I haven't ripped our players or coaching staff for our 5-2 performance - I am as disappointed as most, but am willing to accept losses on the field if the future of the program looks promising. Therein lies my real concern - our 2018 recruiting class. As it stands right now the class is underwhelming - if you do not agree I ask you to drop down the 2018 Offers list and go through each position group, and see what we landed versus those going to other programs. As we know, our two highest verbals are serious flight risks - this would really take the air out of this recruiting class. And we are not in a great position to backfill these verbals if they do indeed flip. Maybe Harbaugh & Co. have identified and verballed the best 3 star recruits in the country - if so they likely cornered the market. I'm not sure under what circumstances we should be fishing in the same recruiting pond as the Florida powers (Florida International/Atlantic), UMass and UConn. Yes, JH and staff know infinitely more that I do about football, recruiting, player development. However, this approach (classes loaded with 3 star prospects) is tough to pull off if our goal is a return to the B10 upper class. Put differently, how would one of the greatest CFB coaches ever (Meyer) recruit if he were coaching UM? Of our 15 verbals for 2018 exactly 2 were offered by OSU. I feel marginally better that 2019 is off to what appears to be a better recruiting start, but if our on-field results continue to disappoint, I haven confidence we can finish with a class that stacks up against the best.
I'm sure many of you will disagree, and some segment of that group will rip on my post, stating JH is a better coach than Meyer, O$U cheats, we don't want to be a B10 if it means we have to lower our standards, etc. With a few exceptions this staff has not shown the ability to coach up our kids. Maybe the timeframe is too short, but I think there is enough body of work to be more concerned about a recruiting approach of loading a class with so many projects. I just don't think we have that luxury.
Gotta go - running late for my therapy session...
I'm sure many of you will disagree, and some segment of that group will rip on my post, stating JH is a better coach than Meyer, O$U cheats, we don't want to be a B10 if it means we have to lower our standards, etc. With a few exceptions this staff has not shown the ability to coach up our kids. Maybe the timeframe is too short, but I think there is enough body of work to be more concerned about a recruiting approach of loading a class with so many projects. I just don't think we have that luxury.
Gotta go - running late for my therapy session...
