The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, including plenty of football, basketball and recruiting information …
Starting with football …
We told you last month Michigan was about to make an analyst hire that many would consider “outside the box.” Enter Pat Perles, George’s son and a guy who has been around the block.
Perles coached a long time in the NFL, and he’s coached with offensive line coach Ed Warinner in the past. Warinner wanted some O-line help, and Perles is the guy who can help provide that in his position (he coached offensive line at Syracuse in 2013, and that’s been one of his areas of expertise over the years).
A Michigan alum helped get the ball rolling on this hire, and there are a lot of them who like this move despite Perles’ obvious ties to Michigan State, where his father George coached.
Perles hasn’t coached in college since he was Syracuse’s offensive line coach in 2013, and Nate Mink of Syracuse.com — who covered the Orange that year — recalls what his memories were of Perles as a recruiter, and why he left the program.
“Their head coach, Doug Marrone, left for the Bills in December that year, so the recruiting class was just basically about surviving at that point among the staff,” Mink recalled. “It was about salvaging whatever you could, and plug the holes at the rest of the spots.
“Perles probably did some recruiting and saw kids in May and during the spring, and was around them on campus during the summer, but left right after the season. It wouldn’t be fair to give an evaluation on how he is as a recruiter. The only type of recruiting he’ll do at Michigan will be on campus, where he can watch film and see them live in camps.
“I think he left Syracuse because there were some philosophical differences on how the offense was being run. It was more about staff cohesion than anything at that point — I don’t think he fit in with the offensive coordinator, and it was better just to look for something else. He would likely say it was a mutual decision — he wasn’t fired or anything — but I don’t think he was content with some of the people he was working with.”
Regardless, Warinner wanted him, and that should be good enough for most who appreciate the job Warinner has done with the offensive line in just a short time.
Some (strongly) believe Harbaugh’s next move needs to be to secure Warinner to a more lucrative, longer-term deal, knowing how important he’s been and that cohesion there is important.
Staff turnover is going to happen, but there’s something to be said for program stability when kids are learning from the same teachers during their time in Ann Arbor (assuming they are being taught well). As most know, new defensive line coach Shaun Nua has some big shoes to fill with Greg Mattison’s departure to Ohio State to be the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator.
The move caught many off guard, including East Kentwood (Mich.) freshman and early enrollee Mazi Smith. East Kentwood coach Tony Kimbrough came down to visit and watch Smith work out, and he said Smith was excelling despite having been blindsided.
“I came down with our strength and conditioning coach, spent some time with him, watched him train,” Kimbrough said. “It was a great day, awesome to come down and spend that quality time with him.”
Smith loved it, Kimbrough added.
“He was a little disappointed day one when he got there and Greg Mattison left,” he said. “He recruited him, for some years, too. But I said to him, ‘did you go to the University of Michigan for one coach or did you go there for everything Michigan has to offer?”
He didn’t hesitate in responding it was the latter, and he has no regrets. He’s working hard on his speed and conditioning, already having a lot of the necessary strength (he’s closing in on a 500-pound bench), and has no intention of redshirting.
He’s off to a great start in the classroom, too.
He’s good. Very smart, won’t have any issues,” Kimbrough said. “He’s a hard worker. The first thing I asked him how is it so far, he said, ‘it’s school.’ He’s pretty smart when he’s comes to academics. He has rare size and talent, only going to get bigger and stronger.
“He doesn't want to redshirt. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play.”
As for Mattison, the move left a bad taste among many of the kids at Schembechler Hall.
“Not only did you leave Michigan, but you went to the enemy,” Kimbrough said, adding that from his standpoint (as a coach, former MAC player of the year at Western Michigan and longtime CFL player), U-M needs to get over the mental hurdle of beating the Buckeyes more than anything physical.
On the other freshmen early enrollees, we’ve heard nothing but great things. We caught up with an opposing coach who played against quarterback Cade McNamara in the state playoffs, and he couldn’t stop gushing about the 6-1, four-star frosh out of Reno (Nev.).
“All of the above is how I’d describe him if you’re asking for his best attribute,” he said, noting he could probably run read option well, too, if asked. “He’s a great leader … he can make all the throws.
“We played against (current Notre Dame quarterback) Ian Book a couple times, but Cade is better.”
We’ve heard plenty about Zach Charbonnet’s work ethic, too, and right now it’s being used to rehab from a surgery. His coach at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian, Charles Collins, believes he won’t have an issue.
Collins coached in the pros for a number of years and has coached some elite players, but he hasn’t seen anyone as humble a superstar as Charbonnet.
“I’d by lying if I didn’t say I think he was better than what theyv’e had or have coming in,” he said. “He’ll be competing, and I don’t care if it’s against seniors. My mindset when I was coaching pro football was guys were going to work and improve, and getting better at his craft has nothing to do with age. It’s information and what you’re taught.
****
To football recruiting …
Harbaugh signed five kids out of the state of Georgia in the 2019 class, and one of them — Dacula High four-star cornerback Jalen Perry — is already enrolled and living on campus.
A source very close to Perry’s recruitment recently explained how impressed those around Perry were with Michigan’s recruitment of him, along with that led to his de-commitment from Georgia.
“Michigan’s recruitment of him was all good,” the source said. “They’re all professionals there, especially his main recruiter Chris Partridge. They did a good job recruiting Jalen, and operated exactly how you’d expect a school like Michigan to operate — the tradition at U-M is well-known and well-respected down here.
“Coach Harbaugh actually swung by for one of his playoff games, and was very low key while he was down there. They didn’t even know he was there, because he sat in the stands. I know they really appreciated that, because they were in the hunt for a state championship.
“Harbaugh made it about the game and not about him, and just kind of blended in. That didn’t go unnoticed.”
As for Perry’s de-commitment from Georgia, the source explained it this way:
“Jalen wanted to be a mid-year there, but Georgia wouldn’t allow him to be. He had been loyal to them from early on, and them doing that opened his eyes to the fact that he maybe he should look around a little bit.”
One of Michigan’s higher-level recruits in the 2019 class recently touched on an ex-Michigan staffer who recruited him, and admitted he could tell the coach was about to head elsewhere.
“I committed to U-M, and then soon after [the coach] was gone,” the signee recalled. “[My new position coach] laid things out much better than the previous one did.
“That was not the case [with the coach who left at all] — I was actually very confused and scared. He was quiet and distant, because he knew he was going to be gone. I think he was doing it on purpose because he was about to leave.”
Michigan just extended an offer to Belleville (Mich.) High freshman athlete Myles Rowser yesterday and couldn’t be in a better spot for him. Granted, his only other offers are from Central Michigan and Western Michigan at this time, it doesn’t matter.
The kid grew up a huge Michigan fan, has an older brother in Andre Seldon from the 2020 class already committed to the Wolverines and has been around the program more than any other. He teared up when the offer came through and couldn’t believe it was real. He called the Michigan offer “untouchable” and tweeted about it all throughout the day yesterday.
He’s already trying to figure out if the offer is committable because if it is, he’s going to pull the trigger. It’s like conditional since he’s so young but if and when he’s able to commit, it’s going to be Michigan.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been able to watch how the Michigan coaches go about offering a young prospect from afar.
****
Finishing with basketball now …
The Wolverines will be wearing throwbacks for the 30th reunion of the 1989 National Championship team when they host Michigan State Feb. 24, and many of the guys on that team are planning on coming back. Head coach Steve Fisher has been invited, too, though we haven’t heard whether or not he plans to attend.
One who won’t, unfortunately — Rumeal Robinson, the hero of the overtime win over Seton Hall when he hit two free throws at the end to win it. He’s told mutual friends of ours directly that he won’t be back, though he did make it back for the 20th.
Robinson, of course, spent some time in jail for some unsavory business dealings after his NBA career ended. Many have tried to tell him what’s in the past is in the past — MSU’s Jay Vincent, for example, spent time in jail for fraud, but he was at the Spartans’ 40th reunion game recently — but it’s fallen on deaf ears to this point.
On the recruiting trail, U-M is in pretty good shape for several of its top prospects in the 2020 class, and 2019 Lester Quinones is now very serious about the Wolverines after hearing directly from head coach John Beilein.
We can say with quite a bit of certainty that nobody besides redshirt junior Charles Matthews is a lock to go to the NBA, but his departure still leaves U-M with the allotted 13 scholarship players in 2019. That means one more would have to leave, whether it’s a transfer, early graduate or other.
Sophomore Jordan Poole and freshman Ignas Brazdeikis would be the candidates to go early, and Poole is a “definite no” if he doesn’t get a first round grade. He’ll likely see where things stand after the season, but there aren’t many projecting him to go first round just yet.
Brazdeikis has had his ups and downs this year, and as we’ve said many times, those close to him have told us he’d be either a two- or three-year guy. He’s already 20 years old, so two years might be the best bet.
It’s possible Brazdeikis plays extremely well down the stretch, of course, and helps lead the Wolverines on a deep run to elevate his stock. If that were to happen, we could absolutely see him going.
Again, though — from everything we’ve gathered, that is not his plan.
On the 2020s, Huntington (W.V.) Prep big man Zach Loveday wants an Ohio State offer, but he loves Michigan right now and understands how well the U-M coaches develop big men. We’d call the Wolverines the leader at this point, though again, he’s got Ohio roots (he’s from the state) and things could change with a Buckeyes offer.
On Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy’s Quinones, assistant coach Luke Yaklich has joined Beilein in diligent pursuit of Rivals.com’s No. 44 senior nationally, and they’ve made up a lot of ground on Maryland and LSU.
“Coach Yaklich has been the one texting me a lot, almost every day,” Quinones said.
But he loves LSU, was on campus when they played Alabama in football and was enthralled, and was at Maryland for the Terps’ game with Seton Hall.
“Same thing with Michigan, I feel I fit there perfectly,” he said. “My relationship with Coach [Mark] Turgeon is very good. It’s close to home, so my parents could drive down and watch me play."
He’s not really focused on location, he said, but it’s something to consider. At the same time his mom loves — loves — Michigan’s academics, so the trip will be huge. It will take place within the next several weeks, and mom and dad will be with him.
Starting with football …
We told you last month Michigan was about to make an analyst hire that many would consider “outside the box.” Enter Pat Perles, George’s son and a guy who has been around the block.
Perles coached a long time in the NFL, and he’s coached with offensive line coach Ed Warinner in the past. Warinner wanted some O-line help, and Perles is the guy who can help provide that in his position (he coached offensive line at Syracuse in 2013, and that’s been one of his areas of expertise over the years).
A Michigan alum helped get the ball rolling on this hire, and there are a lot of them who like this move despite Perles’ obvious ties to Michigan State, where his father George coached.
Perles hasn’t coached in college since he was Syracuse’s offensive line coach in 2013, and Nate Mink of Syracuse.com — who covered the Orange that year — recalls what his memories were of Perles as a recruiter, and why he left the program.
“Their head coach, Doug Marrone, left for the Bills in December that year, so the recruiting class was just basically about surviving at that point among the staff,” Mink recalled. “It was about salvaging whatever you could, and plug the holes at the rest of the spots.
“Perles probably did some recruiting and saw kids in May and during the spring, and was around them on campus during the summer, but left right after the season. It wouldn’t be fair to give an evaluation on how he is as a recruiter. The only type of recruiting he’ll do at Michigan will be on campus, where he can watch film and see them live in camps.
“I think he left Syracuse because there were some philosophical differences on how the offense was being run. It was more about staff cohesion than anything at that point — I don’t think he fit in with the offensive coordinator, and it was better just to look for something else. He would likely say it was a mutual decision — he wasn’t fired or anything — but I don’t think he was content with some of the people he was working with.”
Regardless, Warinner wanted him, and that should be good enough for most who appreciate the job Warinner has done with the offensive line in just a short time.
Some (strongly) believe Harbaugh’s next move needs to be to secure Warinner to a more lucrative, longer-term deal, knowing how important he’s been and that cohesion there is important.
Staff turnover is going to happen, but there’s something to be said for program stability when kids are learning from the same teachers during their time in Ann Arbor (assuming they are being taught well). As most know, new defensive line coach Shaun Nua has some big shoes to fill with Greg Mattison’s departure to Ohio State to be the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator.
The move caught many off guard, including East Kentwood (Mich.) freshman and early enrollee Mazi Smith. East Kentwood coach Tony Kimbrough came down to visit and watch Smith work out, and he said Smith was excelling despite having been blindsided.
“I came down with our strength and conditioning coach, spent some time with him, watched him train,” Kimbrough said. “It was a great day, awesome to come down and spend that quality time with him.”
Smith loved it, Kimbrough added.
“He was a little disappointed day one when he got there and Greg Mattison left,” he said. “He recruited him, for some years, too. But I said to him, ‘did you go to the University of Michigan for one coach or did you go there for everything Michigan has to offer?”
He didn’t hesitate in responding it was the latter, and he has no regrets. He’s working hard on his speed and conditioning, already having a lot of the necessary strength (he’s closing in on a 500-pound bench), and has no intention of redshirting.
He’s off to a great start in the classroom, too.
He’s good. Very smart, won’t have any issues,” Kimbrough said. “He’s a hard worker. The first thing I asked him how is it so far, he said, ‘it’s school.’ He’s pretty smart when he’s comes to academics. He has rare size and talent, only going to get bigger and stronger.
“He doesn't want to redshirt. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play.”
As for Mattison, the move left a bad taste among many of the kids at Schembechler Hall.
“Not only did you leave Michigan, but you went to the enemy,” Kimbrough said, adding that from his standpoint (as a coach, former MAC player of the year at Western Michigan and longtime CFL player), U-M needs to get over the mental hurdle of beating the Buckeyes more than anything physical.
On the other freshmen early enrollees, we’ve heard nothing but great things. We caught up with an opposing coach who played against quarterback Cade McNamara in the state playoffs, and he couldn’t stop gushing about the 6-1, four-star frosh out of Reno (Nev.).
“All of the above is how I’d describe him if you’re asking for his best attribute,” he said, noting he could probably run read option well, too, if asked. “He’s a great leader … he can make all the throws.
“We played against (current Notre Dame quarterback) Ian Book a couple times, but Cade is better.”
We’ve heard plenty about Zach Charbonnet’s work ethic, too, and right now it’s being used to rehab from a surgery. His coach at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian, Charles Collins, believes he won’t have an issue.
Collins coached in the pros for a number of years and has coached some elite players, but he hasn’t seen anyone as humble a superstar as Charbonnet.
“I’d by lying if I didn’t say I think he was better than what theyv’e had or have coming in,” he said. “He’ll be competing, and I don’t care if it’s against seniors. My mindset when I was coaching pro football was guys were going to work and improve, and getting better at his craft has nothing to do with age. It’s information and what you’re taught.
****
To football recruiting …
Harbaugh signed five kids out of the state of Georgia in the 2019 class, and one of them — Dacula High four-star cornerback Jalen Perry — is already enrolled and living on campus.
A source very close to Perry’s recruitment recently explained how impressed those around Perry were with Michigan’s recruitment of him, along with that led to his de-commitment from Georgia.
“Michigan’s recruitment of him was all good,” the source said. “They’re all professionals there, especially his main recruiter Chris Partridge. They did a good job recruiting Jalen, and operated exactly how you’d expect a school like Michigan to operate — the tradition at U-M is well-known and well-respected down here.
“Coach Harbaugh actually swung by for one of his playoff games, and was very low key while he was down there. They didn’t even know he was there, because he sat in the stands. I know they really appreciated that, because they were in the hunt for a state championship.
“Harbaugh made it about the game and not about him, and just kind of blended in. That didn’t go unnoticed.”
As for Perry’s de-commitment from Georgia, the source explained it this way:
“Jalen wanted to be a mid-year there, but Georgia wouldn’t allow him to be. He had been loyal to them from early on, and them doing that opened his eyes to the fact that he maybe he should look around a little bit.”
One of Michigan’s higher-level recruits in the 2019 class recently touched on an ex-Michigan staffer who recruited him, and admitted he could tell the coach was about to head elsewhere.
“I committed to U-M, and then soon after [the coach] was gone,” the signee recalled. “[My new position coach] laid things out much better than the previous one did.
“That was not the case [with the coach who left at all] — I was actually very confused and scared. He was quiet and distant, because he knew he was going to be gone. I think he was doing it on purpose because he was about to leave.”
Michigan just extended an offer to Belleville (Mich.) High freshman athlete Myles Rowser yesterday and couldn’t be in a better spot for him. Granted, his only other offers are from Central Michigan and Western Michigan at this time, it doesn’t matter.
The kid grew up a huge Michigan fan, has an older brother in Andre Seldon from the 2020 class already committed to the Wolverines and has been around the program more than any other. He teared up when the offer came through and couldn’t believe it was real. He called the Michigan offer “untouchable” and tweeted about it all throughout the day yesterday.
He’s already trying to figure out if the offer is committable because if it is, he’s going to pull the trigger. It’s like conditional since he’s so young but if and when he’s able to commit, it’s going to be Michigan.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been able to watch how the Michigan coaches go about offering a young prospect from afar.
****
Finishing with basketball now …
The Wolverines will be wearing throwbacks for the 30th reunion of the 1989 National Championship team when they host Michigan State Feb. 24, and many of the guys on that team are planning on coming back. Head coach Steve Fisher has been invited, too, though we haven’t heard whether or not he plans to attend.
One who won’t, unfortunately — Rumeal Robinson, the hero of the overtime win over Seton Hall when he hit two free throws at the end to win it. He’s told mutual friends of ours directly that he won’t be back, though he did make it back for the 20th.
Robinson, of course, spent some time in jail for some unsavory business dealings after his NBA career ended. Many have tried to tell him what’s in the past is in the past — MSU’s Jay Vincent, for example, spent time in jail for fraud, but he was at the Spartans’ 40th reunion game recently — but it’s fallen on deaf ears to this point.
On the recruiting trail, U-M is in pretty good shape for several of its top prospects in the 2020 class, and 2019 Lester Quinones is now very serious about the Wolverines after hearing directly from head coach John Beilein.
We can say with quite a bit of certainty that nobody besides redshirt junior Charles Matthews is a lock to go to the NBA, but his departure still leaves U-M with the allotted 13 scholarship players in 2019. That means one more would have to leave, whether it’s a transfer, early graduate or other.
Sophomore Jordan Poole and freshman Ignas Brazdeikis would be the candidates to go early, and Poole is a “definite no” if he doesn’t get a first round grade. He’ll likely see where things stand after the season, but there aren’t many projecting him to go first round just yet.
Brazdeikis has had his ups and downs this year, and as we’ve said many times, those close to him have told us he’d be either a two- or three-year guy. He’s already 20 years old, so two years might be the best bet.
It’s possible Brazdeikis plays extremely well down the stretch, of course, and helps lead the Wolverines on a deep run to elevate his stock. If that were to happen, we could absolutely see him going.
Again, though — from everything we’ve gathered, that is not his plan.
On the 2020s, Huntington (W.V.) Prep big man Zach Loveday wants an Ohio State offer, but he loves Michigan right now and understands how well the U-M coaches develop big men. We’d call the Wolverines the leader at this point, though again, he’s got Ohio roots (he’s from the state) and things could change with a Buckeyes offer.
On Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy’s Quinones, assistant coach Luke Yaklich has joined Beilein in diligent pursuit of Rivals.com’s No. 44 senior nationally, and they’ve made up a lot of ground on Maryland and LSU.
“Coach Yaklich has been the one texting me a lot, almost every day,” Quinones said.
But he loves LSU, was on campus when they played Alabama in football and was enthralled, and was at Maryland for the Terps’ game with Seton Hall.
“Same thing with Michigan, I feel I fit there perfectly,” he said. “My relationship with Coach [Mark] Turgeon is very good. It’s close to home, so my parents could drive down and watch me play."
He’s not really focused on location, he said, but it’s something to consider. At the same time his mom loves — loves — Michigan’s academics, so the trip will be huge. It will take place within the next several weeks, and mom and dad will be with him.
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