Note to Michigan fans gnashing their teeth about how things are developing in recruiting:

Get used to it. Urban Meyer being an unethical at-all-costs recruiter aside, things are different at Michigan now. Rich Rodriguez's exit didn't equal an automatic reset to the way things were before he arrived. Dave Brandon and the higher ups in Ann Arbor have this beautifully delusional vision of making Michigan into something resembling what Stanford has been the last couple years. In the past under Lloyd, Michigan, while still placing a greater emphasis on character and academics than other schools, still had quite a bit of wiggle room for "fringe" cases; kids that didn't have the prestine academic record generally assumed to be the standard at a place like Michigan. That allowed for the arrival of several very, VERY high-profile players that we now look back on in reverence.

With the way things are NOW, almost none of those names would be associated with Michigan. This isn't some conspiracy or excuse-making. It's straight from the horse's mouth. That "Michigan Arrogance" everyone whispers about? That is now in full effect in the athletic department. No longer will UM "take chances" on kids with less than prestine grades, test scores, backgrounds, etc. That effect has already been felt this cycle: several names on the commitment lists of rival schools are names that at the very least, would've had Michigan right in the thick of things in the past. DISCLAIMER: that is not to say Michigan would've simply scooped up all these players. But in these cases, UM wasn't even able to throw its hat into the ring. If you've been paying attention to recruiting this year, you can easily identify some of these names. If you've been paying REALLY close attention, you'll know a few more.

The reality is simple. Michigan will lose more recruiting battles against Urban Meyer than they will win, because Michigan's coach doesn't run his program like an SEC school, chasing kids off and "processing" underachievers to make room for the next batch of four and five stars. And Michigan's coach didn't demand that academic standards for athletes be lowered as a requirement before taking the job. The Michigan fans who hoped for some sort of "Ann Arbor Spring" in the wake of that filthy cheater Tressel being chased out in Columbus are in for a severe letdown. Meet the new boss at OSU. He's the same as the old boss. Michigan managed to pull a few kids over the wire this year thanks to the circumstances. That luck will not continue moving forward.

Temper your expectations significantly downward from here.

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