It's no secret that Michigan Wolverines fans are excited about Brady Hoke's 2013 recruiting class. Some are even cackling with glee and considering insomnia after getting a commit from Patrick Kugler, a four-star offensive lineman. Or another four-star offensive lineman, I should say.
Michigan Recruiting: Brady Hoke May Already Be Building 2037 Class
Signing Day 2012 isn’t even a month old yet, and Michigan’s offensive line class might be done already. Kugler is the fifth four-star blocker to sign on, according to Rivals. And those five are joined in the trenches by a pair of tight ends, one of them the spectacularly named four-star, Jake Butt. With 13 commits and 11 four-stars in all -- before March! -- the Wolverines could consider themselves halfway done with next year’s recruiting already, if they so desired (They surely do not, as someone’s gonna have to upset Bret Bielema by hogging all the recruits).
So what happened? How has Hoke assembled a class in one month that most schools would be satisfied with after a year’s worth of work, at least as far as quality goes? Here’s Zach Travis, who’s pulling off a similar turnaround at Michigan blog Maize N Brew, in an interview with Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire:
Football recruiting has drastically improved because the program is stable, and Hoke has a staff full of very good recruiters selling Michigan itself and focusing heavily on the Midwest. I think the product on the field has helped to an extent (mostly because taking Rodriguez’s horrible defense and turning it into a very good unit proves the staff can get the most out of its players), but in the end I think it is just Michigan getting back to recruiting the way Michigan has always recruited. Some schools have an easier time bringing in top classes and Michigan is one of them.
For more on Wolverines football, visit Michigan blog Maize ‘n’ Brew, plus Big Ten blog Off Tackle Empire and SB Nation Detroit.
