Thoughts On Michigan Scheduling Cincinnati

The Bearcats

This article is a bit late, but with the NCAA Tournament run Michigan went on at the end of the season, I was a little preoccupied with those games so I didn't get around to commenting on an interesting scheduling development.  Now that the season is over, I'm going to throw a little more stuff up on here in relationship to Michigan hoops that isn't necessarily a "huge" story for the team or program.  Michigan scheduling Cincinnati is one of these stories.  Not necessarily earth shattering news, but something that will certainly be important in a few years.

This is definitely a future development as the two teams won't play until at least the 2015-2016 season, but this should be an interesting game for Michigan.  They get to face a relatively local team that has been competitive in recent years.  They were a serious threat in the Big East this season and recorded some big wins.  Rosters will be difficult to predict so far in advance, but personally, I think this is a more interesting matchup than some of Michigan's recent opponents like Arkansas, who really didn't turn out to be that great.

Some have talked about a recruiting boost from this matchup.  I'm not totally sure that a boost will exist, but being featured in a pretty big game will certainly have its boosts.  Many of the early season games are forgettable, but this could be one that garners some interest like Michigan's games with Arkansas and West Virginia, which really weren't fantastic matchups.  Getting national exposure is always positive for recruiting.  In more specific terms, there probably won't be a huge boost.  Beilein recruits Ohio pretty often and has landed several players from the Buckeye state, but basketball recruiting is so limited, these games probably won't make a difference.

Personally, this is an interesting game to look forward to in a few seasons, especially because Cincinnati could move around by then considering the recent history of the Big East/American Athletic Conference.  There may not be a huge program or recruiting boost, but at least it should provide an early season game that gets fans interested and showing up to Crisler.

Caleb Stacey De-commits From Michigan

Since Brady Hoke has taken over the helm at the University of Michigan, fans haven't had to experience many recruiting problems in the last year.  Not only did Hoke and staff add several significant players to the 2011 recruiting class, but they have done a tremendous job in assembling a 2012 class that may be one of Michigan's best, ever.  However, less than 3 hours ago, offensive lineman recruit Caleb Stacey announced his decision to de-commit from Michigan and take his talents to the University of Cincinnati.

Now, obviously this is a hit for Michigan's class.  Stacey was listed as a three star prospect by Rivals and 17th in his position group.  He would have almost certainly been a "development" player for Michigan, most likely playing as an upperclassman, but there is no doubt he brought a lot of potential to Michigan's football team.  As of late, Michigan has lacked significant depth on offensive line and every recruit like Stacey can help to alleviate that problem.

Are Michigan's chances at having solid offensive line depth ruined by Stacey's de-commitment?  No way.  In fact, Michigan's 2012 class currently has four offensive line recruits  already committed (excluding Stacey) including a five star, two four stars, and a three star commit.  Basically, if one simply looks at these rankings, Stacey would have been the fourth best lineman recruited in this class alone.  Obviously, recruiting rankings don't guarantee success, but these types of rankings do play a role in recruiting.

These rankings show that Stacey's departure may not have a profound impact on Michigan.  With four offensive line commitments already and other potential five star recruits, I highly doubt this will be something that haunts Michigan in the future.  In fact, I've seen speculation from some that this de-commitment could actually be a positive for both Stacey and Michigan.  Stacey will have a much better chance at playing at Cincinnati (no other Cincinnati offensive lineman is rated above Stacey) and Michigan will have more room in this year's class to go after a players like Jordan Diamond who are more highly touted.

So, this decision may be a tad disappointing right now, but I truly believe that in the long run, both sides will be happy.  Stacey has a pretty respectable reason for playing there, he wants to stay closer to home, and Michigan is trying to secure a class that could not only vault Michigan to Big Ten championships, but maybe national aspirations as well.  Basically, nobody should be massively disappointed about this recruiting development.

Is it something Michigan fans should be happy about?  Obviously not.  Stacey was recruited by Michigan for a reason.  If Hoke and the staff really thought he couldn't play, he wouldn't have been offered a scholarship to begin with.  Having said that, I don't think it's a horrible development for Michigan either.  Michigan already has some great offensive line recruits and has potential for more.  Michigan fans should respect Stacey's decision and be satisfied that this has been one of the first negative recruiting developments under Hoke's leadership.


Photo Credit: MLive