Brandon Sebastian (image via Scout)
2017
Brandon Sebastian – CB – Cheshire (CT) Cheshire Academy: Sebastian is a 6’1″, 180 lb. corner who has been committed to Boston College since April 9, 2016. He didn’t commit to Don Brown, but the Screaming Eagles offered him before Brown left for Michigan. Sebastian is a 3-star, the #114 cornerback, and #1191 overall. He also has offers from Connecticut, Michigan, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Temple. He claims a 4.32 forty, a 39″ vertical, and a 3.89 shuttle. As a teammate of Michigan commit Tarik Black, Michigan has a pretty good chance of flipping him. This is an official visit. UPDATE: Sebastian’s visit was canceled.
2018
Will Lawrence – OT – Memphis (TN) Harding: Lawrence is a 6’4″, 285 lb. prospect with offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Texas, among others. He’s a 3-star, the #29 OT, and #376 overall.
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Why exactly would we want to flip this guy? We’ve got plenty of three stars in this class already, and he’s rated pretty low even for that. We can’t get interested in anyone more talented?
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A better question is if this guy is a CB, why are all his highlights being a WR? Anyhow, he is fast and you can’t teach speed, but I am not sure if we’re recruiting him as an athlete or what.
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A lot of great CBs are converts from WR. Would be more likely in talent-poor area too, since WR is more impactful than CB for an elite athlete.
Does not seem like WR is a need in this class or on this roster. I would say the bigger question is safety or corner.
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We’re definitely recruiting him as a cornerback.
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The staff seems to want another DB in this class.
6’1 DB’s with speed can be nice to have.
He’s seemingly someone our current DC has a relationship with and recruited, and Don Brown has shown some good chops on identifying talent. He plays in CT and may just be a bit underated, who knows yet.
So what if he’s a 3* if the staff likes him and thinks he can play. The rankings, while there is correlation to success, are not an end-all-be-all. Josh Metellus for example was our lowest rated recruit and started the Orange Bowl and had 7 tackles and a 2pt conversion.
“We’ve got plenty of three stars already?” Come on. If you are building a 31 man class, you are going to have some three stars, and some of them are going to outplay their profile. And if they dont, you still get a solid depth player.
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At worst he can be a career special teams player, with that speed I am sure Harbaugh will find a spot somewhere he can contribute.
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Well no, not really. We have 27 recruits right now, and 10 are 3 stars. Alabama has 26 recruits, and 2 are 3 stars, and one of those is a kicker. There’s a reason why they’re in the playoff every year and we’re not. They don’t recruit a lot of perennial backups.
He’s fast? Yippee. Lots and lots of fast guys out there, and I frankly doubt he’s running a legit 4.3 anyway. The question is, is this really the BEST CB we could be going after, at #1191? Seriously?
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He probably runs a legit 4.5 which is fast and if you’ve seen the games against OSU and FSU then you’ll agree that Michigan can use an upgrade in the speed department, even if it’s only on special teams. Michigan is not Alabama or OSU, Harbaugh cannot recruit on that level for several reasons, so if you want to see sparkling rankings every year and cannot tolerate commitments from under the radar prospects, I would suggest changing your allegiance. The reality is, Michigan whiffed on a bunch of highly ranked guys and now are expanding their offer sheet to include players they like and strongly feel they can flip with 3 weeks to go. It’s either that or giving schollys to walk-ons.
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No, they could also bank the scholarships and use them on better players next year, who have a better chance of seeing the field and contributing, and doing it sooner.
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Banking scholarships is a bad idea, and nobody does it because of that reason. If you miss on a player, those players usually leave or get pushed out within 2-3 years. We’ll see that this year with some departures from previous recruiting classes. If Sebastian commits and doesn’t pan out, he will very likely be gone in 2-3 years and that will open up a scholarship at that time. He probably won’t be much worse in 2018 than whoever might take his spot in the 2018 class.
We’re near the end of the 2017 recruiting cycle, and we’re having a tough time getting from 27 up to ~32 scholarships. We’re not going to be turning away 5-star recruits next year just because Brandon Sebastian commits this year.
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Especially true with this staff which is more aggressive than most in getting non-contributors off the roster.
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Why are you so sure they going to land better players next year than this year?
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Alabama is better at recruiting right now. If we set the limit at two 3-stars, then we would have a very, very small class. We’re not on their level, so they’re on a higher level. It’s not rocket science.
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This is the fundamental point around all of the discussions with WCB. Anything less than the greatest dynasty in college football history is failure.
This blog is pretty good but the total lack of Pulitzers is an embarrassment. I’m going to leave a thousand more comments on here though.
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Someone should tell you the difference between wanting the greatest dynasty in college football history and thinking that the 1191st rated recruit in the country isn’t worth an offer from us.
But I guess silly straw men are all you have left in this discussion.
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I don’t think that getting a top 500 guy (a solid 3 star) instead of 1191st guy will turn Michigan into Alabama. The Tide got there by hiring an elite coach who loaded up on 5 stars and flat out dominated recruiting every year. Michigan will never recruit like Alabama does under Saban.
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Not the point, and you know it. Some of our 3 stars have decent offer lists and are well worth taking somewhat of a chance on, especially if they are the best we can get. This guy is a VERY low 3 star that no other quality program wanted. I question whether he is the very best CB prospect we still have a chance at, and I have seen nothing to convince me he’s worth a scholarship on a top 10 program even if he was.
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Most likely yes, with 3 weeks to go this probably as good as it gets when it comes to flipping someone this staff knows something about. Building a relationship with a prospect takes time, Harbaugh is not at a level where he can just call any top 500 guy at any position and flip him. Either this or a walk-on gets a scholly, and not every walk-on is a Glasgow or a Kovacs.
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Nobody here has said “all 3-stars are alike”.
You have asked for reasons why he’s offer-worthy and people have given them to you. Size, speed, familiarity, fit, need, timing.
After he commits to Michigan his recruiting rankings will rise. Will that make you feel better?
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Because we need DBs very badly.
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Unless you think that a guy that no other quality program offered is going to be playing significantly for us in his first or second year, how exactly does he solve that problem for us?
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Because we need DBs very badly and he is a DB.
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I feel better about this offer than I did the Grant Perry offer, and he ended up being an immediate contributor ahead of high 4-star talent.
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I think we want to flip him because Don Brown likes him, and he fits what Michigan wants (bigger, more physical corners). We are/were interested in more talented people, but they’ve committed elsewhere (Georgia, Ohio State, UCLA, etc.).
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Well, it’s nice that Don Brown likes him, but he’s not the only defensive coach out there with an eye for talent, and not one other serious FB program has shown any interest. What’s more likely…that Brown is wrong about this guy being a future star, or that all of the other top 25 defensive coaches and all of the scouting services are missing the boat?
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Will you at least admit that saban could have used a bigger, stronger CB against williams last night? I don’t think the recruiting ranking was on his mind during those jump balls
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We need depth in the Secondary, makes sense to take another commitment… maybe another Stribling down the road?
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If we need depth, a guy who is a 3 or 4 year project is not the way to go.
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With the remaining targets on the board looking increasingly unlikely I am surprised there are not more names on this list. I’d love to get Solomon and Gay and Tufele but not getting my hopes up. I wonder if Michigan is going to try to flip Donovan Johnson and/or Antjuan Simmons late.
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There might be more visitors, but I haven’t heard about them. But yeah, I do think Michigan needs to expand its offer board. I was actually wondering if Michigan might go after some of those WMU guys who were left in flux when P.J. Fleck went to Minnesota, though he took a lot of those guys with him.
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Expanding it makes sense — expanding it to WMU recruits does not. I’d start with Iowa and MSU level kids (like Karan Higdon and Raymon Taylor types).
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Apparently those WMU recruits are Minnesota-level recruits, and that’s not far away from Iowa/MSU levels.
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Fleck being comfortable with them doesn’t mean that necessarily. Saw complaints about this with Rodriguez /WVU and now Brown/BC. Those complaints have some validity. As does the argument that transition periods warrant some talent reaches that fit the ‘system;.
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Feel bad for our boy here, Stefan. I sincerely doubt that it will ever change, but there’s a kid at Western because Fleck, who was recruited to at least two BIG schools and is now stuck at Western with no Fleck..
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Yeah, I’m mystified on this one. He may be fast but I don’t know what else Brown sees in him. He doesn’t even look 6-1. The other DB’s that tackle him look taller. Obviously not a receiver because he catches everything with his chest.
I really enjoy Don Brown’s defense but can someone tap him on the shoulder and tell him that he’s at MICHIGAN. He’s like a much more handsome rich guy now. No use going back and talking to the ugly girl in the corner you used to pass notes to hoping for kiss on the cheek. Time to comb your stache, flash your wallet and walk into the cheerleader practice and hit on the hot chicks!
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Thank you. I made this same point down thread. People need to look at this guy in comparison to BC’s commit list (which is almost all 2 and 3 star guys) and in comparison to ours. He may look great and be an actual contributor on a 7-5 Weed Whacker Bowl Boston College team, but Brown is in the big leagues now. He needs to set higher standards.
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Other thans Stars, what kind of critical feedback do you have? Have you watched his film and identified major concerns? Or are you just regurgitating recruiting site talking points?
These are honest questions, based on how strongly you seem to be against the offer, without offering much a convincing argument
GO BLUE
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The fact that he has no offers from any serious DI program (including us, at this point) and that no recruiting service thinks much of him at all is pretty strong evidence that he is not the quality of prospect we should risk a scholarship on. The onus, frankly, is on those here who think we should try to flip him to show why all of those evaluations are wrong, and what tangible things in his skill set make him someone that a program like we want to be should be going after instead of any of the other possibilities. I’ve asked for that several times in this thread, but have seen nothing of substance. Feel free to offer it up if you have it.
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size and speed
Quibble if you want, criticize if you want, but those are two basic pieces of “substance”.
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Everyone evaluating him has seen his size and speed, and they are still unimpressed. Simply saying that he is tall and fast does not in any way set him apart from a large number of other cornerback prospects, and certainly doesn’t justify an offer.
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Your definition of everyone does not include a Broyles finalist who has run top 5 defenses with elite talent and without it…or Jim Harbaugh.
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If they are so incredibly impressed with him, why have they not offered him, even though we’re at the very tail end of the recruiting cycle, and long after he finished his senior season? It’s not as if his credentials have improved significantly in the last month or so. And it’s not as if this staff always waits until near signing day to offer lower rated guys who have caught their eye.
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Or if they actually have offered him, why did they wait so long, if he is so impressive to them?
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Nobody said they were “incredibly” impressed.
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Are you talking about Sebastian? He DOES have an offer from Michigan.
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That’s your major concern? His offer list?
At least I admit to not following recruiting closely… with that, I know he has the size & speed our staff covets, and is at a position of need, late in the cycle, with few options who also match the tangibles and (assumingly) intangibles brown & JH look for
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They might be looking at this guy on the surface as a back string Wr as well as back string DB……..
……….but in reality see him as a primary return man. Kickoffs & punt return specialist. Harbaugh has done this in the past for example when he drafted RoJo in the 6th round with the 49’ers. In Rojo’scase it didn’t work out cause he mufft 2 punts in his first preseason game and Harbaugh cut him on Monday; but Harbaugh has a precedent for this concept. Just a thought as to where & how the staff might see this guy as a fit. Like has been mentioned – ya cant teach speed & it Beats letting the skolly go vacant.
IMHO;
Thanx…………….INTJohn
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Just for starters, the staff has seen a lot of film on this kid, probably multiple games. It is possible that they have seen practice film of this kid lined up on Black. We have seen nothing beyond 2:20 minutes of him running at WR.
Second, I’m hoping that professional football coaches making decisions about recruiting a kid are more sophisticated than simply saying, “Oh dear, only 3 stars at Rivals. There has to be some kid out there somewhere with 4 stars. We must look elsewhere.”
Third, the kid has speed. While I’m not buying 4.32 for a second. Speed is what you want. Speed kills. You might have noticed that in the National Championship Game, there was speed in abundance, all over the field.
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The staff has seen lots of film on lots of kids. But so have the staffs on all of the top teams. So have the recruiting services. None of them think this guy is a very good prospect, even though they’ve all seen his speed. Why do you suppose that is? Do other teams have no interest in speed?
You would think that fans following recruiting would have more sophisticated reasons for favoring a guy than “if the coaching staff likes him, so do I”. Sure, some 3 stars are worth pursuing, but this guy is WAY down on the list of prospects. How about looking at WHY he’s so lightly regarded, and offering up some evidence to the contrary? No one on this thread seems willing or able to do that.
The question stands-is this guy really the best CB prospect we still have a chance at? And even if he is, is it worth taking up a scholarship spot for such a longshot, in favor of other positions of need?
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I think the reasons are right there for you to see if you want. He is tall and long, and Michigan likes tall and long corners (see: Benjamin St-Juste, Channing Stribling, Jeremy Clark, etc.). They have their small field corner types in Lavert Hill and David Long. There aren’t a ton of 6’2″ kids playing cornerback. Many of them are wide receivers and safeties, and they want to play those positions in college.
There are smaller corners that we could recruit, such as Donovan Johnson from Cass Tech. Michigan and MSU have not pursued him, and he is fast but very small. What can we take away from that? Obviously, Harbaugh/Brown value size over speed.
Another thing is that Don Brown recruited him at BC. He knows him, has a relationship with him, and probably feels like his attitude would fit in well at Michigan and mesh with what they want to do.
You’re asking a rhetorical question. Is he the BEST corner we still have a chance at? If all you’re looking at is rankings, then no. There are over 100 corners in front of him (though some are already committed/enrolled). Do the coaches think he is? Obviously, the answer appears to be yes…or at least close to it.
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Regarding size, isn’t Sebastian from the same school as Tarik Black, the supposed 6’4″ WR who is actually 6’2″ after he was measured? Am I way off base questioning that this kid is 6’1″? To me he sounds even more raw than Keith Washington DB kid from 2015. Plus, the fact that he states his 40 time is 4.32 (world class time and possible olympic qualifier) is another reason to throw up a red flag.
Also, I’m not sure size is really important to Don Brown. Seems like speed is much more valued. Especially after taking undersized players like Metellus, Bush, Uche, Jordan Anthony. They may be great players down the road but definitely undersized for their positions. I see the point of people saying we aren’t recruiting like OSU and Alabama. They would never take a “chance” and throw away a scholarship on a kid like this and I think Michigan shouldn’t just settle for players like this. Especially since his offer sheet is almost embarrassing. MSU doesn’t even want him!
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Boston College’s two cornerbacks in 2015 were 6’0″ and 6’1″.
I feel like this notion that he’s inexperienced at cornerback needs to be put to rest. He played plenty of corner as a junior, as his highlights show (https://www.hudl.com/video/3/6390107/5721ce739a91677e749fde4b). He also played corner as a senior. I don’t know why defensive plays are missing from his senior highlights, but it’s being blown out of proportion a bit. I’m not saying he’s the most experienced corner in the country, but he has several interceptions throughout his career.
Is he 6’1″ and does he run a 4.32 forty? I don’t know and no. He’s a tall corner, whether he’s 6’2″ or 6’1″ or 6’0″. He doesn’t run a 4.32 because almost nobody runs a 4.32, and his 40 is listed elsewhere at 4.45 and 4.59. Regardless, speed isn’t his game, just like speed isn’t the forte of Stribling, St-Juste, etc.
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RE: Size. Brown wants big corners. He’s OK with smaller LBs and Ss.
More important is versatility. He wants CBs who can stop the run and LBs who can blitz and cover.
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Your reasoning seems to be:
A. He’s a long, tall corner
B. We want a long, tall corner
C. Therefore, we should try to sign him.
Sorry, but C does not follow from A and B. It seems silly to have to tell you that there are more things, and more important thngs, to being a good cornerback than height. There is a reason why there are no 6’5″ cornerbacks, even though there are 6’5″ receivers. But you know all that. If you want to lay out a more in-depth evaluation of his skills, feel free, but don’t expect that just saying “he’s tall and he’s fast” is going to be convincing. You can do, and have done better.
And yes, I’m sure Don Brown liked him as a recruit. At Boston College. When your list of commits is almost all 2 and 3 star guys, someone like this is well worth taking a shot at. But (and again it seems silly to have to tell you this), we recruit at a much higher level here, and the bulk of evidence is that this guy is not at that level. If he were a 2019 guy, or even 2018, he might be worth keeping an eye on, but it’s pretty late in the game to expect him to blossom as a high schooler. You yourself wondered why a team at the level of Alabama would take a flyer on a QB whose physical skills you felt were very limited. Apply the same thinking to this guy and Michigan.
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Speaking of making illogical jumps…
I didn’t say that *I* want him. I didn’t say that *I* think he’s the next best corner in the country. I’m telling you why Michigan’s staff wants him.
Personally, I like corners who are about 5’10” or 5’11” and can run. But I can also appreciate the fact that Michigan has done just fine with Channing Stribling and Jeremy Clark over the past couple years. (Neither one was an elite recruit, BTW.) I don’t know if they would have worked out with Lloyd Carr, Rich Rodriguez, or Brady Hoke, but Harbaugh and Co. have found a way to make 6’2″ or 6’4″ guys work at corner.
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Why 5’10/11″?
I know why “that can run”.
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The reason I like them is that they’re big enough to contend with most receivers, but they can also change direction well due to their low-ish center of gravity. I also did an analysis of Pro Bowl corners several years ago, and they were mostly around 5’10”.
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Michigan did not land elite CBs beyond the one or two they landed. You can bemoan this or move on. The staff has no choice but to move on.
When you move on you move on to a lower talent level. This can mean low 4-stars that might not fit your system or 3-stars that do.
Everyone is aware that a 3-star recruit offered in December or January is not the first choice.
Michigan needs DBs. Brown replicating his secondary’s performance at BC would be a success at Michigan or anywhere else.
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Harbaugh has a very powerful intuition relative to being able to see things in footbaLL players that many others miss. Think Josh Johnson who he recruited to non scholarship USD and last I knew has now lasted close to 10 years in the NFL……….
There are many more traits to look for than size, speed, quickness, stength and agility. Like intellectual depth, intelligence, character, integrity, toughness as well as a desire to succeed in LIFE! not just football ; both athletically and acedemically………
Maybe the satff sees some things like this in the kid. You know, things that add up and equate to Winner!
IMHO………….INTJohn
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He did alright at Stanford too.
Harbaugh and Brown should both have your trust given their success at places that didn’t recruit elite talent.
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A summary of reasons to offer Sebastian:
Need: Michigan roster needs more DBs.
Timing: It is late in the cycle and Michigan has missed on elite DB targets like Holmes, Hicks, etc.
Size: Tall for a CB.
Speed: Fast for a DB.
Fit: Don Brown likes tall and fast CBs in his defense. Those are hard to find.
Familiarity: Brown knows about Sebastian and has a relationship.
Can’t Michigan find a higher ranked CB somewhere else? Probably, but you have to be slavishly devoted to recruiting rankings to not see the above as superseding rankings differences between Plan D recruits.
Is Michigan better off not using the scholarship? Unlikely given immediate need and the fact that next year’s recruiting class will have 3-star recruits in it just like this year’s. The odds of success on low-rated recruit are lower, but far from zero.
Don Brown deserves a bit of faith based on what he did at BC. His defense has been very successful both with elite talent at Michigan and 2 and 3 star talent at BC.
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Yep… your turn WCB
Go Blue!
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Needing more DBs does not mean we need THIS DB. Our need doesn’t in any way, shape or form translate to this kid being anything but a bench warmer for his whole career. If he isn’t good enough to play, then it doesn’t matter what position he’s listed at on the roster. A guy who isn’t playable at a Big Ten level doesn’t give you “depth”, even if you have to stick him out on the field in desperation. And the odds of him ever being a significant contributor are very low. At some point, you have to recognize that this guy is not promising enough to risk a scholarship on, and that even if he is the best DB prospect we can possible get, we’re better off settling for being thin at DB, and improving out team in other areas where we have a shot at higher quality players.
As noted many times, everyone who has evaluated this kid has seen his size and speed, and no other major program thinks he worth an offer and no recruiting service thinks he’s a good prospect. Clearly there are serious flaws in his skill set that outweigh whatever pluses his size and speed give. And seriously..harping on this guys size and speed and ignoring everything else is like saying that because an offensive lineman is big and strong, he must be good.
Unless you think this low three star guy is magically going to be good enough to contribute at a Big Ten level as a true freshman, he is not going to be any help with an “immediate need”. We’re better off banking the scholarship and landing a better DB recruit who has a chance to contribute in 2018, or a better player at another position this year.
If Don Brown were bringing in all 2 and 3 star recruits here, would you have full faith that we’d still have the kind of defense we need to win a national championship, in spite of the face that the teams we’d be competing against will be loaded up with 4 and 5 stars? Of course not. This isn’t Boston College. Repeat that. This ISN’T Boston College.
All irrelevant now, of course, since the visit has been cancelled. Oh well.
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I think what you’re missing is the alternative to a low 3-star is playing a walk-on. And we’re not talking about a Kovacs-level. Nobody is saying a 3-star freshman is going to start (though far stranger things have happened and one can’t rule out the chance that he would be better than Mettelus/Hudson/etc.) but this team has a stunning lack of numbers in the secondary at the same time that they have to introduce all new starters. If injuries strike (as they do every year at some position), Michigan’s secondary could crumble in a very 2010 kind of way. It’s inexplicable to me that they aren’t offering more DBs not only to have a (long) shot at finding a better starter, but in being prepared for attrition that can strike at any time.
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You’re acting like Boston College is a minor league squad. They play in the ACC – arguably the best conference in college football this year. Boston College’s 2 and 3-star laden defense did a better job against FSU and Cook than our 5-star defense. Brown’s defense was elite, without elite talent. The talent Michigan offers isn’t necessary for Brown’s system to be successful. If we could get the offense performance up to Boston College’s defensive performance this team would be national champions.
The focus on recruiting rankings is overly simplistic and missing the bigger picture. Rankings are good indicators in aggregate but there are many many exceptions, sleepers, late-bloomers, etc. The glasgows weren’t offered scholarships by anyone. Ruling any player out because of recruiting rankings is naive and bull-headed. Be skeptical if you want, but nobody knows what kind of player he will be.
Anyway, it appears this discussion may be purely theoretical because the visit was supposedly cancelled.
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1 – not only is the ACC the best football conference in the Nation;
2 – they are also the best basketball conference in the Nation;
3 – they are also the best Academic conference in the Nation.
Another one of the many off season topics I’m looking forward to discuss here: Michigan leaving the B10 and join the ACC because of all 3 reasons above – discussion for the future.
Thanx…………….INTJohn
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Not irrelevant at all. Itsa Good write up. Should be easily applied to another recruit in the future so save it. Besides maybe Don B. or one of the defense analysts read your argument and told the young man to cancel………. ya never know!
jes sayin………..INTJohn
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Shorter version: yes
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