Every year, all year long, the college football world closely observes the delicate and often hilarious dance that is recruiting. The fleeting hope of the cryptic subtext of a seventeen year old’s subtweet. Middle-aged coaches forcing teenagers to dance to Garth Brooks while a camera circles them. And of course, the money. Once the domain of the bagman, a deep-throat-like figure, shrouded in mystery to everyone except those closest to the coaches and the program, now, a business as public and legitimate as those that are traded on Wall Street.
This fragile, strange… STRANGE dance all culminating in the ball known as signing day (of which there are two now), which guarantees fireworks, disappointment, hand shaking and head shaking for every coaching staff and fanbase in the country.
After decades of observing this process, I’ve deduced that there are only really a few different approaches to recruiting. And now that out and out cheating is no longer the huge factor that it once was, it’s forced coaches and coaching staffs to really define for themselves and their programs just what their approaches are.
If you’re Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, you can just continue to play the five-star game. The programs at the top right now are essentially competing against one another for the top high school talent each year. Giving little care to anything other than how well the young man plays football. And it’s a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship for the players as well. An arrangement in which the program uses the individual player for its benefit and the player uses the program as a showcase and a stepping stone in their football careers.
For the top programs it’s not a very complicated dance. It’s I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine. You win, I win, we all win. It doesn’t matter what these kids do in the classroom. It doesn’t matter how they conduct themselves off the field. The only thing that matters is winning football games.
However, for programs like Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford and a select few, the dance is much more intricate and complicated. They are not only looking for top players on the football field, they’re looking for top players in the classroom and young men who are going to be future leaders in their communities. Being just a great football player isn’t enough at these programs. So culture becomes everything. It becomes less about stars and more about, is this young man a ‘Michigan Man’. And that term that dates back to the days of Yost and Crisler isn’t a static term. It’s ever evolving and is continually redefined to fit changing eras in the game and in American culture.
I personally believe that the NIL era will shine a light on all programs. And plastic programs that have gotten by on bagmen and players who are students of only football and very little else, will be exposed for what they are. While programs like Michigan, which has always maintained its principled approach and its culture rooted in tradition, will have something more to offer these young men. Something more than a new car and some walking around money.
I thought this difference was elegantly and thoughtfully illustrated by the presentation that five-star cornerback signee, Will Johnson gave at his LOI announcement. Gone are the days of buying kids new cars and helping with their parent’s rent or mortgage. Here, hopefully for good, are the days of the college athlete as a business plan. And Michigan is in a position that very few programs are in right now, and it isn’t because they’re still the winningest program in the history of the sport (though that fact doesn’t hurt), it’s because they stayed true to their core beliefs as an institution and built an infrastructure according to those beliefs. Players like Hassan Haskins and Ronnie Bell perfectly personify those core beliefs that have always been true of this program. Players who weren’t on anyone’s radar on the day they signed their LOIs, but have been leaders since day one. Guys who set the bar and held themselves and their teammates accountable. When you build with guys like that, true ‘Michigan Men’, and then you start to augment that by bringing in incredible talents with the same work ethic and mindset, guys like McCarthy and Johnson, that’s when you really have something special.
Special… the exact word I’d use to describe this incoming 2022 signing class. The coaching staff met needs and then some.
The aforementioned Will Johnson, a Detroit area native, is the crown jewel of this class and the most coveted member of what just might be the greatest secondary haul at Michigan that I’ve seen in my lifetime. Thanks in large part to the recruiting efforts of coach, Ron Bellamy, who’s become one of the premier recruiters in all of college football. Bellamy’s skills as a coach and a mentor brought in the elite talent of four-star safeties Keon Sabb and Zeke Berry, four-star all-purpose DB Kody Jones, another ridiculously athletic safety in Damani Dent, and another ultra-talented corner in Myles Pollard to go along with Johnson.
The D-line added some beasts in Mason Graham, Derrick Moore and Kenneth Grant. All of whom are capable of contributing early.
More speed was added at the linebacker position. Guys like Micah Pollard and Deuce Spurlock have that sideline to sideline speed and are undersized now, but wait until they spend a year in Michigan’s weight room and add another 20-30 pounds. Jimmy Rolder is a Midwest, Chicago-area kid who’s gonna play Midwest linebacker football. But the young man has plenty of speed to go along with that toughness.
The offensive side of the class doesn’t have as many big names, but it certainly isn’t lacking in future NFL type talent. The biggest gets on Wednesday were at the wide receiver position. Darrius Clemons will be a year one contributor, and paired with Amorion Walker (who was flipped from Notre Dame) they’ll give the offense size (Clemons 6-3, Walker 6-4) and speed (both run sub- 4.4 40s) on the outside. At slot, bringing more speed in space for Josh Gattis and Co. is Tyler Morris. A former high school teammate of J.J. McCarthy.
The running back in the class isn’t a five-star, and his highlight film won’t blow you away, but he has everything that Harbaugh and Co. look for in a player. He’s a gym-rat with a tireless work ethic and the discipline of an Army Drill Sargent. I watched the heartfelt, emotional speech he gave at his high school after signing his LOI, and you can tell that this young man is going to give 110% every day. He reminds me a lot of a current RB standout, Hassan Haskins. He’s tough to bring down and he’s not gonna shy away from any blocks. When it’s all said and done, he could wind up being an almost HB/FB hybrid type back. Something similar to a smaller Jerome Bettis… a minibus, if you will.
I think the ceiling is incredibly high for both tight ends in the class. Both Colston Loveland and Marlin Klein have a ton of athleticism and height. I was absolutely astounded by both of their highlight tapes. I think they’re both complete steals in this class and I can’t wait to see the finished products.
Quarterbacks Alex Orji and Jayden Denegal don’t bring the same talent level coming in as J.J. McCarthy, but both are big QBs with solid arms. It’s going to take a year or two before either of them probably even sniff the field, which should give them plenty of time to mature and progress without having an immediate need at the position. It’ll be really interesting and hopefully eyebrow raising to see what walks out onto the field once one of them is needed though.
The big fellas up front doing all the blocking are Michigan Men to their core. Committed early, whip smart and eager to get to work. None of them were highly recruited, mostly because they’re a little underweight. But give me a kid whose 6-7 275 any day over an 18 year old kid who weighs 320. The kid who weighs 320 has been using his size to dominate opponents since they first began playing football. Whereas the slightly underweight kid had to develop technique. I want nothing but tall, athletic, underweight kids on my O-line if I’m a recruiter, and that’s exactly what the Wolverines got in this class. You can always put 40-50 pounds on a tall, athletic frame, but you can’t teach a 320 pound mound how to be an athlete. I believe Conor Jones, Alessandro Lorenzetti and Andrew Gentry will all be eventual starters at Michigan. Gentry is a Virginia transfer who’s been on his Mormon mission for the past two years, so it’ll be interesting to see where he’s at football-wise upon arrival, but he currently has the best chance of seeing playing time the quickest of these three. And there may just be one more coming into the OL fold come February. Five-star, Josh Conerly Jr. would be the crown jewel of the offensive class if things go Michigan’s way on the second signing day.
So after all the last minute phone calls from coaches around the country. After every hat was placed atop a head… Michigan came out with the number nine rated recruiting class in the country at the end of the early signing period. But look, we all know that not every one of these kids will start for the Wolverines. Some of them might not even see actual playing time. One or two will end up transferring, and a couple players might even transfer in from other schools. But one thing’s for sure… when we look back on this class several years from now, we’ll be able to say, we’re proud. We’ll be able to say, those are Michigan Men. What a great time to be a Wolverine. What a great time to become a Wolverine.
Exciting times! I am so thankful that the priority is having a scholar athlete, a person of integrity! Not one who will be arrested or acting foolish in public. A great class coming in! 💙💛