Brady Hoke: Mad Recruiter

Brady Hoke wants YOU to play for Michigan.

We really don't cover recruiting here outside of our recruiting board that tracks verbal commitments. I've always thought of recruiting as a very fluid process, and treated it as such on this blog. It's not that I don't respect that impact that recruiting has, it is the lifeblood of a program. But the unexpected nature of what is being said versus what is actually going on has always frustrated me.

I heard this on WDFN in the car this morning, and I was sort of not paying attention, so bear with me. But a caller said that in this year's Super Bowl, only one 5-star recruit is on either team's roster. Who is this one and only high school 5-star to make it to the big game? Well of course, Michigan's own Lamar Woodley.

So take recruiting rankings with a grain of salt. They're usually pretty accurate, but sometimes shouldn't be taken too seriously. I've always thought that it's not the rankings that matter, it's the development of the players once they enroll. Rankings can mean something when you have to start half your class as freshman like Michigan has had to do recently. But really, you want to red-shirt as many as you can, and bring them along slowly so they can contribute better as juniors and seniors.

However, all that being said, you can't deny the immediate impact that Brady Hoke and his assistants have had on Michigan's recruiting success in just the few short days that Hoke has been on the job. In just the last 6 days, Michigan has received 6 new verbals. DB's Tamani Carter, DE Keith Heitzman, ATH Raymon Taylor, K Matt Wile, QB Russell Bellomy and LB Antonio Poole have been added to the class since the hiring of Hoke.

But what has also become obvious, is the even more immediate recruiting impact of defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. Mattison brings not only an impressive resume with him to Ann Arbor, but a sense of toughness and eagerness that I think translates so well to the college game. I think recruits are responding very favorably to Mattison. Proof is in Michigan's most recent commit, four-star LB Antonio Poole, who had this to say about his reason to play for Michigan...

"It just felt like the right choice, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I really would like to play for coach Mattison."

I can safely assume that he's not the only verbal commit out there saying that right now.

I think Michigan's 2011 class can be somewhere around 25 recruits when it's all said and done (again, I'm no expert). But the way things are going, we should have no problem hitting that mark. Signing Day is February 2nd. According to Rivals.com, Michigan's class stands at #30 nationally, and #4 in the Big Ten.

And for those wondering what Rich Rod will be doing that day, he'll be co-hosting CBS College Sports Network's live 7-hour coverage of signing day alongside former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer and recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.