1. Signing Day On The Horizon
We're just a few days from National Signing Day, which will be my first real one with The Wolverine! It's hard to believe, but I actually haven't been around The Fort for that long. While I did cover last year's signing day, I did it from a Starbucks in Dallas only a few months into the job. This time, I'll actually be out on the road covering ceremonies (more on that in a second). Thanks again for welcoming me to The Wolverine family. Anyway, I'm expecting every 2021 commit to sign on Wednesday minus Branden Jennings and Jaydon Hood. No surprise there. Obviously, we'll have to wait and see with Xavier Worthy, and I'm still keeping track of Ja'Den McBurrows as Miami continues to push. Other than that, there should be no hiccups. The guys have been locked in despite everything going on with the program, and I don't expect that to change right before signing day.
2. Content Plan
Like I said, I will be on the road this week for signing day. My plan is to leave Chicago early Tuesday afternoon and arrive in Detroit that evening. I'm looking to do a 2-hour live video chat on our YouTube page from my hotel, so if you haven't subscribed yet, make sure to do so by clicking here. YouTube is a way for us to earn extra revenue and helps me have a bigger travel budget. I'm all set to start the day at Cass Tech to see Rivals250 offensive lineman Raheem Anderson sign at 8:30 a.m. After that, I'm trying to see Giovanni El-Hadi and/or Tommy Doman, but they are still working out plans for their signings. My last stop will be at West Bloomfield to see Donovan Edwards make his decision. I'll be there whether it's Michigan or not, so don't read too much into that. His announcement will air live on ESPN at 1:30. It will be outdoors, so we'll all be freezing, but Coach Bellamy told me he's bring some portable heaters for us lol. Our Clayton Sayfie will also be there and will have a stream going on our YouTube page if you'd rather support us.
3. NSD Vibe
Like I said at the top of the story, this class has remained locked in with Michigan despite the losses on the field and rumors surrounding head coach Jim Harbaugh. From exchanging messages with parents and recruits this weekend, it doesn't seem like anyone is really getting cold feet heading into signing day. You have to give kudos to these kids and their families. After all, I covered a similar situation at Texas and even on a smaller scale at SMU, and there were quite a few decommits. Michigan hasn't lost a single kid since it started going downhill. Yes, I know that likely won't remain a fact, but the Wolverines won't experience any type of recruiting exodus. I've been told by multiple parents and recruits that this class truly feels like they can turn things around in Ann Arbor.
4. Virtual In-Homes
Harbaugh and company are in the process of wrapping up their virtual in-home visits this weekend. I plan to gather a lot more on the Zoom meetings this evening. I've left kids and their parents alone, for the most part, since it's a sensitive time and they deserve space to process the calls with Harbaugh and discuss things as a family before putting pen to paper. Again, I don't foresee many hiccups, but I obviously want to be respectful. As you guys, know I've already talked to Tavierre Dunlap since I had him on my podcast and got a call from Louis Hansen's father. Harbaugh didn't say too much about his extension on either of those calls. I'm not sure you should read too much into that. He's discussed it with recruits on several occasions, and I'm sure everyone is a little sick of it. I do know he opened the Hansen call by saying they had an open floor for questions, and he's been recruiting like he's going to be here next year.
5. Virtual In-Homes Pt. 2
As Hansen's father put it, the virtual in-homes were a nice gesture from this staff and showed they are willing to go the extra mile. I know you guys have a strong disdain for Director of Recruiting Matty Dudek, but he's done a great job behind the scenes of putting things like this together this cycle. Dudek was instrumental in scheduling all of Harbaugh's calls throughout the dead period, and parents have raved about how well Dudek has communicated and answered questions in times of uncertainty. The virtual in-home idea was a pretty awesome idea and gave parents/recruits one more chance to really get to know their future coaches before putting pen to paper.
6. More Dudek
There have been calls on this board for the firing of Dudek, which I think are a little unwarranted. Here is why. Coming over from Texas, which shares a lot of similarities with Michigan, I was shocked at the lack of investment in the recruiting department. Honestly, I think Dudek is wearing too many hats and doesn't have enough helping hands. Texas had a full functioning machine for a recruiting department during my time there, and it was extremely well structured. They had a Director of Player Personnel that handled a lot of the scheduling, visit coordination and gathering of information for recruiting meetings. They had a Director of Recruiting dedicated to being an on-campus recruiter that would keep in touch with coaches, trainers, kids, parents, mentors, etc. They had a secondary recruiting director that did the same thing but focused solely on Dallas. They had another one that focused only on visitors. They had another that focused only on Polynesian kids. They also had several gophers and a big team of multimedia/graphic specialists. Recruits mentioned all of them all the time. At Michigan, they only mention Dudek. That's an issue, IMO.
7. Don/Worthy
The two biggest storylines heading into signing day are Donovan Edwards and Xavier Worthy. Things have been oddly quiet with both over the last 24 hours, but I'm working hard to get intel for tomorrow's Into The Blue, where I'll dump everything I gather in the next 24 hours. I'm still pretty indifferent about both. I like where Michigan sits with Edwards. The staff was on the phone with him again this weekend, his preference is to stay closer to home, Bellamy is a Michigan guy, one of his close friends is Makari Paige, who saw the field this year, and he sees opportunity in U-M's backfield. I think he wants to be at Michigan. He just wants to a reason to sign. With Worthy, I just don't think he's going to get a clear answer on the status of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. And that's scary. I would still give Bama the slight edge, but Michigan is very capable of keeping him.
8. Defensive Tackle
You guys asked me what Michigan's biggest need was at the beginning of this cycle, and I said the Wolverines needed to add a high level defensive tackle to the field after missing out last year. Well, that hasn't happened. Rivals250 prospect George Rooks remains on the board and while there is still optimism on the Michigan side, I still feel like Boston College has the edge in what has been one of the weirdest recruitments of the cycle. Having Dominick Giudice lead the way at the position would be a disappointment. While Giudice is productive and could surprise, he's not what top level programs have in the trenches. Competing with the big boys starts by landing big boys. Alex VanSumeren is a great add in 2022, but if I'm Michigan, I'm looking to the portal for more help.
9. Giudice
Speaking of Giudice, his senior reel isn't bad at all. As I reported a couple of days ago, the Michigan staff was really happy with the way he played this season. He added a lot of weight and still moved well for his size. No, he's not the most athletic guy in the world, and he needs work on his get off, but Giudice isn't as bad as some have made him out to be. I get the frustrations with defensive tackle recruiting. I've been critical of position coach Shaun Nua as well, and he needs to do better on the trail. But Giudice could be a very solid contributor down the line. His senior clips are below.
10. Any Surprises?
That's a good question. No matter how plugged in I was on the Texas beat, there was always a surprise. For some reason, staffs like to hide certain guys they're targeting. Some of that has to do with not wanting other schools to find out about a certain kid. These targets usually pop up right before or on signing day. Every year, one random kid would ink with the Longhorns. I suspect it's the same pretty much everywhere else. Last year was my first experience with Michigan, and the Wolverines didn't disappoint as they added little known quarterback Dan Villari to the fold. We'll see if anyone pops up heading into Wednesday, but I think Michigan and others feel like surprises should, well, be surprises. If I had to bet, I would say yes, there will be one on Wednesday. Expect the unexpected.
We're just a few days from National Signing Day, which will be my first real one with The Wolverine! It's hard to believe, but I actually haven't been around The Fort for that long. While I did cover last year's signing day, I did it from a Starbucks in Dallas only a few months into the job. This time, I'll actually be out on the road covering ceremonies (more on that in a second). Thanks again for welcoming me to The Wolverine family. Anyway, I'm expecting every 2021 commit to sign on Wednesday minus Branden Jennings and Jaydon Hood. No surprise there. Obviously, we'll have to wait and see with Xavier Worthy, and I'm still keeping track of Ja'Den McBurrows as Miami continues to push. Other than that, there should be no hiccups. The guys have been locked in despite everything going on with the program, and I don't expect that to change right before signing day.
2. Content Plan
Like I said, I will be on the road this week for signing day. My plan is to leave Chicago early Tuesday afternoon and arrive in Detroit that evening. I'm looking to do a 2-hour live video chat on our YouTube page from my hotel, so if you haven't subscribed yet, make sure to do so by clicking here. YouTube is a way for us to earn extra revenue and helps me have a bigger travel budget. I'm all set to start the day at Cass Tech to see Rivals250 offensive lineman Raheem Anderson sign at 8:30 a.m. After that, I'm trying to see Giovanni El-Hadi and/or Tommy Doman, but they are still working out plans for their signings. My last stop will be at West Bloomfield to see Donovan Edwards make his decision. I'll be there whether it's Michigan or not, so don't read too much into that. His announcement will air live on ESPN at 1:30. It will be outdoors, so we'll all be freezing, but Coach Bellamy told me he's bring some portable heaters for us lol. Our Clayton Sayfie will also be there and will have a stream going on our YouTube page if you'd rather support us.
3. NSD Vibe
Like I said at the top of the story, this class has remained locked in with Michigan despite the losses on the field and rumors surrounding head coach Jim Harbaugh. From exchanging messages with parents and recruits this weekend, it doesn't seem like anyone is really getting cold feet heading into signing day. You have to give kudos to these kids and their families. After all, I covered a similar situation at Texas and even on a smaller scale at SMU, and there were quite a few decommits. Michigan hasn't lost a single kid since it started going downhill. Yes, I know that likely won't remain a fact, but the Wolverines won't experience any type of recruiting exodus. I've been told by multiple parents and recruits that this class truly feels like they can turn things around in Ann Arbor.
4. Virtual In-Homes
Harbaugh and company are in the process of wrapping up their virtual in-home visits this weekend. I plan to gather a lot more on the Zoom meetings this evening. I've left kids and their parents alone, for the most part, since it's a sensitive time and they deserve space to process the calls with Harbaugh and discuss things as a family before putting pen to paper. Again, I don't foresee many hiccups, but I obviously want to be respectful. As you guys, know I've already talked to Tavierre Dunlap since I had him on my podcast and got a call from Louis Hansen's father. Harbaugh didn't say too much about his extension on either of those calls. I'm not sure you should read too much into that. He's discussed it with recruits on several occasions, and I'm sure everyone is a little sick of it. I do know he opened the Hansen call by saying they had an open floor for questions, and he's been recruiting like he's going to be here next year.
5. Virtual In-Homes Pt. 2
As Hansen's father put it, the virtual in-homes were a nice gesture from this staff and showed they are willing to go the extra mile. I know you guys have a strong disdain for Director of Recruiting Matty Dudek, but he's done a great job behind the scenes of putting things like this together this cycle. Dudek was instrumental in scheduling all of Harbaugh's calls throughout the dead period, and parents have raved about how well Dudek has communicated and answered questions in times of uncertainty. The virtual in-home idea was a pretty awesome idea and gave parents/recruits one more chance to really get to know their future coaches before putting pen to paper.
6. More Dudek
There have been calls on this board for the firing of Dudek, which I think are a little unwarranted. Here is why. Coming over from Texas, which shares a lot of similarities with Michigan, I was shocked at the lack of investment in the recruiting department. Honestly, I think Dudek is wearing too many hats and doesn't have enough helping hands. Texas had a full functioning machine for a recruiting department during my time there, and it was extremely well structured. They had a Director of Player Personnel that handled a lot of the scheduling, visit coordination and gathering of information for recruiting meetings. They had a Director of Recruiting dedicated to being an on-campus recruiter that would keep in touch with coaches, trainers, kids, parents, mentors, etc. They had a secondary recruiting director that did the same thing but focused solely on Dallas. They had another one that focused only on visitors. They had another that focused only on Polynesian kids. They also had several gophers and a big team of multimedia/graphic specialists. Recruits mentioned all of them all the time. At Michigan, they only mention Dudek. That's an issue, IMO.
7. Don/Worthy
The two biggest storylines heading into signing day are Donovan Edwards and Xavier Worthy. Things have been oddly quiet with both over the last 24 hours, but I'm working hard to get intel for tomorrow's Into The Blue, where I'll dump everything I gather in the next 24 hours. I'm still pretty indifferent about both. I like where Michigan sits with Edwards. The staff was on the phone with him again this weekend, his preference is to stay closer to home, Bellamy is a Michigan guy, one of his close friends is Makari Paige, who saw the field this year, and he sees opportunity in U-M's backfield. I think he wants to be at Michigan. He just wants to a reason to sign. With Worthy, I just don't think he's going to get a clear answer on the status of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis. And that's scary. I would still give Bama the slight edge, but Michigan is very capable of keeping him.
8. Defensive Tackle
You guys asked me what Michigan's biggest need was at the beginning of this cycle, and I said the Wolverines needed to add a high level defensive tackle to the field after missing out last year. Well, that hasn't happened. Rivals250 prospect George Rooks remains on the board and while there is still optimism on the Michigan side, I still feel like Boston College has the edge in what has been one of the weirdest recruitments of the cycle. Having Dominick Giudice lead the way at the position would be a disappointment. While Giudice is productive and could surprise, he's not what top level programs have in the trenches. Competing with the big boys starts by landing big boys. Alex VanSumeren is a great add in 2022, but if I'm Michigan, I'm looking to the portal for more help.
9. Giudice
Speaking of Giudice, his senior reel isn't bad at all. As I reported a couple of days ago, the Michigan staff was really happy with the way he played this season. He added a lot of weight and still moved well for his size. No, he's not the most athletic guy in the world, and he needs work on his get off, but Giudice isn't as bad as some have made him out to be. I get the frustrations with defensive tackle recruiting. I've been critical of position coach Shaun Nua as well, and he needs to do better on the trail. But Giudice could be a very solid contributor down the line. His senior clips are below.
10. Any Surprises?
That's a good question. No matter how plugged in I was on the Texas beat, there was always a surprise. For some reason, staffs like to hide certain guys they're targeting. Some of that has to do with not wanting other schools to find out about a certain kid. These targets usually pop up right before or on signing day. Every year, one random kid would ink with the Longhorns. I suspect it's the same pretty much everywhere else. Last year was my first experience with Michigan, and the Wolverines didn't disappoint as they added little known quarterback Dan Villari to the fold. We'll see if anyone pops up heading into Wednesday, but I think Michigan and others feel like surprises should, well, be surprises. If I had to bet, I would say yes, there will be one on Wednesday. Expect the unexpected.
