<p>2014 is looking pretty solid. If Da'Shawn Hand and Malik McDowell commit, this should be a top 10 class, despite having only 18 or so recruits. At this stage, I think it is highly unlikely that Leonard Fournette, Adoree Jackson or Juju Smith will commit. If either one of them does, it could well be the #1 class in the nation.</p>
<p>But looking ahead to 2015, we are off to a very impressive start. We have already secured the commitment of WR George Cambpell. It is still early, but many analysts agree that he is a five star prospect and the #1 WR in the nation in his class. He may even be the #1 overall prospect in the nation. He is currently listed at 6'4", 190 LBS and has sub 4.4 speed! He could well be 6'5" and 200 LBS come his senior year, and if he maintains sub 4.4 speed, he will be very difficult to cover. We also have a commitment from RB Damian Harris, who at 5'11", 205 LBS (he could easily be in the 220 LBS range by the time he gets to Michigan), seems well suited for Michigan's offensive style. According to ESPN and Scout, Harris is a top 3 RB in the nation. Just yesterday, CB Shaun Crawford committed to Michigan. He is currently listed at 5'9", 165 LBS, but he should easily be 5'10", 180 LBS by the time he arrives on campus. Crawford is listed among the top 10 CBs in the nation in his class. We also secured a commitment from OL Jon Runyan Jr, a very solid prospect at his position. In addition to those commitments, we are in the running for several top prospects, include DE Jashon Cornell, DT Tim Settle, QB Josh Rosen, LB Justin Hilliard and WR Brian Cole (this one will be interesting between Michigan and MSU, although with Harris and Campbell on board, I have a feeling he will lean toward MSU).</p>
<p>I’m a big Michigan football fan, but I don’t buy into the hype about recruits. I don’t care about what they did in high school. I only care about what they do at Michigan.</p>
<p>You should be looking forward to the upcoming Michigan football season instead.</p>
<p>No, it is not too early to be excited for 2015. Sure not all 4 and 5 stars will live up to their hype but there is a revived aura of getting the guys needed to make Rose Bowl runs, year in and year out. </p>
<p>We’ll all have fun with the upcoming season as well of course but its great the coaches have future years well in their sight as well. </p>
<p>Recruiting is the lifeblood of the program. To say that what these guys do in high school or how they’re rated doesn’t matter is completely naive and ridiculous. It’s been statistically proven time and again that, in general, a group of four star players will be better in college than a group of three star players. We’re all looking forward to the upcoming season but recruiting is still extremely important.</p>
<p>777Blue77, I do not buy into the hype of recruits individually, but I do buy into the hype of recruits collectively. Analysts may be off the mark with an particular recruit, or a recruit may be excellent but not fit in a system, but the quality of a class is usually pretty accurate. The reason Michigan was not great in 2008-2010 was, in part, due to poor recruiting.</p>
<p>That being said, I can’t wait for the season to start. I definitely agree that nothing beat actual game time!</p>
<p>I wrote too soon. Safety Tyree Kinnel just committed to Michigan too. He is a solid, four star (according to Scout and 247) prospect at this time. It is too early to truly gauge really, but the 6 commitments we have so far make the 2015 class very promising. Three of the six commit so far are from Ohio!</p>
<p>"To say that what these guys do in high school or how they’re rated doesn’t matter is completely naive and ridiculous. It’s been statistically proven time and again that, in general, a group of four star players will be better in college than a group of three star players. "</p>
<p>Please provide proof</p>
<p>Here is the point I am trying to make: </p>
<p>How you perform at one level doe NOT necessarily reflect how well you will do at another level. </p>
<p>There have been plenty of highly rated high school players who have turned out to be busts. For instance, this website lists some</p>
<p>As long as a player plays well, I don’t care if he was a five-star recruit or a walk on. It’s what he accomplishes at Michigan while he is at Michigan that counts. When he is at Michigan, nobody is going to give a bleep what he did in high school.</p>
<p>777Blue77, I agree that a player could be a bust, regardless of his rating. However, all things being equal (coaching, schedule etc…), a program that recruits primarily four star players on an annual basis will perform better than a program that recruits primarily three star players on an annual basis.</p>
<p>777Blue77, the proof is out there. I’ve seen it. I’m sure a simple Google search would turn up numerous statistical studies. </p>
<p>Four star and five star recruits are significantly more likely to play and have an impact at the college level than are three star and unrated recruits. There is also an obvious causal relationship between recruit quality and actual team success.</p>
<p>“777Blue77, the proof is out there. I’ve seen it. I’m sure a simple Google search would turn up numerous statistical studies.” </p>
<p>I’m tired of people who make a claim and then say, “It’s easy to find the proof, but I won’t back it up. That’s your job.” In arguments, it’s your job to back up your claims, not your opponents.</p>
<p>If a simple Google search will provide enough proof, then how about you provide a link?</p>
<p>That’s just one source but a google search of “do recruiting stars matter” turns up pages of statistical evidence. Clearly a player has a better chance of succeeding in college as a highly rated recruit compared to an average one.</p>
<p>That’s true that no one will care once they’re on the field at Michigan, but it makes sense to be excited about top recruiting classes. There’s a reason that teams that have top recruiting classes are among top teams in college football.</p>
<p>Look at the top 10 2013 recruiting classes as ranked by 24/7:
Alabama
Ohio State
Florida
Ole Miss
LSU
Notre Dame
Michigan
TAMU
UCLA
Georgia</p>
<p>And then look at the bottom 10:</p>
<p>Western Illinois
North Dakota State
Northern Iowa
Youngstown State
Southern Illinois
South Dakota State
Indiana State
Georgia Southern
Illinois State
Army</p>
<p>There’s obviously a strong correlation between getting 4 and 5 star talent and on the field success. As it has been said in this thread, looking at one particular player isn’t as important as looking at the overall composition of the class.</p>
<p>The stats support the value of star rankings too. Let’s look at the first round of the 2013 NFL draft and how the players drafted were ranked coming out of high school:</p>
<p>5 five stars
12 four stars
12 three stars
1 two star
2 not ranked</p>
<p>So more than half of the first round were either 4 or 5 star recruits. The key thing to remember is that there are far less 4 and 5 star recruits in general. In last year’s recruiting class there were 34 five stars and 296 four stars. There were a total of 3,241 ranked high school football players. </p>
<p>So only about 10% of the ranked recruits are 4 or 5 stars, yet they usually make up over half of the players drafted in the first round of the NFL draft.</p>