Rich Rod gives UM fans renewed hope after another glittering recruiting class
James Highsmith
Sports Writer
With just two years under his University of Michigan coaching belt, Rich Rodriguez just isn’t the right fit for fans used to seeing their team compete for Big Ten titles year after year.
Rodriguez completely overhauled the Wolverines’ program, and some fans aren’t reacting well to the changes – especially after his teams have compiled an 8-16 record in two seasons. Rodriguez has yet to make a bowl game at UM, but he is nearly flawless in one aspect of his coaching: recruiting.
“All things considered, Rich Rodriguez has done a really good job [recruiting],” said 20-year-old diehard UM fan Obes Nwabara. “He had two top 10 classes his first two years and might have another this year. Coming off of 3-9 and 5-7 seasons, that is incredible.”
With the change in philosophy in offense and defense, UM has begun recruiting players that UM and the Big Ten are not familiar with. The new breed of UM players tend to be smaller – and not necessarily from the state of Michigan.
“Rich [Rodriguez] looks for players that are the most athletic,” said 20-year-old avid UM fan Brian Miller. “It’s well-known he wants to be the fastest team on the field at all times. If you can run and play football, regardless of position I think he’ll find a spot for you.”
The 2010 class looks like the prototypical Rodriguez recruiting class. Over the years, the tendency of Rodriguez-coached teams has been to find diamonds in the rough. In fact, in his years at West Virginia, arguably Rodriguez’s best offensive tandem of quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton weren’t highly touted recruits.
The 2010 Michigan class includes many sleeper prospects. Cleveland St. Ignatius High School linebacker Jake Ryan appears to be the biggest sleeper in this 2010 class. Ryan was a backup linebacker at St. Ignatius, but when starter and Ohio State University commit Scott McVey went down with injury, Ryan burst onto the scene. He played the rest of the season, and became a first-team all-state selection in Ohio.
Along with bringing in underrated prospects, Rodriguez is also bringing in the irreplaceable high-caliber recruits.
Five-star quarterback Devin Gardner, from Inkster High, has been committed to UM since early April, and four-star cornerback Cullen Christian, from Pittsburgh, chose UM over football powers much closer to home.
“I think Rich has done a great job of staying in the Midwest, and keeping the top talent in Michigan here,” said Scout.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Christopher Smith. “He’s also put a priority on Ohio and Pennsylvania, and you can tell with the number of recruits that have landed.”
For this 2010 class, Rodriguez took an approach UM fans haven’t seen before. Rodriguez had already received commitments from 27 high school athletes. The rule of thumb is that teams are allowed to sign 25 players per class. There are ways around the rules, though, and with Rodriguez potentially being on the hot seat, he was rounding up as much help as he can and soon.
“I think he’s just going with the flow of the current college landscape,” Smith said. “There are rules in place that allow you to exceed the 25 limit, and Michigan has adhered to those rules, and in the long run will benefit from them.”
Perhaps the biggest success of Rodriguez thus far is his ability to lure players away from other commitments to play at Michigan. In each of his first two seasons at Michigan, Rodriguez gained a last-minute commitment from a highly garnered national prospect.
In 2008, Rodriguez stole the commitment of wide receiver Roy Roundtree from Purdue. Roundtree had been a Purdue commitment up until National Signing Day, when high school athletes submit paperwork to officially accept a scholarship offer. That day, Roundtree decided to attend Michigan, ending his verbal commitment to Purdue.
In 2009, UM fan favorite and quarterback Denard Robinson decided to attend UM on signing day when it was widely believed that he might stay in his hometown and attend the University of Florida.
This year, Rodriguez gained the commitment of Jibreel Black, a 4-star defensive tackle who was verbally committed to the University of Cincinnati, before taking an official visit to UM. Black came away so impressed with Rodriguez and staff that after having virtually no interest in UM, he decided on the spot that it was the place for him.
Now it remains to be seen if Rodriguez can coach all this talent he has recruited into a bowl game next season, because in the final analysis it’s about winning college football games, not courting high-school boys.
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