Prospect Analysis, Recruiting, and Development

[Cliff's Notes]

Interesting that in a few days, three separate local teams have gotten a major shout-out for their work in acquiring and/or developing talent:

Detroit Red Wings:
www.puckprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1012
www.hockeyprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=1024

Michigan Football:
www.maxpreps.com/news/wMRH87OhEeCkhgAcxJSkrA/updated-top-25-college-football-recruiting-team-rankings.htm

Detroit Lions:
www.prideofdetroit.com/2011/7/24/2291621/gil-brandt-has-high-praise-for-jim-schwartz

Furthermore, there isn't really any question that Tom Izzo is also one of the best out there when it comes to an eye for talent, recruiting, and development. I just haven't seen a recent article specifically calling it out.

Michigan State Football has certainly elevated itself.

Michigan basketball is a nice little story, too.

Pro Basketball is a bit harder to judge, because of the instant success of prospects, and the NBA's super-reliance on superstars. So while the Pistons franchise is a mess, I'm not sure how to judge "prospects".

Anybody have any recent input on the Tigers farm system?

Regarding the Lions and Jim Schwartz, it's interesting (and great) to hear that he understands every position so well. When you combine that with the Football Outsiders proclaiming a few years ago that Schwartz understood and used advanced football statistics much better than any other coach in football, it's certainly a winning combination.

As for the Wings, I've known the players names in the minors, but not specific projections on where they would end up. Nor had I seen that they had more elite level prospects than other franchises. They listed a top ten, and praised another four guys, and didn't even mention any of the 3-4 goalies that they like, or Landon Ferraro, Mitchell Callahan, or Marek Tvrdon.

And I know that there's plenty of doubt on this board regarding College Football Recruiting, but Hoke has taken advantage of the unique opportunity at Michigan right now [name brand + opportunity to play immediately + ohio state issues].

[reghartner]

Let's wait and see what happens w/ Michigan. Coming in to a true "the cupboard is bare" situation and promising playing time to kids that have not even played their junior year of HS yet looks great on a star rating website, but doesn't prove anything yet.

[Cliff's Notes]

Obviously you have to wait and see on all prospects in all sports. And as I said, it's not uncommon to see a new coach at a "Name-Brand" School come in and clean up. We've seen it in the past at Notre Dame, Alabama...

Hoke does have an "easy" sell, so to speak. Immediate Playing Time at Michigan is a big deal to a lot of kids. And with the troubles at OSU, it also helps. Finally, this isn't a horrible team... it did go to a bowl last year, and there are kids on offense that want to play with Denard for a year.

But still.... you have to give him credit for absolutely taking advantage of the situation. Barring a massive surge of de-commits, he's sewn up at least a top-6 or 7 class if he doesn't get any more recruits, and we haven't even gotten to August yet. It doesn't prove anything, sure, but it definitely puts the right foot forward, and has created buzz.

The other thing that has to be liked is that he is doing this along the lines of the proven Michigan way. Built mostly with Michigan and Ohio kids. The two from the West are from relationships he built while at San Diego State. One kid from Illinois.

To further show the interest, look at DB Jeremy Clark. HE was offered a scholarship to Illinois, NC State, and a bunch of MAC schools, but chose to accept Michigan's Greyshirt offer.

And let's not forget about Shane Morris, who will contend for the #1 QB Recruit in 2013.

Sure, let's see how Hoke finishes this off, and handles his second full year of recruiting, and ohbytheway his actual season, too. But how can you be unhappy with what he's accomplished if you're a Michigan fan?

[Cliff's Notes]

Michigan is recruiting these two players. I want them badly:

rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/player-Taco-Charlton-117789
rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/football/recruiting/player-Jake-Butt-125743

I think it's safe to say that Jake Butt's jersey will be a best seller.

[reghartner]

BTW, I saw Morris against Br Rice. I don't see the big hype. Big Arm, but careless w/ the ball (3 fumbles and lost 2) and outside of screen passes I think he only completed 1 slant and 1 fade.

[Cliff's Notes]

Fair enough. But you're obviously rooting against him for the next 6-7 years.

We saw Charles Rogers play in high school, too, and we weren't overly impressed. D-1 athlete, sure, but #1 overall recruit in the country? Didn't see it. At the college level, he proved us wrong.

Also, Pete Mitchell would have been the 4th pick from his HS class if we were ranking on college and pro potential, and he went on to be an immediate contributor at BC and have a long NFL career including with the Lions.

He's a Junior. Before he committed, he was MSU's top target. He's impressed both regional and national scouts, and he did well in accuracy at the Elite 11 Regional Camp at OSU, competing against kids two years older than him.

He's got plenty of time to hone his fundamentals and improve his accuracy more.

[Cliff's Notes]

Michigan picked up two pretty big commitments in the last week. Alas, neither plays football or basketball, but still.

Jacob Trouba is a possible top 5 pick in the NHL draft in June 2012. He's projected to last no more than two years at Michigan, but is expected to have an opportunity to be an all-conference performer as a freshman, and all-american as a sophomore (not unlike Jack Johnson or Mike Komisarek).

Taylor Massa is the best high school wrestler in the nation. And it sounds like he's a pretty big deal in the world of wrestling.
www.michigangrappler.com/files/High_School/Profiles/2012/massa.html