Tag: schools in the news

School in the News: Nebraska

After going 9-3 this season, Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini was fired. Over his career at Nebraska – his first career head coaching stop – Pelini had a 67-27 record and never had fewer than nine victories and was 4-3 in bowl games. However, his three division conference titles were not followed by conference championships, and he lost at least four games in every season except the current one.

I do not expect the fallout from his firing to affect Michigan very much, since the two schools have not crossed paths very often in the current or upcoming recruiting cycles. Furthermore, nobody who chose Nebraska over Michigan was strongly considering the Wolverines.

2015 commits with Michigan offers: None
Roster players offered by Michigan: WR Kevin Gladney, S Charles Jackson, DE Greg McMullen, LB David Santos, S D.J. Singleton, OG Paul Thurston, DT Vincent Valentine, DT Kevin Williams

Pelini played college football at Ohio State and has spent a lot of time as a defensive coordinator, including at Nebraska, Oklahoma, and LSU. He has also spent some time as a position coach in the NFL. He could go somewhere else and become a head coach (after all, there are lots of teams who would love to win 9 or 10 games a season), or he could return to being a defensive coordinator at the college level.

School in the News: Florida

Will Muschamp was fired as Florida’s head coach, even though he has agreed to coach the Gators’ final two games of the year. He currently has a 5-4 record with games against Eastern Kentucky and Florida State remaining, plus a potential bowl game. His overall head coaching record stands at 27-20.

The recruiting impact of coaching changes is often minimal, so Michigan should not expect any of the fallout to affect them. The most interesting thing to watch will be whom Florida targets as the next head coach, because Michigan will also likely be looking for a head coach in the near future. Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez seem to be the coaches with the most buzz for the Florida job right now. Mullen could also be an option for Michigan; obviously, Rodriguez would not be.

Anyway, here’s a look at Florida’s current recruiting class and roster, should this development affect the Wolverines at all:

Offered 2015 commits: C Tyler Jordan
Offered players on roster: LB Alex Anzalone, WR Alvin Bailey, DT Jay-nard Bostwick, DT Khairi Clark, CB Vernon Hargreaves III, OT D.J. Humphries, S Marcus Maye, C Tyler Moore, S Brian Poole, LB Matt Rolin, CB Jalen Tabor, and S Quincy Wilson

Of those players, only Alvin Bailey was ever somewhat serious about coming to Michigan.

On a couple side notes, Cincinnati offensive tackle George Brown is committed to Florida; he was never offered by Michigan, but he did garner a lot of recruiting hype and Michigan’s lack of interest was somewhat curious.

Also, former Michigan quarterback commit Kevin Sousa’s brother, Ryan, is a freshman wideout for the Gators.

Also also, a couple former Michigan residents are on Florida’s squad: Canton offensive linemen Cameron Dillard and Madison Heights Madison wide receiver Valdez Showers.

School in the News: Vanderbilt

James Franklin has finally been announced as the new head coach at Penn State, leaving Vanderbilt after building them up into the exciting next big thing in the SEC. Franklin, a young and energetic guy, grew up in Pennsylvania and played college football there, so he knows the area and could prove to be a thorn in Michigan’s side as they try to recruit the state.

But in the meantime, the school without a head coach is Vanderbilt. As you can see, Michigan and Vanderbilt don’t cross paths on the recruiting trail very often.

2014 commits with Michigan offers: None
Current roster players recruited by Michigan: WR Jordan Cunningham (Fr.), CB Ryan White (Fr.)

Cunningham and White were not heavily interested in Michigan during their recruitments, and I wouldn’t anticipate that Vanderbilt’s program changes will have any effect on the Wolverines going forward. As mentioned above, the bigger concern is that Franklin will now be coaching and recruiting for the Nittany Lions in what I would assume to be a long-term career in Happy Valley.

School in the News: Louisville

Charlie Strong

Louisville head coach Charlie Strong has informed the administration that he’s accepting the Texas Longhorns head coaching job, meaning the Cardinals’ recruiting class is up for grabs. Here’s a look at the Louisville players Michigan has recruited:

2014 commits with Michigan offers: None
Current roster players recruited by Michigan: LB Keith Brown (So.), RB Corvin Lamb (RS So.), TE Zeke Pike (RS Fr.), WR James Quick (Fr.)

As you can see, Michigan generally doesn’t have a big battle on its hands when it comes to Louisville. Strong’s connections in southern Florida have helped him land guys like Brown and Lamb, and Pike is a bit of a troubled soul who landed at Louisville. The most notable guy is wideout James Quick, who was highly touted in the class of 2013, played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and had 73 yards receiving as a true freshman.

Former Michigan defensive backs coach Vance Bedford has been Strong’s defensive coordinator in Louisville, and I would expect him to head to Austin as well. He’s developed enough of a resume that he would probably not be a candidate to rejoin Michigan in anything other than a coordinator role, and Greg Mattison isn’t going anywhere soon.

School in the News: Penn State

Well, Penn State coach Bill O’Brien is off to the Houston Texans, putting the status of the Nittany Lions’ program and recruiting class in question yet again. The two most logical choices to replace O’Brien are former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano, who is a former PSU assistant coach and just got fired from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and current Miami Hurricanes head coach Al Golden, a former Nittany Lion player and assistant coach.

Roster players recruited by Michigan: DE Deion Barnes, RB Bill Belton, TE Adam Breneman, LB Ben Kline, OG Brendan Mahon, DE C.J. Olaniyan, DE Anthony Zettel, RB Zach Zwinak
2014 commits offered by Michigan: S Marcus Allen, CB Troy Vincent, Jr.

I would not expect any players to transfer to Michigan, and Michigan didn’t pursue Allen or Vincent very hard in the first place, so I doubt O’Brien’s departure will have any effect on Michigan in the immediate future. Olaniyan and Zettel are both from the state of Michigan, but both would likely be starting next season in Happy Valley. Obviously, the bigger question would be Penn State’s recruiting going forward.

I saw O’Brien speak at a clinic in Pennsylvania a couple years ago, and while he gave a rousing speech geared toward PA coaches and taking pride in the Nittany Lions, the entire time I was thinking to myself, “This is great and all, but you’re going to be out the door as soon as a bigger job opens up for you.” Obviously, nobody should blame the guy for taking an NFL if that’s what he wants to do, but it just shows that players should commit to programs instead of coaches. Freshman quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who had a solid season as the starter and was rated by many as the #1 quarterback in the 2013 class, is reportedly considering a transfer.