Eleven Warriors

Another O-lineman? At what point do you have enough? Reminds me of the Detroit Lions when they grabbed WR after WR year after year and ended up with just that for a few years. It's worked out now but they can stay for more than 4-5 seasons. Beginning to think Hoke wants headlines as much as anything. That's why he grabs the Ohio guys and then Mgobluh makes a huge deal of it. Good luck to him he'll need it.

Its very strange. It would be like if Urban went out in in the 2013 class and got another Spence, Washington, Schutt, Pittman and so on. Why would these guys want to get in a dogpile like that? It makes no sense for the kids or from a team aspect IMO. Don't get me wrong, I like the fact they do non-sensical (is that a word?) stuff. Less room for other skill spots to be recruited. An o-lineman taking a handoff from the QB in the future? Hoke is a genius. That's where that 55% winning percentage shows through.

Just did the math...this coming year they will have 16 OL, with 3 graduating after the season. With the 2013 class coming in (assuming they sign no more OL) they will have 18 OL on scholarship, with 10 of them being freshman or sophomores. Not sure where they see all of these guys playing in the future, but they will have a ton of depth there.

It sounds like Hoke is worried about our future D-line but it seems like he is way over signing. Where are these guys gonna play? I say let him keep signing away because he is not getting any other positions filled.

Can they even afford to take anymore for the sake of their class being balanced and covering all their needs?

I'd like to see Lisle commit to the good guys soon.

Kailis?  Kalis might start as a freshman!  If we have trouble finding playing time for Kalis, we should petition for admission into the NFC North.

This class is only half filled.  And it already includes a QB, a RB, a WR, 2 TE's, a CB and a S.  I don't think anybody is losing sight of the need for help at all positions.  We are going to take 22-24.

Here is the thing for you guys; we are not making a big business of taking players away from you, at least not yet (Kalis exception noted).  But we are crushing Sparty.  In the state of Michigan; in some of Sparty's best feeder schools like Farmington Hills Harrison; in places where we have in the past not gotten some kids we wanted like Orchard Lake St. Mary's; and now we are getting the out-of-state kids (like Kugler) who Sparty desperately wanted.

Getting concerned about recruiting now is like staring in awe at a week two mich win over Eastern Michigan and comparing it to an Ohio State victory over a real team like Cal.  Urban plus Ohio State is a lock top 3 class every year outside of the espn rankings.

Michigan is just stacking up on Oline cause our Dline likes to snack on them. Their just trying to accomodate Ohio States need for a pre-Thanksgiving snack is all! And after watching Denard Robinsin acting like he was feeding his face last season, it's our turn!

Guys/Gals, stop trying to diminish Michigan's recruiting class. They are on FIRE. Their O-line haul for 2012, and 2013 is phenomenal. It's not that hard to acknowledge this. As M-Man pointed out above, this really hasn't affected us, but is absolutely crushing MSU. Hoke is killing it right now, but there is no reason for us to worry as I'm sure Meyer will get the guys he wants as well. The thing to take from all of this is that we are headed back to the 70s in regards to competition. It will be OSU vs. Michigan, and then everyone else. 

Others have alluded to something which sounds sort of cool, but which probably falls into the realm of "more stuff I read on the internet": that Hoke and Meyer might now be recruiting different guys, for their different schemes, and getting into fewer straight-up recruting battles with each other.  And that the net result might be stronger classes for the two Rivals, mopping up against the rest of everybody else.  Okay.

Some cool stuff about Michigan's latest recruit Patrick Kugler that is appearing on several Michigan blogs -- his father is the Steelers' OL Coach, and his older brother is a RS Fr at Purdue.  Patrick might be the best OL prospect in Pennsylvania for 2013; he is smart, he has superb technique, he finishes blocks, he is nasty in the mold of Kalis.  Most significantly, he is listed everywhere as a Tackle but apparently the worst-kept secret in Pittsburgh is that he is going to be a Center, and that is perfect for us, filling a spot of need.  He'd be about the same size (tallish for a Center) as Brewster.

lol, had to be one of the other frequent 11W commenters from up north.  Probably one who isn't civil here and gets beat up on pretty bad for his comments.  

what is amazing about us picking up kugler is that he did not really seem to have any interest until 2 days ago. Then he visited and committed the next day. Like m man said, Michigan and OSU's targets should vary quite a bit on the offensive side of the ball. I remember that satan himself (Richrod) said he was after smaller, faster lineman to get out and block for the spread. And before you all jump down my throat, I know Urban's spread is different.

I don't see any disadvantage in locking up the class early. In fact, quite the opposite because every recruit is more ammunition in recruiting others. Plus, it gives us a chance to get .an early start on 2014. I'm sure Hoke will save 2-4 spots for some big names if we need then

I find it funny how many on the site are stating that Michigan is taking TOO many 4 star offensive linemen in the last two classes.  No one ever states that taking one quarterback per year or taking two running backs per year is a bad thing.  The last time I checked, there are five offensive linemen on the field for each play.  The current class has two natural tackles, two who can play guard and one who is slated for center.  All rated four stars and amongst the top 250 players in the country.  Doesn't sound like a bad thing to me if you are Hoke. 

Taking four good ones last year and five good ones this year will not be too many when you take into account that this is currently a very weak position for this team.  Combine this with a high failure rate for offensive linemen and with the fact that some players will take years to develop, this sounds like a good strategy in the long run. 

RR had poor classes for linemen and the ones he did take weren't ideal for the pro-set that Hoke wants to run.  In short, the team has little depth at this position and the talent is not ideal.  There is no doubt that Kalis will see time next year and that he will be a starter in year two. 

OSU fans aren't going to shudder in fear at Michigan's progress thus far as Urban will again get the fine talent he is looking for this year. 

It will be fun to see how the rest of the year progresses as there are several high profile targets on the board for both schools. 

Thank you Mr. Hoke, its nice to be back in the game................

Jasonbuck,

Momentum appears to be a big factor with the O-linemen.  MI made this a huge priority this year and last and had targeted most of these kids very early in the process.  When Bosch and Dawson chose to commit, Fox and Tuley-Tillman may have felt compelled to pull the trigger now as each had MI as their #1 and may have felt they could lose the opportunity if they waited.

It doesn't look like this is going to be as easy with the skilled players as Treadwell and Issac have stated that this will not change the timing of their decisions.  There is no doubt that MI will save scholarships for these two if the class continues to fill. 

Most of the sites point that Hoke bleeds blue and that this resonates with recruits.  The recruits have also sited a strong family atmosphere amongst the staff and players as positives.  (No knock on RR, but this is clearly a change from the last era.)

Finally, I think the fact that they are moving to a pro-style offense will attract certain recruits who believe that will assist them in developing their potential for the next level.  We're crossing our fingers that the skilled players will feel the same way as a game breaking receiver and a feature back are badly needed. 

Michigan fan here, just want to givie you guys the facts. triv posted that we would have 16 OL this fall and 18 the year after.   I dont know where he got those numbers, maybe counting walkons.

The reality is that Michigan's OL depth is terrible thats why we are taking so many OL although frankly 9 in 2 years really isnt that many, I think you should take at least 3-4 a year.

Anyway this fall we will have 12 scholarship OLs on the team IF 2 5th year seniors who have rarely played (Khory and Mealer) come back.  The other 10 include the 4 returning starters (2 of whom are seniors), two RS frosh and the 4 kids we just signed.

In the fall of 2013, assuming no unexpected attrition, we'll have 13 scholarship OL.  2 seniors, 2 RS Sophs, the 4 kids we just signed who will be true sophs or RS frosh and the 5 true frosh.

So as you can see we need these kids just to have a reasonable level of depth (note Hoke has said he generally thinks we should have about 15 ol), although the depth will still be too young.

Note, we still could get Kozan for this fall which would obviously add one to the above numbers.