All of the angst over Daxton Hill's decommitment is understandable but the decommitment is not surprising. Also, it does not mean we will never be elite, it's just going to take us longer to get there. The fact is, Hill was 50/50 when he committed and it was a bit of a surprise that he committed to us in the first place. Re read BBs thread from Sept. At the time, nobody knew if it would be us or Alabama. It was an excellent recruiting job by the Michigan staff to get him to verbal. It makes no sense to think he flipped because of money. You don't think Alabama was throwing money at him to begin with? The fact is, we aren't there as a program yet. The kid flipped because he wants to play in championship games and be in the playoffs. He would have flipped a long time ago or never committed to us in the first place if he was in it for the money. Bottom line, we can't get upset over something we never really had.
I said it after the game, the beatdown we suffered at OSU probably set the program's momentum back a couple of years. Those who don't want to believe it had an impact on recruiting are just being naive. Prior to the game we were #4 in CFP rankings and were being talked about ALOT in the media in a positive way. There was a positive vibe about the program. Because of this, we were in the running for Harrison and Crouch (although unlikely he would have signed here). Then the game happened. We got blasted on national television by our arch rival. Once again, we were seen as the program who chokes, who can't compete with the big boys. If we had won that game, we'd be in the playoffs. Sure, we probably would have lost to either Bama or Clemson but at least we could say we made it there, beat OSU finally, the trajectory was trending upward. We'd have made it to the next level and the narrative would be how we were ascending. Instead, we're playing in the Peach Bowl. That game was that important and the loss that devastating. We won't be getting Crouch or Harrison either now.
Now for the positive part. Consider the fact that we were in the running for Crouch, Harrison and Hill at all. 2 of them were either committed or close to committing. Our coaches know how to recruit and a lot of good players are interested in coming here. We're close. Bottom line is, we need to start winning the big games. That is what is separating us from signing these types of guys. If we had won at OSU the sky would be the limit. Harrison would have committed, I believe Hill would have stuck, MAYBE we could have convinced Crouch, who knows? But, our reputation would be much different than it is right now. People are fickle, and 17 year old kids are VERY impressionable. He's probably had people in his ear all along telling him he was making a mistake by going to Michigan, he should go to Alabama. His peers probably teased him about going to Michigan instead of Bama after we got humiliated. Perception is reality. Alabama is winning championships and in the playoffs every year. We have not been able to beat OSU yet. Kids want to play for winners. Next year, hopefully, the perception changes. I have faith Harbaugh will do it. He needs to make some changes but he's shown he can do this is in the past. He's a competitive SOB. Let's just hope that Harbaugh and Brown both learned a lot from the game.
Finally, we've lost kids in the past similar to Hill. It sucks every time. The smart thing is to not get caught up in recruiting until the ink is dry and the class is signed or you're just setting yourself up for disappointment. Recruiting nowadays is a fluid business. Bama also flipped a 5 star from TX AM. No verbal is solid...ever. Michigan will start winning the big games eventually, and when they do, they'll start getting their share of 5 stars. Until then, we have to keep the faith and keep plugging away. Be excited about all of the talented kids we WILL sign. There is a lot of talent that will be coming in next year, just don't count your chickens just yet. The class will be ok and Michigan will be just fine in the end. It's just going to take a little longer than we would have liked. My .02.
I said it after the game, the beatdown we suffered at OSU probably set the program's momentum back a couple of years. Those who don't want to believe it had an impact on recruiting are just being naive. Prior to the game we were #4 in CFP rankings and were being talked about ALOT in the media in a positive way. There was a positive vibe about the program. Because of this, we were in the running for Harrison and Crouch (although unlikely he would have signed here). Then the game happened. We got blasted on national television by our arch rival. Once again, we were seen as the program who chokes, who can't compete with the big boys. If we had won that game, we'd be in the playoffs. Sure, we probably would have lost to either Bama or Clemson but at least we could say we made it there, beat OSU finally, the trajectory was trending upward. We'd have made it to the next level and the narrative would be how we were ascending. Instead, we're playing in the Peach Bowl. That game was that important and the loss that devastating. We won't be getting Crouch or Harrison either now.
Now for the positive part. Consider the fact that we were in the running for Crouch, Harrison and Hill at all. 2 of them were either committed or close to committing. Our coaches know how to recruit and a lot of good players are interested in coming here. We're close. Bottom line is, we need to start winning the big games. That is what is separating us from signing these types of guys. If we had won at OSU the sky would be the limit. Harrison would have committed, I believe Hill would have stuck, MAYBE we could have convinced Crouch, who knows? But, our reputation would be much different than it is right now. People are fickle, and 17 year old kids are VERY impressionable. He's probably had people in his ear all along telling him he was making a mistake by going to Michigan, he should go to Alabama. His peers probably teased him about going to Michigan instead of Bama after we got humiliated. Perception is reality. Alabama is winning championships and in the playoffs every year. We have not been able to beat OSU yet. Kids want to play for winners. Next year, hopefully, the perception changes. I have faith Harbaugh will do it. He needs to make some changes but he's shown he can do this is in the past. He's a competitive SOB. Let's just hope that Harbaugh and Brown both learned a lot from the game.
Finally, we've lost kids in the past similar to Hill. It sucks every time. The smart thing is to not get caught up in recruiting until the ink is dry and the class is signed or you're just setting yourself up for disappointment. Recruiting nowadays is a fluid business. Bama also flipped a 5 star from TX AM. No verbal is solid...ever. Michigan will start winning the big games eventually, and when they do, they'll start getting their share of 5 stars. Until then, we have to keep the faith and keep plugging away. Be excited about all of the talented kids we WILL sign. There is a lot of talent that will be coming in next year, just don't count your chickens just yet. The class will be ok and Michigan will be just fine in the end. It's just going to take a little longer than we would have liked. My .02.
