I read a blog article on recruiting strategy in the B10 specifically the change in the UM strategy under Rodriguez vs what Tressel is doing at Ohio State. Previously under Bo and Mo and Lloyd, Michigan was a power football team. Recruited the Midwest and picked up a few key players from outside the Midwest region. Under Rodriguez the Michigan recruiting strategy is changing and he is recruiting the South, Southwest and California for speed players, no doubt looking for the next Pat White/Steve Slaton combination that he was so successful at West Virginia. At the same time Ohio State is continuing to recruit the Midwest (specifically Ohio of course) and cherry picking a few players out of the region. <pre> Michigan 2009: 10 local signees, 11 out of the region 2010: 6 local commits, 5 out of the region Ohio State 2009: 21 local signess, 4 out of the region 2010: 4 local commits, 1 out of the region</pre> It will be interesting to see if Rodriguez can build a better verison of the WVA team which emphasized speed over size. and be successful against a B10 schedule loaded with teams that go the power route. If he turns around the Big Blue fortunes with that philosophy affect how Tressel builds his teams or the rest of the B10 for that matter. I did see that Purdue got virtually it's entire 2009 recruiting class out of the Midwest region.
Don't believe that tripe.....that's blue spin! The only reason they are having to leave the region is because Tressel has erected a wall around the state of Ohio and is getting virtually everything he wants. M is only getting a fraction of the talent that they did in the past......bummer! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
Point well taken Gip......I had forgotten about him. I bet he's giving M all they want on the recruiting trail.
I still think RR is doing a remake of the UM team, he's had a lot of players leave the program some no doubt because they didn't sign on to play that style of football. I think UM OL's are going to be smaller, quicker, he's signed a bunch of small fast guys for Wr/RB. The QB's that he's going to be counting on next year (both freshman) are not known for passing skills, but running skills. So I expect to see an offense that is more closely to his Pat White/Steve Slaton bunch. The question is of course is once he gets his style of player in place will the WVA offense play well in the B10? The assumption is that the WVA offense was mighty good and took out Georgia and Oklahoma in both of it's BCS appearnces and that he'll have access to better players at UM. I don't know about the defense, he fired his DCoord from year 1 and hired another DCoord and he ran an unconventional type of Defense at WVA.
TOK, I agree...it will be interesting to see how it plays out over the course of a season. It will take him several years to recruit the personnel that fits his system. I'd be surprised if we didn't see steady improvement. It played well in the Big East, we'll see how it fares in the Big 10.....I see no reason why he can't be successful, however many Big 10 "purists" would suggest otherwise. Time will tell....
I question the potential for the success of RR's scheme vs. Big 10 defenses. The Big East defenses are several notches below the Big 10. You could make a case that OSU's lopsided losses vs. LSU and Florida portend defensive problems against MI's new scheme, but it will be a long, long time before MI has the depth of speed and overall athletic ability that LSU and FL have. I predict - just a hunch - that over the next several years MSU will overtake MI as the dominant program in the state.