Michigan Football: Brady Hoke Will Win Games, but Will He Win Championships?

Brady Hoke’s best chance at winning a national championship is next year (more in a future article), but Brady Hoke never emphasized championships as much as he has emphasized beating Ohio State. Maybe Hoke knows that bringing a national championship in this age of SEC dominance is not realistic.

Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press recently wrote (context Michigan State) that “consecutive 10-win regular seasons with an undisputed shot at the Big Ten championship and the Rose Bowl would be another important step for Michigan State. It’s also the ceiling for this program. And the competitive ceiling for Big Ten teams.”

Sharp goes on to write, “Spartans coach Mark Dantonio won a national championship as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2002. He spoke this week about how winning it all-not just what’s considered important in your own neighborhood-is the primary goal at Michigan State.

But he probably knows, deep down, that contending for a national championship every year isn’t possible when you’re in the Midwest while the superior athletes keep migrating south and west. It’s time the Big Ten accepts its regional limitations.”

I have written before that Brady Hoke will succeed, and he has superseded everyone’s first-year expectations, but I did not feel Hoke would win a national championship, just games.

Perhaps Hoke has already embraced this reality.

Sharp and Hoke both know that the elite college athletes reside in SEC country. And where is UM’s best player from? Denard Robinson is from the SEC recruiting ground of Florida.

Why the SEC dominance? Yes, they have excellent coaches. Yes, they have devoted, crazy fans. Yes, they have stadiums filled with supporters that treat football like it is religion, and top-notch athletic facilities, but the real difference is that SEC teams have superior athletes.

In order for the Big Ten and Michigan to compete, they will have to recruit these elite athletes from SEC country. Hoke’s first recruiting class is being hailed as a great one but if you look at the 22 committed recruits, eight are from Ohio and eight are from Michigan, the very place Michigan needs to build their foundation.

Of the remaining recruits, none of them are from the fertile SEC recruiting grounds.

For simplicity sake, I will define the fertile SEC recruiting grounds as the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.

Looking at Michigan’s roster, only 20 of their current roster (including walk-ons) hail from SEC country. On the contrary, the current No. 1 and No. 2 teams, LSU and Alabama, have more than 85% (including walk-ons) of their roster from SEC land.

Granted, these schools reside in the heart of SEC country and should have their primary roster spots filled with players from these areas, but if Michigan or any other team ever wants to challenge for championships, they will need to recruit more of these players from the SEC.

Michigan and Ohio State’s most recent Heisman trophy winners hailed from Ohio, and there are elite athletes there and other parts of the Midwest, but the quantity of these elite players still lie down south.LSU has a total of 113 athletes from these states, while Alabama has 81.

Michigan’s best chance in the foreseeable future to win it all is actually next year. They have an elite athlete at the most important position. Denard Robinson would definitely fit well on any SEC team.

He is from Florida and can put Michigan on his shoulders to a title, but Alabama awaits in their opener. If Alabama beats UM the way they handled Michigan State in last year’s bowl game, it will seal Hoke’s fate as a winner of games but not a winner of championships.

Sharp concludes his article stating that “Meyer won’t have as much pressure at Ohio State, though the Buckeyes are the only program-repeat, THE ONLY Midwestern-based football program-remotely capable of regularly contending for national championships.

They have a wealth of financial resources and the willingness to spend those riches on premier coaches and state-of-the-art facilities. And they have an inherent recruiting advantage in their backyard. But does the Big Ten even care?”

Sharp left out the main reason Ohio State will be the only Midwest team to compete for national championships: Urban Meyer will recruit SEC country well.

Maybe UM should think of Les Miles in a few years. Brady Hoke will win games, but he may not be able to win championships unless he can cut into the SEC teams’ elite players.


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