It's Saturday, which means yesterday was Friday, which means you may have missed some things:
- Urban Meyer: "We forever will recruit [in Michigan.]" (Hold that thought.)
- This is a great photo from the first gathering of Meyer, Mark Dantonio, and Jim Harbaugh.
- 2015 signee Mirko Jurkovic, a three-star OL from IMG Academy, wasn't cleared academically by Ohio State. It's still unknown whether he'll take a gray shirt or seek asylum elswhere. Ohio State is still one body over the roster limit.
- 247Sports says Braxton Miller has been 100% cleared, but other reputable sources say that's not the case.
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE? Mike Weber, Michigan's top prospect in the 2015 cycle, was once committed to a certain team north of Ohio's border. He then decommitted and ended up at Ohio State.
Stan Drayton, who was instrumental in keeping Weber on board through Michigan's late surge, bolted for the Chicago Bears the day after Signing Day. This obviously upset Weber, but the four-star prospect is due in Columbus on Sunday.
Thomas Wilcher, Weber's high school coach, says Weber's recruitment would've ended much differently hadn't Brady Hoke sucked at his job.
From Ari Wasserman of cleveland.com:
"I have no doubt that if Brady Hoke wouldn't have gotten fired, and Michigan was still going in the right direction, Mike Weber would have never flipped," Cass Tech coach Thomas Wilcher told Northeast Ohio Media Group on Thursday. "He wanted to go to Michigan."
I have no doubt if I bought the winning lottery ticket I would win the MegaMillions. Alas.
Wasserman also caught up with Weber, and the Michagander bowling ball finally spoke on Stan Drayton's exodus:
"It was really upsetting. It just felt like I wasn't satisfied," Weber told Northeast Ohio Media Group on Friday. "It just felt like I couldn't trust anything or anybody. I had to realize that this is a business, a part of the game. It woke me up a lot. I am at Ohio State now, and hopefully these three or four years (will be great) and make it to the NFL."
Honestly, there are way worse ways to lose your innocence.
I do know Weber won't regret his decision if he keeps his ax to the grindstone, and that the Stay Drayton fallout will make for good fourth quarter filler when true freshman Mike Weber is gashing Michigan's defense with the Buckeyes leading big.
RUSSELL NIXES SIXERS WORKOUT. D'Angelo Russell will reportedly workout and interview with the Minnesota Timberwolves next week, and he's already met with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Those two teams hold the first two picks in the NBA Draft. Philadelphia, who owns No. 3, is seen by many to be the perfect landing spot for Patient 0.
Silk's camp might have had a change of heart:
D'Angelo Russell canceled this weekend's visit and workout for the #Sixers, according to multiple sources.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) June 12, 2015
Perhaps Russell has done enough to feel he's going in the top two picks. As a Lakers fan, I'd much rather have Russell at No. 2 than Jahlil Okafor.
COOMBS RUNS POINT IN THE MITTEN. Y'all: I think Urban Meyer knew what he was doing when he appointed Kerry Coombs as his Michigan point man:
From Ryan Ginn of Scout.com:
“For me, my style of recruiting is relationships with people, primarily head high school football coaches and assistant football coaches,” Coombs said. “That’s where I start with everything. I’ve been in their shoes, I know their job and I think they have a comfort level talking with me. I can be honest with them, and I feel like they can be honest with me. You start to have that relationship and they give you information about their players. If they trust you, they’re going to trust you with their players. That’s the biggest part.”
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by Wilcher. Although he admitted that Ohio State will be a tougher sell to Michigan kids if Michigan turns things around and Michigan State keeps winning, he said Coombs is doing everything he can to give Ohio State its best shot in the state.
“He’s a great guy,” Wilcher said. “Fun loving, he talks well, he speaks well and he’s always trying to think about what to do for you and your program. Those are the types of things that you look at because it builds relationships.
Out of any assistant on the staff, Coombs is the perfect agent to operate behind enemy lines.
I would love to see Michigan's negative recruiting graphics against Coombs. It probably features something super lame like, "DID YOU KNOW NAILS AND TEQUILA AREN'T PART OF A BALANCED BREAKFAST?"
THIS SEASON WILL OWN SO MUCH. The Big Ten East is about to be a banger.
From professional troll Drew Sharp of Freep.com:
Dantonio did a local radio interview this morning at the Sound Mind Sound Body football camp at Macomb Dakota High. Maybe 10 yards away stood Meyer, waiting for his turn to go on the air. But Dantonio wouldn't relinquish the stage. He stayed on until Meyer didn't have any more time and had to move on to other business.
Dantonio saw Meyer standing there, but wouldn't give up the microphone.
Coincidence? Unlikely.
The real Big Ten football coaching battle isn't between Jim Harbaugh and everybody else. It's between Dantonio and Meyer. It's between Michigan State and Ohio State. They're the dominant programs in the conference.
I agree: Jim Harbaugh is all hype at this point. He won with Andrew Luck and got dumped by his little brother in a Super Bowl. He hasn't proven anything else in the Big Ten East, which may be college football's toughest conference.
OK, THIS IS IMPRESSIVE. Alabama fielded 11 future NFL players against Michigan in 2012:
Reminder: There were people who bet on Michigan — who again, was coached by Brady Hoke — to not only cover the spread, but win the game. I assume those people are bankrupt and in a gutter somewhere. They had it coming.
THOSE WMDs. Court: Iowa residents have right to be drunk on front porch... How I created the Dothraki language for Game of Thrones... Video: Soccer player earns straight red after kicking opponent in the balls with both feet... Christopher Lee's wartime record was even more exceptional than his acting.... Photos: Abandoned fishing village in China swallowed by ivy.
