Parents support the Program:

This is from GBW free board. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=162&f=2019&t=4681619

Craig Roh's father (Fred).

I am Craig Roh's dad and had the pleasure of experiencing first-hand the recruiting process and first summer with the UM program. I feel obligated to share with readers concrete evidence of the integrity and compliance of the Rich Rod program and staff. My son chose UM because it is one of the few schools in the country that has great football AND academics. He could have gone to UCLA, Cal, Stanford, USC..all great academic schools and he chose Michigan because it had the best of both.

He also selected UM because of the intensity and straight talk of the coaching staff. The first person he met was Mike Barwis. After spending an hour with Barwis, Craig turned to me and said, "He will make me the best I can be. That's what I want." When he met Rich Rod, he was further impressed with his openness and vision. Craig came here BECAUSE of the work ethic that was to be required of him. He WANTS to be pushed to the limits, not coddled and pampered.

He was recruited by Tony Dews. I am here to say that Coach Dews complied with every letter of the rules throughout the entire recruitment process, even the ones that seem senseless. He would not even give me a ride to lunch or pick up a $5 lunch tab because it was against the rules. He informed us of the recruiting rules over and over again. As I watched 35 schools recruit my son, I would put Michigan at the top of the integrity scale when it came to recruiting.

Let's talk about Craig's first summer. Again, Coach Dews made it abundantly clear what we had to pay for and what the school was allowed to pay for, what our responsiblities were and what the school's were. I was tired of hearing about all the rules. It was like dealing with the IRS. There was NO push to report to school early, in fact we were told that if craig wanted to report to summer school early, it was on his dime and totally voluntary. Craig's summer was very balanced. He VOLUNTARILY asked to watch tape as much as he could. Nobody pushed him to do it or even suggested it. He had more free time than he wanted.

Lastly, I know for a fact that Craig missed workouts in the summer and even missed parts of at least three practices at camp so that he could attend class. He was excused with absolutely no repercussions by the coaching staff.

I am assuming that players who choose to come to UM under Rich Rod are coming here BECAUSE its hard. They want to become the best. They want to be pushed. They want great academics and great football environment. I detest the accusations made by the Freep. They think they are doing these kids a favor by easing up the workload and, in reality, they are undermining the very reason the kids chose UM!

Fred Roh

Mailbag question: Should I be alarmed with all the three star recruits?

Mailbag question: Should I be alarmed with all the three star recruits?

Should I be alarmed by seeing mostly 3 star players being recruited by U of M?

Thanks!!!

-Chuck

----------------------------

Thanks for the question.

What concerns us most is NOT the number of three stars, but instead the lack of elite level, top twenty-five to fifty type, talent being brought into the program. This premise is especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Justin Turner types are all too rare nowadays. The staff has compensated by locating and signing players who may be top level after say two years on campus. Lewan, Gallon, and Roh may or may not reach elite status, but if so this will take time. Turner, even with the problems of the summer, will play immediately.

As has been stated before, we believe in the philosophy of building defenses around difference makers. We believe building around a player like C. Woodson (obviously) is the best way to go.

Great players on defense committing, in our opinion, can change a program around quickly. This level of talent also has a positive side effect of infusing players that can contribute on special teams.

There is always a great debate on the star rankings, and coaches and media that cover recruiting may evaluate or value players differently.

There is a clear top-tier of say 25 to 50 players that end up being most of the time (but there are exceptions) consensus picks among the services. Frankly, most people, novice or expert, could easily spot such recruits and attach a wow tag. Then, it gets a littler tougher trying to decipher the players from spots 50-100. From about spots 100-250, evaluation is somewhat of a crapshoot and almost any recruit that is 250th on one list could probably be say 110th on somebody else's list. From spots 250-500 (or whatever) the talent level seems to show little difference and development becomes the key to making, or not making, a contribution at the college level.

Still, with discussion of numbers and rankings always flying around, of paramount importance is finding and signing players that fit your system, along with finding the occasional diamonds in the rough that other programs overlooked, or perhaps offered at another position. Get recruits, like described above on campus and convince these recruits that they can play at their desired position. Does Denard Robinson ring a bell? Some services did not even rank a superior athlete like this as a quarterback.

Currently, UM is receiving verbals from athletic players who need to develop, and many recruits have a still to be determined designation regarding their eventual position. There must be some high impact, premium quality, players, who can contribute from day one, brought into the program.

Elite level recruits will turn a program around much quicker. Coach Barwis will get the most out of the elites, resulting in an earlier on the field impact. Development then becomes less of an issue. As stated before, Coach Barwis prefers the higher rated recruits simply because he can improve them faster and the overall ceiling for eventual on the field production is much higher, compared to lower ranked recruits. There will always be exceptions, but an ace (five star) is more valuable in a hand than a jack (three star).

Yes, continuing on with this line of thought, we all know about the three star recruits that turn into great players and occurrences such as this are great stories. But in most cases, three star players continue to be three star type college players. But elite programs do need and actively seek elite players. There are hundreds of three star recruits, so some will improve in stature at the college level simply because of a larger number sample. Plus, some three star players are incorrectly evaluated for reasons such as playing at a smaller school, not getting their films out to colleges, not going to football camps, attending football combines, etc. A player must be his own advocate and cover the bases in today’s world of recruiting.

We have never really worried about Michigan's offensive recruiting. This is because this type of offense will always secure playmakers, which are excited to play in this system. Unfortunately, in the current status of the program, recruits are looking at the defensive side of the ball with some hesitancy. Why so? Within the last few years, there have been differences in the schemes, coaches, personnel, etc. Other programs quickly bring to recruits’ attention the above conditions. UM’s current coaches must fight hard and overcome these perceptions of instability. The ultimate elixir will be success. To the typical way of thinking, wins and players moving on to the next level largely define success.

Recruits, when selecting a college program, look at playing time probability (read depth chart) and how they fit into the scheme of the defense. Michigan can sell playing time as well as early playing time. The program must get Coach Robinson out and about to sell his defense, and convince the recruits where they will fit in, along with pledging to recruits he is going to be their defensive coordinator while they are at Michigan. Recruits worry about "what happens if the defensive coordinator leaves and a different scheme is brought in that I do not fit."

Simply put, these concerns need to be addressed. On the field success this year would be a great prescription for the future health of the program.

Play hard, and play well!!!

Thanks for stopping by Go Blue Michigan Wolverine
If you have any questions please E-Mail

Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine

GBMW: Friday Night Lights -- Kenny Hayes 2011 Recruit

GBMW: Friday Night Lights -- Kenny Hayes 2011 Recruit

*** Editors Note: Had this story ready to go before he committed to Ohio State, but with all the Free Crap stuff this story got pushed back.

I ventured to watch junior Kenny Hayes from Toledo Whitmer (yes the same school that produced Kevin Koger) at Tiffin Columbian Friday night, battling rain showers throughout the night.



Currently, many experts in Ohio have Kenny Hayes as a rising star, while others have placed him on the who to watch list out of the 2011 recruiting class. Translated, making this list means Kenny is heavily considered to be one of the top 25 football players in 2011 Ohio.

Well what I saw was a good athlete, but to me he is very raw. This is, of course, not all that unusual for juniors, or even seniors He has all the measurable that most colleges like (big, somewhat quick, right height, can add good weight to him, and probably a kid that does well at all the camps and combines, etc.).


Right now, if you put a gun to my head and asked me if Kenny is a top 5-10 prospect in Ohio, I would hold off on such a judgment/opinion. He might be a great combine/camp kid, but as a football player he has a lot of improvement to realize, especially if he wants to play defensive end.

On this night, I really did not see the hunger or drive you want out of a pass rushing defensive end. I know that Kenny really likes Ohio State. I know Ohio State has a good number of 2011 scholarships to give. But a very high-level football power may not be comfortable with Kenny as a first choice right now.
*** He committed to Ohio State

Kenny is young and things change, so any judgment at this time would be very tentative and premature. This is a player I hope to see a couple of more times this year to see how he progresses, and also see him early on next year to see his improvement.

In most cases, I like to see a young player at least twice before getting real comfortable regarding saying anything definitive about what kind of football player he might become. In the past, I was more focused on seniors in high school and trying to get a feel about how those players, and their future potential, would fit into the college program of choice.

This was Kenny’s first game of his junior year, so he has nineteen more high school games to go (not counting playoffs). Two years of high school football provides ample time for improvement and technique work. What I saw was a young player who played hard, and at times put pressure on the quarterback. I do not have the final numbers, but do not recall that many tackles (less than seven). I also have to consider he was facing a division three school, and depending on whom I decide to watch in game three, Whitmer could be a team I see again against a tougher team in the same division (D-1).

In this day and age, with how football recruiting is getting earlier and earlier, I would not want to be a college coach having to decide on certain recruits receiving an early offer. Football recruiting, to me, is getting too much like basketball recruiting, where you evaluate these kids earlier and earlier.

In football I am not so sure a high accuracy rate (accurate projections into the future) is really possible, especially considering how much kids change in weeks, months and in a year’s time. Some players that range in the top 100 nationally are a lot easier to spot, compared to recruits that range from the 200-500 area nationally.

The monster programs like USC grab the obvious recruits early and wait until very late to offer others, knowing full well the offer will be quickly gobbled up. I prefer the old way where most college coaches would look at a prospect and get information, but would not offer a younger kid until after the LOI’s were sent in from the latest class. So above is a first-hand account of what I saw at the game watching a future division one prospect.


Kenny supposable has an offer from a Big Ten school already, and that is Illinois. They do an excellent job of recruiting the state of Ohio and seem to really get on players early, which I believe in their situation they must to have any chance of getting ahead of programs such as Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame in the Midwest.

GBMW will continue to scout juniors, along with players that have interest in Michigan that are seniors right now. But I am just not putting much into what I see, or will see from these juniors, until I see them at least twice this year and early next year as well. This would lead to more confidence in the accuracy of the information that is passed on to all of you.

College coaches face the same quandary, but as recruiting becomes earlier in nature, each program will have to decide on strategies that best fit recruiting needs.

Thanks for stopping by Go Blue Michigan Wolverine
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Written by ErocWolverine

WMU: Interview

Michigan Football Tidbits: Coach Rod and his approach to football

We here at GBMW have been very consistent and (somewhat humbly patting ourselves on the back) very accurate when describing Coach Rod and his approach to football. And this goes back to day 1

1) Coach Rod is a simple coach. He simply just wants to coach football and gets irritated by anything that does not directly apply to coaching. Some fans have always thought this was a slam when we said it, but it is true he just wants to be a football coach and not partake in the peripherals.

2) Coach Rod has had a very hard time understanding why people come after him and the program, since he previously held and currently holds the belief that every major program in the county has the basic same goal: to win football games.

3) Coach has adjusted (somewhat) to all the political "BS" that comes with coaching at Michigan, although others within the university community have been forced to adjust to him.

The Good and The Bad:

The Good:

1) Coach Rod, although a veteran college football coach, is learning fast that there is more to coaching at Michigan than just blowing the whistle. So he is either going to have to improve in the PR arena (especially if your going to be more open to the media and fans) or he is going to have to re-adjust/change the people around him.

2) Coach Rod is an intense competitor and in some ways this will motivate him even more.

The bad:

1) Credibility is everything in coaching, and now Coach Rod has to again mount a fight to regain this attribute. Even if the accusations are proven to be wrong, or are simply impossible to document, the credibility issue will linger and opponents, whether you call it dirty recruiting or something else. will flourish in the next few years.

2) Coach Rod may decide that he just wants to be at a place that he can be what he is, a football coach. That is what scares me the most.

One final point:

This will blow over in the eyes of the players, some fans, etc. But Coach Rod, or any coach on the staff, including Coach Barwis, will never forget this fiasco. They consider this a personal attack.

Some or all of us here totally agree.

Thanks for stopping by Go Blue Michigan Wolverine
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Written by MaizeMan and ErocWolverine

Michigan Football Tidbits: Coach Rod is the head coach and is in charge of football program:

Coach Rod is the head coach and is in charge of football program:

However, Coach Rod was forced to defend Coach Barwis who Coach Rod gives complete authority to in terms of workouts and scheduling in off-season and summer.

Barwis (like previously mentioned) is taking this very personally.

Instead of criticizing Barwis, lets look at the following

Barwis:

1) He has completely changed Michigan 's approach to strength and conditioning. This is not a knock on anything that went on previously, but what Barwis has done is the #1 positive to the program.

2) Coach Rod invites any athlete to participate, kids from other sports, pro athletes, former players who just want to work out, and note, he does not charge these highly paid players, nothing, zilch. And speaking of extra time, Coach Barwis leads the way.

3) Barwis, during his clinics, specifically talks about how much the strength and conditioning program can accomplish for a player, but any player who truly does want to excel must find the time on his own to advance. The implication: of course he understands the rules, but makes the facilities available for anyone who wants to work and practice the age-old art of self-improvement.

4) Now we find out that he has started a church group. And guess what position group has the highest percentage of attendees? You guessed it, the offensive line, followed by the defensive line; the two positions Barwis is hardest on.

It is beyond me why people want to bring good people down and Barwis is just that, "good people". We have talked to him at clinics, at football practices, and even at workouts and he will freely give you his time and discuss matters that you want to discuss.

Side Note: Funny how readers can disagree on certain parts of Michigan football, but when someone attacks the program the wagons are circled, both inside the team and within the fan base.

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Written by MaizeMan and ErocWolverine

GBMW: Time to stop blaming Carr:

GBMW: Time to stop blaming Carr:

We have been viewing on numerous message boards a growing trend where people want to blame former Coach Carr for the current problems, while also not supporting Coach Rod.

This is Coach Rod's team, and he even has said this was his team when he took the job. He considers the players his.

Coach Carr has, at several functions this spring and early summer, said good things about the program and made the supporting statement that it would get turned around.

I like how people want Carr to come out now and be a showcase. Even though coach was clearly not fond of the media and kept the media out. Media had a low attendance rate at practice and Coach’s interviews with the media are legendary, that is, in a unique way.

Carr and Coach Rod are quite different. Different is not good or bad, but again, different. Of note, perhaps seminal, in the comparison is the definition and experience of the student athlete. Hailing back to MaizeMan’s testimony, Carr wanted his players to be more in the classic, almost now extinct, student-athlete mold, enjoying the time away from football. He also held a philosophy that players should be allowed to get away from it all, and voluntary literally was voluntary.

Now if you went to the past two Michigan spring coaches’ clinics like MaizeMan, CoachBt, and EROC, you would have heard both Coach Barwis and Coach Rod comment on this construct of volunteerism.

Coach Barwis: Voluntary workouts ... Yea they are voluntary and so is breathing, and I do not see you stop breathing.

Coach Rod: Voluntary workouts ... Yea they are voluntary, but so is their playing time.

That kind of tells you, or at least us, that there is no such thing as literal voluntary workouts. The purpose here is not to place a right or wrong tag on either approach. Morals, ethics, etc. aside, there is a crafty little thing known as reality. The reality is nowadays to compete at the highest level, a program must demand that players put in extra time lifting weights, studying film, and also working out, doing typical activities such as 7 on 7 drills and technique work.

It is well past time for program observers to move on and stop blaming the former coach, who is (reality) no longer the head coach at Michigan. This is Coach Rod's team and has been since he was announced as the head coach. At Michigan it is supposed to be Leaders and Best, this does entail blame shifting which can be translated into the classic logic flaws of sour grapes and strawman arguments.

Unfortunately, such occurrences are still commonplace.

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Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine