http://espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/football/story/_/id/8938840...
Sorry if this has already been posted.
Decent article criticizing Hoke's no visit policy (also mentions a few other schools who do it - Oregon, Texas).
"And Ohio State is equally attractive to Michigan, though you won't hear Urban Meyer talk of a no-visit policy. He all but encourages his recruits to look around. Meyer believes he'll still get them in the end.
This year, cornerback Gareon Conley of Massillon (Ohio) Washington decommitted from Michigan in November to take other visits. He committed to Ohio State in December and signed with the Buckeyes, even after Michigan continued to recruit him.
Offensive guard David Dawson of Detroit Cass Tech decommitted from the Wolverines and took a visit to Florida in October. He later returned to Michigan's class.
"One thing that you have to understand about that policy," Hoke said on signing day, "every situation is a little bit different."
In other words, Michigan will bend its rules to best suit the program, to look out for itself.
Recruits should do the same."
Hoke's insecurities on display here. I love Meyer's approach, look all you want but I bet you don't find anywhere better. If you truly believe that, you don't need to try to lock your recruits away from the the world.
If you are going to have this policy then have the balls to enforce it. Hoke looks like a fool.
Yah i liked how it mentioned how he will go after committed recruits, but uses this policy to keep kids from pursuing interest in other schools. It's smart, but definitely hypocritical.
"One thing that you have to understand about that policy," Hoke said on signing day, "every situation is a little bit different."
This is code for...Some players are good enough for the program to look the other way
100% of unprayed prayers go unanswered
Poggi would be one big example. Because of the need and status he would have been given every opportunity a lower ranked player wouldn't have to be on board . His dad even made the situation look worse by his tweets during the time. At some point this two faced approach will bite him in the ass.
Paranoid and delusional
vacuuming sucks
Hoke is a complete moron to march out policies that contain blatant inconsistencies, but that is pretty much par for the course with this guy. I look forward to the day he is unceremoniously run out of Ann Arbor and is replaced by a coach who is actually somewhere close to the level of Meyer. I hate that we even have to talk about him in the same breath as a coach who has won two national championships and pretend there is even some sort of competitive element to their relationship. Hoke has done absolutely nothing and is a piece of trash reject Ohioan who only chose to like Michigan because he wanted to be different. On top of that he thinks he is cute in stealing Ohio State's tradition of not saying Michigan's name and act like he thought of it. I think we should stop saying his name, too, but I guess in a few years of being on the wrong end of some OSU beatdowns, the higher-ups at Michigan will take care of that for us.
I don't have an issue with Hoke and others having these policies in place. If they wanna operate that way, fine. But they have to recognize and understand the pitfalls of having such a "strict" policy.
I don't really feel as if this rule is deterring anyone from Michigan. It seems like from an outside perspective a bit unfair, but most kids will have their visits in or at least know what school they for sure want to attend before wanting to take additional visits. Not a lot of players typically visit other schools after a commitment so it's kind of a moot point. If they wanted to de-commit and visit other schools then they would just do it. Michigan doesn't say, if you visit you can't come here. It's more like, if you visit somewhere else, then we don't look at you as a commit. It's really 6 in one, half dozen in the other and really isn't that profound of a policy. It doesn't prevent kids from visiting other schools and it doesn't prevent an eventual committment in the end.
As I understood it, if a kid wants to look around after committing, Hoke doesn't pull the offer but he no longer guarantees it. To me, that makes sense. Oh, wanna look around? That is ok but we are going to protect ourselves incase you decide to leave. If you stay committed we stay committed.
Oh and screw TTUN. I feel bad for somewhat defending them.
I wouldn't say it's defending them. There's nothing to defend. It's a policy that really any coach abides by and if an Ohio State commit wants to look somewhere else and we find someone better, well then "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out". It's kind of the same thing
Yeah, this is my understanding as well. They view it as an equity issue. And they also want kids to be straightforward with them re: whether they are visiting elsewhere. I think that's fine as long as the coaching staff doesn't mislead a recruit, for instance, by claiming that they are only purusing one player at a recruit's position, when in fact they are pursuing other players at that same position. In the end, I think it's just a different approach, and Urban takes another tack in encouraging kids to look around. Some kids are going to go for Hoke's approach, others will like Urban's way. It seems to me that the no-visit issue is blown out of proportion.
Yes, and you're not defending Michigan, you're simply see a policy for it is.
It's not 100% cut an dry. I'll admit that. Also, the fans and media don't know the half of it on most of this stuff. His quote about every situation is different refers to how the commit conducts the process.
Gareon Conley: originally didn't have an offer from OSU and wasn't high in any of the rankings. Had a good season, his name got out there, and OSU offered. Approached the coaches and said he was interested in taking visits. Michigan coaches said that's fine, but if you do take a visit, your scholarship won't necessarily be here. Conley had not decommitted. Michigan didn't pull his scholarship offer. Once Conley took the visit, he was no longer committed, but he still had an offer. Had Leon McQuay tried to commit the next day, they probably would've taken his pledge and if that was the last DB spot Michigan had, Conley would've been left out.
David Dawson: received interest from Florida. Visited Florida without talking to the coaches. He initially lost his spot and his offer was pulled. Upon having a heart-to-heart with Hoke, Michigan decided to, once again, pursue Dawson. Since Michigan had been full at OLine since February of 2012, they hadn't been recruiting other Olinemen. If they still were pursuing other Olinemen, one of those recruits could've committed and Dawson would've been left out. Dawson took an official to Michigan in January, when his offer was re-issued and he re-committed.
Dawson's case is the closest to hypocrisy or double standards as it can get. He's fortunate that Michigan filled up at Oline so early, so that there weren't any active recruits that could've taken his spot. Equally so, Michigan again needed to fill an OLine spot and Dawson was the best available, at that point in the process, that Michigan had a chance at. I don't know if the conversation was honest and sincere filled with apology, or the fact that he lost his dad in a tragic incident just a few months earlier played a part, but whatever was said, Dawson was again in the coaches' good graces.
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
I hate you for making sense
100% of unprayed prayers go unanswered
I dont think that Hoke's policy is a bad one with respect to the substance, but it seems to me that its not worth the poor PR (e.g., this article). The optics are bad.
Hoke isn't near the psychological master that Meyer is and doesn't seem to be as respectful of recruits, either. UFM knows that even if he loses a great player or two via flipping that he'll have 2 more great players ready to take their place. He's cool, he's calm, he's collected and he's confident in his own abilities. He also knows teenage athletes well enough to know that in the end, most players flirt just because they can. If Meyer had said anything negative or scolding about Trey Johnson taking that secret trip to Tennessee I really believe we would've lost him. But we didn't because UFM respected Trey to make his own decision and to join our side.
Hoke, on the other hand, pouts like an 8-year old out of Oreos when one of his committments flirts elsewhere. How dare you flirt with another under my watch!!!! Oh wait, we like you, come back to us. Pleeeeaaaase!!!!! (begs like a dog at the dinner table).
Which coach would you rather play for?
"Sherman ran an option play right through the south" - Greatest.Civil.War.Analogy.Ever
He is quite the Philosopher though:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPxPSzz0LBY
"if irony were made of strawberries, we' d all be drinking a lot of smoothies right now."
Respectful of recruits? Are you kidding me? All he is saying is take your visits before you commit. If you expect to get more offers down the road that you'll want to entertain, then wait to commit. He won't guarantee them a spot, necessarily, but if the player is that good, a spot will be there.
First, Urban did the same thing with Bri'onte Dunn. "If you visit Michigan, you're spot won't be here for you."
Back to the "respectful of recruits" line. Non-committable offers.
"We like you, but you're not good enough at this point in the process. Just keep working."
"We look forward to your committment, if our A and B choices fall through."
Those who stay will be CHAMPIONS!
~Bo Schembechler
In Urban's defense Dunn was waffliing for some time. It was time to make the decision, stay or go... Not the same for any of Hoke's situations..
This will hurt Hoke more than it helps him, in the end...
And they think Urban is a cheating POS who steals every recruit from someone else...
/Duff'd It
Just recently many people on here were criticizing B1G coaches for their recruiting. Hoke on the other hand, has recruited well the last two years. His policy certainly isn't hurting his recruiting, and doesn't seem to violate any NCAA regulations. I don't really see the big deal.