some guys you might want on the field from a talent perspective (e.g., JUCO types in the past and kids who would rather not "play school"). There will be some casualties where you want them, they want you, and admissions/academics are The Thing that gets in the way.
DeleteBut those scholarships don't go away so you're really just recruiting a different type of kid and doing it systematically. It's a challenge but not necessarily a big negative IMO. I would say that Michigan having to recruit a population of generally smarter/more academically inclined student athletes has some pros as well as cons. I think we'll find the same thing in the Portal.
In other words, business as usual. I don't think Ono has changed anything with admissions personally (nothing has been reported, even by insiders AFAIK). But Harbaugh has had his eyes open up. As is true with other fans (I argued with them 5 years ago about it), the portal isn't just about grad transfer QBs. This was always going to happen, it's just faster and bigger than expected. Harbaugh has seen all these transfers going out including guys like McNamara/All, and he's lost recruiting battles for transfers with OSU and other places, and he's seen guys like Olu and Danna make an enormous impact and some guys (like Cam Goode) might make a small one - but still useful and better than a lot of your HS recruits.
I think he gets it -- recruiting the Portal is just like recruiting from HS. If you find a good fit, it's a great way to go. Big benefit. Very low cost.
I think Michigan can continue to be successful. There are probably going to be guys they can't get, but this is one place I feel like Harbaugh's NFL experience can be helpful. If he's proven he can develop guys and get them drafted (which he has), then he can essentially promise that he can take a one- or two-year rental and get him prepared for the NFL. He also knows how to put together an NFL roster and incorporate players from different backgrounds (free agency). Someone like Dabo Swinney, who does not like transfers, has not shown that he can piece together a roster from anything other than elite high school recruits.
Delete@ Lank 9:54 p.m.
DeleteStewart is in his second year.
I'm guessing Hinton has an easier time transferring to Michigan from Stanford than some kid might have coming in from Ole Miss or FAU or Iowa State.
Michigan landed a kid from 22 (Hausman), a kid from 21 (Stewart),tow from 20 (Barner, Hinton), two from 19 (Henderson, Nugent) and one from 18 (Tuttle).
DeleteI think Barner is a grad transfer, and maybe Hinton will be, but I don't know why people are saying we're not going to be landing this or that type of transfer when this class seems to indicate we could take the full spectrum.
Hausmann is only a semester in so doesn't have much to lose but Stewart is from Coastal Carolina and was an early enrollee. Maybe hes not trying to graduate from Michigan (I have no idea) but the timeline would seem to say he has a couple years worth of credits under his belt but hasn't graduated. For Hinton, Stanford is Stanford but generally the issue with admissions is not about the institution quality or reputation but the correlation to the high bar for correlation with the syllabus at Michigan - especially within major. I have some first hand experience with this albeit many years ago. As I've said before, I think this admissions conspiracy theory/scapegoating is wildly overstated.