Take Two: Michigan hits the South, Big 12 issues, Penn State misses

Take Two is back this week tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape.

Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and a local expert from the Rivals.com network of team sites.

Storyline: The latest sign that Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh can not only recruit the South but get top players out of the region came this week when four-star offensive lineman Kai-Leon Herbert committed to the Wolverines.

The Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage standout was all but a lock to Florida, but Michigan figured out a way to convince him to come to Ann Arbor and that’s where Herbert committed.

He’s hardly the first one under Harbaugh, who went into Georgia to land four-star Aubrey Solomon and other Southern states to secure commitments from top prospects.

Last recruiting cycle, Harbaugh landed a bunch of Florida recruits and really did tremendous work in New Jersey landing five-star defensive tackle Rashan Gary and four-star running back Kareem Walker.

Michigan has put teams all across the country on notice. The Wolverines, under Harbaugh, can go anywhere and be involved with anybody.

First take: “Jim Harbaugh is certainly making the Southeast a priority and he’s had a lot of success in a short amount of time. Part of is because he’s Jim Harbaugh. He has a national name, kids remember what he did at Stanford, and are obviously aware of his NFL pedigree. Couple that with the fact that he’s hiring coaches from the region like former Pembroke Pines (Fla.) Flanagan head coach Devin Bush and former Prattville (Ala.) head coach Bam Richards, and kids are feeling more and more comfortable about heading north to play for Michigan. Defensive line coach Greg Mattison and quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch also have roots in Florida making for a staff that’s familiar with the entire region.

“Pulling kids out of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and anywhere that’s considered 'SEC Country' is extremely important for a northern, Big Ten program like Michigan. It’s no secret that the talent is much more concentrated in that region, so in order to compete with the best on the field, you have to compete with the best on the recruiting trail. That’s exactly what Harbaugh is trying to do in the Southeast, out west, and in talent-rich pockets like New Jersey. There will always be an emphasis on Michigan and Ohio at U-M as well, but plucking blue-chippers out of the south will bolster a roster in a hurry.” – Brandon Brown, TheWolverine.com

Second take: “This sends probably as strong a national message at least in the Southeast to recruits that Michigan is a team to watch out for. Herbert was a lock to Florida. Everybody expected a commitment to Florida for months. He ends up leaving the state, heading up north to try to build something with an out-of-state program. This is something other kids in Florida and the Southeast take note of and do a double take. They could say, ‘If he’s brave enough to spurn Florida and head up there, what am I missing? I need to check out Michigan a little bit more.’” - Farrell

Storyline: At fourth overall, Oklahoma is the only Big 12 team in the top 20 of the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings, and with expansion seemingly off the table in the near future, the question needs to be asked how the conference is perceived by top national recruits.

Iowa State and Oklahoma State are on the cusp tied at No. 22, but Texas is sitting at No. 46 nationally with only seven commits. It probably won’t end up this way, but Kansas – Kansas! – is ranked higher than the Longhorns in the team recruiting rankings at this point.

Expansion could solve some of these issues. More teams could mean more recruits look at the conference (think about how Texas A&M has recruited better since joining the SEC or Utah being more successful in California since joining the Pac-12).

Oklahoma is doing great work and is coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. But are the other teams carrying their weight in a conference that seems to be losing some credibility?

First take: “There is no question that the lack of expansion has hurt the Big 12 though, obviously, Oklahoma has felt the pains a bit less than most others. The lackluster reality of the Big 12 being small, lacking a lot of programs with real name recognition, and sharing it's chief territory, Texas, with the SEC has hurt the ability to keep the region's best players in the Big 12. Oklahoma has been able to make up for some of that talent loss by recruiting nationally, but their name makes that more possible than it is for most of their fellow league members.

“I think Oklahoma had some good fortune to be after several players who were Oklahoma fans and jumped on board early. They followed that up with using that early momentum and the recruits pitching in to build and really start to create something of a feeding frenzy of commitments at positions where they could say 'we've only got one or two spots left'. I also think Oklahoma has done a great job recreating their image, that was, for so long, seemingly an aged and tired approach. Oklahoma has also been able to show off the tremendous growth in facilities which has helped them build.” – Josh McCuistion, SoonerScoop.com

Second take: “No doubt they need to expand. Recruiting has suffered for quite some time since Texas A&M and Nebraska left. They don’t have a championship game. There’s just not enough attractive programs in that conference to make it a sexy conference for recruits. You have Texas and Oklahoma and that’s pretty much it. Baylor is on the way down. TCU is not thought of in the minds of national recruits as a power program. Oklahoma State is up and down. They’re relying way too much on Texas and Oklahoma to carry the torch. The problem, expansion-wise, is who do you go get?” - Farrell

Storyline: Penn State had an excellent April when the Nittany Lions landed four commitments, but they have not gotten a pledge since late that month.

The latest miss came Thursday when four-star tight end Matt Dotson picked Michigan State over Penn State, Michigan and many others. James Franklin has built a reputation as an excellent recruiter, but the Nittany Lions have a whole lot of work to do to climb back up the Big Ten team recruiting rankings.

At this point, Penn State only has eight commitments and is No. 10 in the Big Ten rankings, ahead of only Illinois, Indiana, Purdue and Minnesota.

With Ohio State and Michigan having the second- and third-best recruiting classes in the country, is there a fear Penn State is being left behind? Or is it far too early to worry about this Nittany Lions recruiting class?

First take: “Penn State didn't become a serious player with Dotson until May 21, when he took his first visit to State College. While it's certainly a blow, Michigan State has been a serious player with Dotson since the fall, so from that perspective, I don’t feel as if it's a major loss for the Nittany Lions. Aside from wide receiver and linebacker, the staff has its offers out to its top-ranked guys and they're prepared to wait as long as needed with most, especially since the class is expected to finish at roughly 17-18 players. If they still haven’t landed any new commitments in the weeks following the Lasch Bash barbecue, then fans have reason to be concerned. However, I expect Penn State to land a few players following its barbecue on July 16.” – Ryan Snyder, BlueWhiteIllustrated.com

Second take: “With D’Andre Swift and Mark Webb seeming to gravitate a little more toward the Southeast at this point, Dotson was one they thought they could bank on. We saw how friendly he was with Sean Clifford at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by Under Armour. They’re not on the same team, but they’re certainly friends. You felt they clicked and they had a connection there. You have him on the line and you didn’t reel him in and that definitely hurts. Each recruitment helps somebody and hurts somebody. For this one, this is one that got away, but Penn State will keep working on him and a lot of things can change.” - Farrell