The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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ternated providing heart-stopping moments. They fought to the final second on basketball's biggest stage, and bowed out with nothing but class and words of love and encouragement for each other. Yes, they lost Burke to the NBA in the days that followed, and other departures loomed as a possibility. But guess what? The same coaching crew who deemed Burke worthy to succeed the fleetingly irreplaceable Darius Morris has Detroit's Derrick Walton all ready to go. The same talent identifiers who plucked Robinson from Indiana and Stauskas out of Canada secured Zak Irvin, the 6-6 prep superstar from the Hoosier State. In other words, there's plenty more where that came from. Nobody questioned Beilein's tactical coaching, not ever. The only doubts arising involved his ability to adapt to the highest levels of play nationally and use the full force of Michigan to recruit that way. The title game appearance answers all questions. Recruits won't wonder if they can win in Ann Arbor. They've now seen it for themselves. On the football side, Hoke's crew has recruited like madmen, stocking the offensive and defensive lines for years to come. The tough guy who stood in shorts in 37-degree temperatures at the spring game doesn't intend to lose the battle where he insists it counts most. The one knock on Michigan's retrenching for a power, pro-style offense, at least until recently, went beyond the lines. Sure, they are killing it in the trenches, but they can't seem to land skill players to put them over the top. Hello, Derrick Green, Rivals.com's No. 1 prep running back in the nation, set for arrival in summer 2013. Hello, De'Veon Smith, who averaged 11.3 yards per carry as a powerful prep senior in the heart of Ohio. And as of April 14, hello Drake Harris, the No. 1 recruit in the state of Michigan for 2014 and one of the top receiver targets in the nation. The 6-4, 180-pounder felt Ohio State, Alabama, Florida and a host of other luminous football schools in hot pursuit. He looked at what Michigan has, and will have during his days in The Big House, and wanted to leap on board. "It just seemed like the perfect place," Harris said. "I love the guys that are there already and also the coaching staff is just tremendous. I couldn't ask for anything better." Now, there won't be any complacency at Michigan Stadium or Crisler Center for the foreseeable future. That same Athlon list heralding Hoke and Beilein as the second-best footballbasketball combo in the country puts another one — from the sulfur-belching netherworld known as Columbus — in the top spot. Say what you want about that, and Hoke/Beilein will have plenty to say, without a word. They'll be prepared, and ready for one whale of a "lucky" run. ❑ Editor John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @JB_Wolverine.