2B — January 9, 2017
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wolverines experience a turbulent week in recruiting
The Michigan football team
was looking to do something
no other team has done since
rankings were introduced to the
recruiting process: sign back-
to-back No. 1 overall prospects.
The Wolverines signed Rashan
Gary — ranked No. 1 in 247Sports’
composite rankings of the 2016
class — and were looking to do the
same this cycle with Najee Harris,
a running back from California.
While Michigan was able to
hold off a late surge from Clemson
to sign Gary, it was unable to
flip Harris, a longtime verbal
commitment to Alabama, despite
an aggressive year-long pursuit
that included a satellite camp held
in Antioch (Harris’ hometown), an
appearance from Jim Harbaugh at
Harris’s homecoming game and a
late official visit to Ann Arbor in
December.
It was a razor-close finish — the
type to be expected for a player of
Harris’s caliber — that will leave
a sour taste in the Wolverines’
mouths, especially considering
Harris or someone in his camp led
them to believe that he would be
a Wolverine at some point in the
process, according to Steve Lorenz
of Wolverine 247.
“Finding out as close as it
sounds like it was, I believe
(Harris) was just a conflicted kid
who was going back and forth in
his mind on what he was going
to do,” Lorenz said. “He was not
someone who was going to be
influenced by Tua Tagovailoa, that
type of stuff. It was all him, it was
his call.”
Missing out on Harris leaves
Michigan with two running backs
in the class — verbal commits
Kurt
Taylor
and
O’Maury
Samuels. A third running back,
AJ Dillon, recently switched his
commitment from the Wolverines
to Boston College.
Lorenz believes that Michigan
may choose to stand pat at the
position, similar to how it has
approached the tight end position.
The Wolverines may add a running
back if they find someone they
believe to be good enough or flip a
commitment from another school,
but “they’re not going to reach
just to fill that slot”, according to
Lorenz.
“... You could see them maybe
make a run at Chase Hayden,
Arkansas commitment,” Lorenz
said. “(Hayden’s) a player that
(running backs coach) Tyrone
Wheatley really, really liked. …
There were rumors that they’re
recruiting AJ Davis… I don’t think
anything is going to happen there,
though. Opinion wise, I would be
interested to see if Michigan tried
to recruit Khalan Laborn out of
Virginia Beach. He’s committed
to Florida State. I could see
Michigan maybe saying, ‘Do you
want to split carries with (Cam
Akers) or be the guy in our class?
’... It’s recruiting. It’s wide-open
as always. My hunch tells me they
may try to stick with what they
have right now, unless something
falls into their lap.”
It wasn’t all bad news for
Michigan
over
the
weekend,
though. Chuck Filiaga, a consensus
four-star prospect and the No.
98 overall player in the nation,
announced Saturday at the Army
All-American Game that he would
be joining the Wolverines. Filiaga
is the sixth offensive lineman in
Michigan’s class and the second
highest-ranked after center Cesar
Ruiz.
It was a big win on the trail
for the Wolverines, who recently
missed out on Isaiah Wilson,
a five-star tackle who chose
Georgia over Michigan. According
to
Lorenz,
Michigan
views
Filiaga — along with Ruiz and
Andrew Stueber — as potential
contributors next season.
“(Filiaga)
was
silently
committed to Michigan for a
while,” Lorenz said. “… He’s a
perfect fit for the program as
a player and a person. … I’m
interested to see where Michigan
wants to put (Filiaga), because
he played right tackle this week,
which is not where he’s used to
playing. He had some difficulty
picking up the steps from a
footwork standpoint because he’s
only ever played left tackle. I think
that’s why he didn’t start in the
(Army All-American) game on
Saturday.
“I think it’s a big win for Jim
Harbaugh. Michigan hasn’t done
well in Texas. I know he’s not a
Texas native (Filiaga moved to
Texas from California for his
senior year) … (but) they had to
beat out Big 12-type area programs
to get him. It’s a big win for them
in that regard, and it’s a huge win
because, as big as a loss Harris is,
(the) offensive line was still their
biggest need.”
Meanwhile,
Michigan
also
received some news regarding the
recruitment of Aubrey Solomon,
a highly-touted defensive tackle
from Leesburg, Ga.
Solomon
committed
to
Michigan while in Ann Arbor
on an unofficial visit over the
summer, but decommitted just
months later, citing a recruiting
letter sent by Michigan that
mispelled his name as the primary
factor in his decision.
Considering
prospects
who
decommit from a school rarely end
up playing for that same team, most
had written off the Wolverines.
But Solomon’s recruitment took
yet another interesting turn this
week while he was in San Antonio
participating in the Army All-
American game.
“Aubrey’s recruitment is going
to be the biggest mess — that’s my
early prediction from here until
Feb. 1,” Lorenz said. “ … 48 hours
(ago) he says, ‘Fuck Michigan’ on
Periscope and 48 hours later, if
signing day was today, he would
be signing with Michigan. That’s
where this recruitment is at right
now.
“Some people around him have
questions about Alabama as a fit
… Michigan has a lot of plusses in
their favor.”
Lorenz says the Wolverines
have done a great job with
Solomon’s
mom
while
also
recruiting him harder than any
other team. Michigan can also
offer an opportunity that other
schools
may
not:
immediate
playing time. Several interior
defensive linemen will graduate
this spring, leaving an opening for
a freshman to make an immediate
impact.
Solomon happens to be the
type of recruit who could do so —
Lorenz, who attended practices
for the Army All-American game
this past week, thought Solomon
might have been the best defensive
tackle there.
“One
of
the
(Army
All-
American) coaches was saying
that (Solomon’s) already a really
great player, but he has the
potential to take an even further
step up and be a game-changing
guy in the middle,” Lorenz said.
Solomon is expected to make
a final decision sometime close
to National Signing Day on Feb.
1, and with the turns seen so
far, it wouldn’t be a surprise if
there are a few more left in store.
While Michigan may be in the
lead now, it will have to compete
with Alabama and Georgia for his
signature.
Willie Gay, a linebacker from
Starkville, Miss., is another top
target for the Wolverines who
spent the week in San Antonio,
and
the
news
surrounding
his
recruitment
was
slightly
less
positive
for
Michigan.
Louisiana State lost a linebacker
commitment,
stepped
up
its
pursuit of Gay and is now in
strong contention for the four-star
prospect.
“... To me, it’s a typical, classic,
‘Does he want to stay South or is he
willing to go North?’ type battle,”
Lorenz said. “(Gay) has members
of his camp that are really high on
(Michigan’s) program. The funny
thing about him is he’s the biggest
Jabrill Peppers fan, and I think
that’s been a big thing for him.”
Michigan is hoping to add
Gay to its class as the sole SAM
linebacker — according to Lorenz,
Jordan
Anthony
and
Drew
Singleton are slated to be WILL
linebackers, while Josh Ross and
Ben Mason will be MIKEs.
“Basically the way Michigan
is angling it is, ‘We have an open
SAM spot in this cycle. We need a
guy to come in and play this spot.
You could be that guy if you sign
here, and you get to take the spot
of the player you idolize,’ ” Lorenz
said. “That’s a big deal to (Gay) —
he thought it was awesome. He’s
like, ‘Even when Michigan started
recruiting me, I didn’t realize that
this is how it would end up. That
I would get the chance to replace
the player I’ve always looked to
as my favorite college football
player.’ ”
Gay is expected to pick his
final
destination
on
National
Signing Day, and Lorenz says that
Michigan hopes to host Gay for an
unofficial visit (he took his official
visit for the Illinois game Oct. 22)
sometime before his decision —
most likely after his scheduled
visit to LSU on Jan. 20.
The one factor that may help
Michigan win this recruitment is
head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is
expected to focus his recruiting
efforts on Gay after previously
acting as the point man in Filiaga’s
recruitment.
The finish to the Wolverines’
last recruiting cycle was hectic,
to say the least, as their 2016 class
underwent significant changes
over the final stretch. While
Michigan’s 2017 class should
undergo less upheaval this time
around, its pursuit of Solomon
and Gay should go down to the
wire and will provide two more
opportunities for the team and its
fans to experience the twists-and-
turns of recruiting.
How quickly we forget
L
et’s start with a couple of
facts about the Michigan
football season. First, it was
a disappointment. The Wolverines
finished 10-3. They hoped and
expected to finish better.
Second,
there was a
fair amount
of heartbreak
involved.
Michigan lost
on the final
play of the
game three
times, each
different than
the last. They
all uniquely hurt the Wolverines.
Michigan did a fair amount of
watching, too. The Wolverines
watched Wisconsin and Penn
State play for the Big Ten
Championship, Ohio State in the
College Football Playoff and Penn
State in the Rose Bowl.
For all of those reasons, it’s
going to be tempting for fans to
sit down again Monday, watch
Clemson and Alabama play for
the national championship and
feel ungrateful. Disappointment
and heartbreak are reasonable
emotions to have. It is an enviable
position to feel them after a 10-win
season.
Let’s not forget that it could be
worse.
Let’s admit another fact about
both of Michigan’s highest-profile
programs. The football and men’s
basketball teams are stagnant this
season. The football team finished
10-3 last year and 10-3 this year.
The men’s basketball team exited
in the first round of the NCAA
Tournament last season and seems
to be headed for a similar finish
this season.
In the same way, it’s easy
for fans to watch another
Michigan men’s basketball loss
like Saturday’s, in which the
Wolverines were outplayed in a
77-70 home loss to Maryland, and
wonder how much better things
could be. But don’t forget how
good they are, either.
First, football. Many of the
137 teams in the history of
Michigan football have finished
better than 10-3. There’s no
denying that. But you would
have been thrilled two years
ago if someone had told you the
Wolverines would win 20 games
in the next two seasons.
Now and two years ago differ in
many ways, but consider this one:
This season, Michigan traveled
to Piscataway and humiliated
Rutgers, 78-0. The last time the
Wolverines made that trip — not in
a different era, not even five years
ago — they lost that game, 26-24,
in 2014.
Michigan’s players have grown
confident in the program they have
revived. After that game two years
ago, then-junior tight end Devin
Funchess was stuck saying, “Wins
and losses, that’s just a statistic.”
The Wolverines now have a lot
more wins.
The embarrassments of 2014
need not be relived. So much is
different now.
Two years ago, as Ohio State
marched toward a national
championship and Michigan
missed a bowl game, in the days
leading up to the matchup then-
redshirt junior center Jack Miller
admitted: “They are playing for a
lot, and we’re not.” This season,
that was not the case in “The
Game.”
The following week, then-
interim Athletic Director Jim
Hackett did what he had to do
and fired Hoke. He gave a positive
press conference in which he
vowed, “The head coach of
Michigan football is one of the
finest jobs in American sports
today, and we will have great
options.” But even then, it seemed
a bit unlikely.
Later that month, the Daily
printed a list of seven coaches
Michigan might consider: Dan
Mullen, Craig Bohl, Les Miles,
Tom Herman, David Shaw, Butch
Jones and Jim Harbaugh. All
but Miles are head coaches now,
from Texas to Wyoming. Some
may have been good fits here, but
there’s not much of an argument
that anyone could have turned
around the program as quickly as
Harbaugh has.
And then there’s the men’s
basketball program, where
excitement might be a little harder
to see. Still, a journey through
history lends a bit of perspective.
In 2007, when Michigan fired
Tommy Amaker and hired John
Beilein to become its new head
coach, the Wolverines had not
made the NCAA Tournament
since 1998. Worse, enthusiasm
surrounding the program was low,
Crisler Center was an afterthought
and the team showed few signs of
forward momentum.
The week Beilein was hired, the
Daily wrote that one of his first
priorities would be to maintain
the commitment of a highly touted
recruit, a Michigan Mr. Basketball
winner from Redford by the name
of Corperryale “Manny” Harris.
Beilein did that, and Harris led the
coach’s second team to the NCAA
Tournament in 2009.
Much more prosperity followed,
and the basketball program rose
in stature as a result. In the Daily’s
coverage of Beilein’s introductory
press conference, this newspaper
wrote, “The other major issue
at hand was Michigan’s lack
of practice facilities. Beilein
acknowledged that he and (former
Athletic Director Bill) Martin
have a general plan for the future,
but said nothing was set in stone.
When pressed on the fact that he
indeed, wasn’t guaranteed a new
practice facility, Beilein deflected
the question.”
“That’s all I can ask, is give
us a chance to compete with our
competitors and recruiting young
men, practicing and developing
our players,” Beilein said that
day.
Ten years later, he has a
pristine new practice facility,
the William Davidson Player
Development Center, and Crisler
Center is newly renovated. Back
then, the future of the program
under Beilein seemed uncertain.
In breaking down the pros and
cons of 12 possible hires, the
Daily wrote that Beilein, then
54, “may not be interested in
coaching for much longer.”
A decade later, it’s safe to say he
was. Beilein has led Michigan to
one of its longest runs of success.
Wednesday, he won his 200th
game at the helm of the program,
and he will likely go down as the
best head coach in its history.
It’s funny what happens
when you look back on those
moments. Two years ago, the Daily
predicted the chances of each of
those coaches being Michigan’s
next hire. In the section about
Harbaugh, the answer to the
question “Could it happen?” was
“No matter how hard you wish, it’s
not likely.” The paragraph added,
“But if Hackett were able to swing
the deal, it could the beginning of a
turnaround.”
He did, and it was. Michigan
has Harbaugh, it has Beilein and it
could do a lot worse. Don’t forget
that.
Lourim can be reached
at jlourim@umich.edu and
on Twitter @jakelourim.
SPORTSMONDAY COLUMN
AMANDA ALLEN/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh has made his team national contenders again.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein has led his team to six NCAA Tournaments.
JAKE
LOURIM
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh helped the Wolverines reel in an impressive trio of recruits for the 2017 class.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor