MSU is bringing in solid Ohio talent. It's as if Dantonio has Ohio ties or something. Oh wait, he does! As an OSU guy I'd be bummed if not for the fact that like Dantonio, Urban has a plan and is executing in a big way.
Anyway, I'm always happy to see Dantonio and MSU do well and it's an added bonus that these kids are selecting EL and not AA. It's also interesting to note that kids in general aren't exactly lining up to commit to the new Marketing wizard in Ann Arbor.
I think MSU is going to get a lot of players in Ohio that OSU doesn't offer, but they're going to get a player or two that OSU wants badly each year now too. Kind of like Michigan used to get. Ohio State will still get the bulk of the top shelf talent, heck, they just won a Natty and their coach is widely recognized as on of the best recruiters to ever coach in college.
Ohio State is a juggernaut on the recruiting trail right now, as they should be. But MSU can't worry about that, what we have to worry about is improving our recruiting each year. I think you're starting to see that these last couple years as we now have an established brand. I think a class rank of 15-20 for MSU is our new baseline. The facilities upgrades were huge, no longer can our facilities be used against us in recruiting, they're on par with most anyone's in the country.
As for Doctor Gatorade in Ann Arbor? UM use to get a lot of kids from Ohio that just wanted to play in that rivalry game. I know most people aren't old enough to remember, but the Ohio State-Michigan game used to be a fairly big regional rivalry back in the day and it was competitive, Michigan even used to win that game occasionally. I know, hard to believe, but look it up, it's true. You think any of these Ohio players give two shits about playing in the UM-Ohio State game.
Sure, we beat OSU for Scott and Layne, but we also beat UM for both of them. Harbashian was hot after Scott as soon as he finished bonging his first gallon of milk on the ground in Ann Arbor. And UM recruited Layne pretty hard too, he visited there several times. Maybe playing for a media whore like Harbashian isn't all that appealing to some kids. He did demonstrate in his interview with Winston though that he's the type of coach who will really help you learn how to keep your story straight if you're accused of rape, totally class move that interview was. If they don't get Gary after hiring his high school coach for the sole purpose of bringing him there, they could be in for a different type of team.
UM fans see Harbashian in the news all the time acting like a lunatic and think it's great that he's bringing attention to the program. What they don't see is that he's made UM Football even more of a punchline. These ridiculous notes his son is writing to recruits are being shared by recruits as a way to mock UM Football. Harbashian's and his son's antics are driving kids away, they're a laughingstock. And you'll notice Harbashian and the UM slappy press around that program say next to nothing about the team and how they might be this Fall, they know it's the worst team in terms of actual football talent (Not stars) Michigan has ever fielded.
