From ESPiN
Visits to other schools and Gareon Conley (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) appear to be getting closer to reality as the Michigan commit has not backed off talk about doing the one thing Wolverines coach Brady Hoke considers taboo.
The feeling in Ann Arbor, Mich., is if a commit takes a visit elsewhere, he’s no longer a Michigan man.
Two weeks ago, Conley said he might take visits to Ohio State and Oregon. The Buckeyes are recruiting the ESPN 150 cornerback as an athlete. The Ducks have shown serious interest.
Now, Conley indicated he is sure he’ll take visits.
“I’m going to do it,” said Conley after Saturday’s 28-19 Division I, Region 2 playoff win over Canton McKinley. “It’s still Oregon and Ohio State.”
Come to the good guys son.
starting to get the feeling that scUM may not be any different than 2 years ago...
theDuke
^ What does this mean? I'm confused.
It means they still suck. Pre season #5. in the words of DJ, "SMH"
theDuke
and the recruits are starting to realize this. and it makes me very happy.
theDuke
Duke while it is possible, I don't see a return to Rich Rod if that's what you mean. Having Mattison there alone should make their defense competitive. If they continue to recruit the way they have, they'll be pretty good. Not as good as OSU, but good.
Edit: Or were you saying they just suck this year? Because that is true. Unfortunately, so does the rest of the conference.
This kid is going to be a Buckeye... From what I understand he doesn't even have an offer from Oregon as of now. If he visits for the scUM game he will want to be a Buckeye for sure.
“Coach Meyer said Gareon could play wide receiver, he could play cornerback, he can do whatever he wants," Angel Conley said.
As it goes on, I'm thining Conley will be a duck. There is genuine interest since Oregon came all the way out here to visit him.. I think it will happen when he goes on his official.
I'm saying Hoke isn't any better than Rich Rod. Exhibit A: http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/brady-hoke-1.html and http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/coaches/rich-rodriguez-1.html
If Hoke wants to continue with the "Michigan Man" thing and tell commits that they can't take any visits after a verbal, he simply won't be able to keep up in the recruiting marketplace. Taking a hardline on a "verbal commit" is not a particularly strong recruiting tactic. I think this is very akin to the "gentleman's" agreement that Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Les Miles and any other coach worth their salt are trying to dispell. A recruit is recruitable (is that a word?) until the papers are inked. I don't see how he can stay on pace in recruiting with this archaic, narcissistic approach.
So how is scUM still the same you ask? Well, as i see, after the Dream Season Honeymoon that ended with a BCS bowl win over a vastly inferior VaTech team, scUM has managed to "regress" where most all programs "progress" in the second season of a new Coach. They absolutely need to make the B1G championship if they want to hold onto what little bit of relevancy bestowed from last season's results. They could handle the loss to 'Bama, but anything less than a conf championship will likely get the birds'a chirpin.
I hate scUM, but i also realize that without an antagonist there is no hero. I agree Mattison has improved the defense greatly, however i have to believe most, if not all, scUM fans/alumni are very dissapointed with this season and the digression this team has made in terms of what matters, W's and L's.
CONCLUSION/PREDICTION- Hoke doesn't make it through his 6 year contract (circa'15). Les Miles wants out of LSU and away from Saban (a la Urban Meyer) and then M!chigan get's their true "Michigan Man".
theDuke
Duke-
At the risk of being called a Michigan troll (which is nothing new for me), I think you need a dose of reality. Hoke is 18-5 right now at Michigan. Rich Rod started 8-15. They are not the same coach. Regarding his recruiting tactics, I think it's very debatable. On the one hand, you might turn off a few kids by taking such a hardline stance On the other hand, there are several positives to that approach. It ensures that the kids committed truly want to be there, and it prevents major surprises on signing day. It's basically a safety measure, and Hoke certainly isn't the only coach to do it. In fact, from what I understand, Meyer has taken the same approach with a few recruits.
Michigan has a worse record this year, and they are worse than last year. Some of that can be attributed to their schedule, some of it to the losses on the lines. However, it is hard for me to see that they are regressing, given their recruiting and what appears to be a pretty good ability to coach up some mediocre players. I'm not saying you're wrong, but let's see what happens when both Meyer and Hoke get their recruits in their system. At this point, I think it's a little silly to say the Michigan is heading downhill, just like it would be silly last year to say that OSU was heading downhill. Part of being successful is being able to respect your toughest opponents. I can promise you Meyer doesn't think Michigan is regressing.
Duke-
You know, as a public service -- as opposed to competitive trashtalk -- the smart football guys at 11W (whom I like and respect) should know that pretty much all of what you wrote is debunkable. Bunk, in other words.
First; Rodriguez. Coach Rodriguez is doing a pretty fair job in turning around a moribund Arizona team, thank you very much.
Second; the Hoke condition on other visits by oral commits is not akin to the so-called "gentleman's agreement" debate/issue, since Hoke himself echoed Coach Meyer's own words on that subject. Now one thing you said is quite true; "a recruit is 'recruitable' until the papers are signed." In February. The approach Hoke is taking is not "archaic." It is quite radically new. I suspect that it may be copied by other programs in the future. It is not built on some mythical image of Michigan, but rather on the recruiting numbers game and the coaches' desire to assemble recruiting classes in a certain way.
Third; Michigan "regression." Michigan got curbstomped by Alabama. Not much information there. Michigan lost a pretty closely played game to Notre Dame in their building. Notre Dame might be overrated. They also might be playing in a national championship game. It would be freaky-weird for us, if it were Bama and ND in that game. Our regression game was definitely the Nebraska night game, when Michigan was inexcusably caught without a Plan B for Denard Robinson. We now have a better idea of Plan B. There may be some team weakness, but not nearly as glaring as what was exposed against Nebraska. I also sort of expect that Coach Meyer will find out two hours before The Game whether Robinson or Gardner will be starting for Michigan.
Fourth; hopes and expectations. I think that the mean prediction for 2012 at MGoBlog was 9-3. Not good news for you, if that turns out to be the number.
Finally, a Prediction/Wager; Brady Hoke will be Michigan's Head Football Coach in 2016. I don't like making uncashable four-year wagers. But I'd make an exception for you. How's about two 50 yard-line seats for The Game, in the loser's stadium? I have my end covered. (I'd bet you that Nick Saban won't be at Alabama in 2016, but that's getting too far afield.)
Oh, and Conley. I'm disappointed to see Michigan lose Conley. And your gain will be our loss. I think you'll be getting a good kid. And I do think you'll get him. Coach Meyer will have to figure out which side of the ball to put him on.
Awesome. I make a very reasonable post. M Man makes in essence the same post. I get downvoted, he gets upvoted.
*as a sidenote, i do not upvote/downvote on convos i have an input. i cannot speak for my peers but this is, afterall, an Ohio State site...
@Annarbor, you are correct, I'm sure many think you are a troll, myself included. And Rich Rod is not the same coach as Hoke. RRod's winning percentage is still better than Hoke's over a relatively similar sample size.
I would be interested to hear about Urban's approach to theses scenarios. And about getting their "own recruits in their system"... not sure what to make of that one. Tress won with Cooper's guys, Hoke won a BCS game with RRod's guys, Urban won with Zook's guys and now is undefeated with Tress/Fickel's guys. Larry Coker won with Butch Davis' guys. And with recruiting in general, its always a crapshoot. How many 4/5 stars have you seen that don't crack the lineup? So the only way to find out how good a class is, is to wait and see how it plays out. Trust me, as a B1G fan, we need a strong scUM team. Wisky can't get it done, who knows what Brasky is doing year in year out, and PSU is... well, it's gonna be a while for them. I just don't think Hoke is the guy to get them there again. By there, i mean where LLoyd had the team.
@M Man. I've seen you post up before with quite an amount of curiosity. But if you've come here to expound about scUM becoming the flag bearer and how they're "BACK!" rah rah, you've come to the wrong site, troll. I've never read goblog and don't care to. Which makes me wonder, why do you read an Ohio State site? However, I'll admit i was concerned after seeing the recruiting haul coupled with post season success last season. Only to see that after the Nebraska game and abracadabra over NW yesterday, that scUM is not good. You are correct though, RRod is doing a good job in the desert and still has a better overall winning percentage than brady hoke.
You see, after having watched (albeit limited) action of maze and confused, my opinion is that this team is not getting better, with exception to defense. But lets face it, the d under RRod was comparable to our offense under the land sea mammal. It couldn't get any worse. You'll see phrases in my post like, "i think..." or "as I see" which state my point of view. My point of view was expressed that Hoke is not making real headway and that i wouldn't be surprised to see him on the hotseat after a few more seasons. Which brings me to your "wager". Why would you bet on Hoke but not Nick? I think Nick has some pretty good job security. Whether it's better than Brady's is yet to be seen. But don't get angry if it does go down and you have to remember this conversation in 3/4 years. Myself, on the other hand, like i said before, the B1G needs a strong scUM team, so I won't be terribly dissapointed to be wrong.
As for Gareon, I wouldn't necessarily count him in as a Buckeye. Sounds like he's got some serious interest in Oregon, another wildly successful and recognizable program. That's a tough one to beat.
theDuke
Thinking further about Conley and Oregon/OSU.. As with other recruits (Quick, Bell, etc.), we will need to closely monitor the situation with Chip Kelly and the NFL. Several NFL teams (including the Browns) are poised to make a run at Kelly this offseason. If he bolts it would be likely for some players to decommit.
I've read enough comments on this site to know that MMan, although rooting for the wrong team, is certainly not an uneducated "troll" as others say. I don't know much about AnnArbor. However, I think there were enough Buckeye "fans" on here that were bashing our players and trying to say coaches needed fired earlier this year because we weren't playing "up to Ohio State standards" and when others thought we should just be grateful to be undefeated with all things considered we were attacked because we somehow "lowered our standards." The enemy isn't always outside the compound as they say. That said Conley should be a Buckeye, a good pick up, and next year is going to be another exciting season just like this one has been so who cares about the other stuff???
Oh well...Conley's OSU's now to lose and that's the problem with getting 22 commits by the start of the season for tTUN.
"There's nothing that cleanses your soul like getting the hell kicked out of you."
"I love football. I think it is most wonderful game in world and I despise to lose."
Woody Hayes 1913 - 1987
Conley is not OSU's to lose. It's long been rumored that Oregon is actually the favorite here and an offer and possible commitment could come when he takes his official there. His real mother lives out there so they have that leg up on us. Also, his dad still wants him to go to Michigan. I'd actually say Oregon leads OSU in this battle by a slight margin.
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Triv-
Just to be clear on the Michigan policy, so that you guys know (most of 11W readers know more about it now than 98% of Michigan's casual fans, no doubt); the policy, such as it is, is something which has actually happened in less than a handful of cases, for varying reasons. And to be repetitively clear, it is that an oral commit who takes other visits will not have his scholarship held for him. Michigan doesn't burn the kid's effigy; he's not told to never ever come back; his family doesn't get a dead fish in the mail.
There is technically nothing that I know of wherein Gareon could not later recommit to Michigan if we have the numbers available. Since the Conley story broke, Michigan has opened up another scholarship with the program departure of Ricardo Miller, a WR who came to Ann Arbor Pioneer from Orlando Dr. Phillips and who is graduating in three years and going elsewhere to attend grad school and try to get some playing time.
M Man
Yeah I realize he won't have his spot held for him, I just remember reading somewhere that his dad was still pushing him to Michigan but ultimately said "it's his choice." I do believe is these visits happen (probably will) then he will end up at OSU or Oregon. At this point I think he goes to Oregon
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Is there any chance. Oregon on probation?
Just heard on NFL network if Andy Reid were to get canned, sources say Chip Kelly is their #1 prospect coach...Rumor has it that Kelly would have left last year and opted out of his last year contract but Phil Knight flashed 4 million for this year and to finish out his contract agreement...Hopefully Conley hears those rumors too!
Damn it feels good to be a Buckeye....
For what its worth Stewart Mandel was on a local radio station here in DC yesterday and he said he was absolutely certain Chip Kelly would be leaving for the NFL either next year or the year after. Said he usually likes to hedge his statements on something like that but he had no doubt.
Did he visit?
Wait, I think I missed that thread on visiting... maybe we should update everyone?