I'll preface this by saying that Michigan should not be in the business of breaking the rules, paying players, etc. But I do think there are areas where Michigan could be pushing the envelope a little more and frankly leading on issues that would help our recruiting and ultimately
- Michigan should be calling for an expansion of the playoff system to 8 teams. The current playoff system continues to benefit the teams that have already participated when it comes to recruiting. Clemson, Bama, and OSU can and do routinely use this in their pitch to recruits. "Don't you want to go to the playoff"? Kids today don't care at all about the Rose Bowl or Big Ten Titles (not that we have those either). Even making the playoff once or twice every 4 years would give us huge recruiting credibility. (I'm happy to lay out my master plan for an 8 team system in another thread)
- We should stop with the charade of having players attend classes (at least during the fall). With 2020 going completely online for everyone, there is no reason that football players should be expected to attend classes in person during the season. Several of our competitors have already made this a reality for their players, but now that it has happened for everyone for a year, there is no reason to go back. Considering that basketball players often miss in person class for weeks at a time in March, this one makes no sense. It doesn't have to be mandatory - guys can go to classes in person if they want. But having some or all classes available online is an absolute necessity and will help with recruiting.
- I'd love to see Michigan start embracing the NLI campaign. For a school like Michigan with huge fanbases, social media followings, and alumni all over the country (and world) it would benefit us more than most. The Michigan brand has long coattails and certain high level student athletes would have a lot of opportunities to profit from that. Plus, I do believe it would somewhat level the playing the field at places that are making sure their guys are "taken care of" under the table.
- The final piece to this comes back to recruiting investment overall. It has and always will be about the talent you bring in and we need to up our game. I think we do a decent job, but we should be throwing every available resource we have at recruiting that is within the rules. Things like the satellite camps were great and innovative ideas - we need more of that. I'll be honest, I don't know how we are setup right now or what is allowed, but I'd think you'd want a recruiting director for Michigan, a recruiting director for Ohio, and one for the other regions you expect to focus on. Maybe this is already in place, but I'm guessing there are ways we can improve on this. Again, with a $200M annual athletic budget, resources should not be what holds us back.
