Wolverine Wednesday: New Recruiting Rules for Coaches-in-Waiting

There is a new NCAA rule that "coaches-in-waiting" will now have the same recruiting restrictions as other coaches. There have been a number of high-profile jobs that have had coaches-in-waiting the last few years, including Florida State, Oregon, and Texas. UT is the only big-time program that continues to have a coach-in-waiting, in current defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. We all know Texas basically picks the best of the best from in-state and fills up its recruiting classes in a couple of weeks. So I don't think this will be a big deal for them. Here are the specific rules if you're interested:

13.1.2.6 Head Coach Restrictions: Bowl Subdivision Football. 13.1.2.6.1 Assistant Coach Publicly Designated as Institution's Next Head Coach. An institution's assistant coach who has been publicly designated by the institution to become its next head coach shall be subject to the recruiting restrictions applicable to the institution's head coach.

B. Bylaws: Amend 13.1.8.4, as follows:
13.1.8.4 Limitations on Number of Evaluations: Football. In football, institutional staff members shall be limited to three evaluations during the academic year during which the prospective student athlete competes or practices on any team. Not more than one evaluation may be used during the fall evaluation period and not more than two evaluations may be used during the April 15 through May 31 evaluation period. An authorized off-campus recruiter may use one evaluation to assess the prospective student-athlete's athletics ability and one evaluation to assess the prospective student athlete's academic qualifications during the April 15 through May 31 evaluation period. If an institution's coaching staff member conducts both an athletics and an academic evaluation of a prospective student-athlete on the same day during the April 15 through May 31 evaluation period, the institution shall be charged with the use of an academic evaluation only and shall be permitted to conduct a second athletics evaluation of the prospective student-athlete on a separate day during the evaluation period.

13.1.8.4.1 Head Coach Restriction: Spring Evaluation Period. In bowl subdivision football, during the April 15 through May 31 evaluation period, the head coach [and any assistant coach who has been publicly designated by the institution to become the next head coach (see Bylaw 13.1.2.6.1)] shall not engage in off-campus recruiting activities, participating in off-campus recruiting activities, participating in an off-campus coaching clinic, visit a prospective student-athlete's educational institution for any reason or meet with a prospective student athlete's coach at an off-campus location.

Side Notes:

• Tyrone Wheatley gets a new job with Syracuse. Ty coached the running backs for the 0-12 Eastern Michigan Eagles last year and now will take over the same position for Syracuse. Ty was working for former Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English at Eastern during his first year as a head coach. Congratulations to Ty on getting a job at a BCS school. Might there be a race between Ty and Mike Hart on who gets the Michigan running backs coach job when Fred Jackson leaves or retires?
  
• Christian Westerman, one of the top offensive tackles in the country in the 2011 class, will visit Michigan for the Spring Game. On April 27, the Westermans are planning to attend Michigan's spring game. There, they will likely catch up with former Scottsdale Chaparral linemen Craig Roh and Tayler Lewan. Lewan, an offensive lineman, was red-shirted last season. Roh started all 12 games as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker for the Wolverines as a true freshman.