Michigan Football Recruiting: Brady Hoke Has a Lot To Prove

National Signing Day 2011 will be a huge test for the Michigan football program and brand new head coach Brady Hoke. A top-20 recruiting class could help push Hoke to the forefront and wash away the memory of Rich Rodriguez.

Hoke took over a Michigan recruiting class that was suffering under the coaching staff upheaval but is now ranked 24th in the nation according to Rivals. Although the class has numerous three and four start recruits, no five star recruits look to be making themselves part of the Maize and Blue this year.

Hoke needs to overhaul a defense though that was ranked near the bottom of Division I football. Just to give you an idea, Michigan allowed 35.2 points per game last season (If you're a fan you definitely know this and cringe at the sight of that number) which ranked 108th in Division I. In comparison to another school, Arkansas State was 91st, allowing 30.8 points per game.

Fans of the Maize and Blue need to watch diligently today. The Wolverines have received three verbal commitments (and Letters of Intent) from some key defensive proponents.

Cornerbacks, Blake Countess and Delonte Hollowell and defensive end Brennen Beyer.

Michigan returns 24 starters next season and, the cornerbacks, most likely won't start their first season at Michigan anyway. Countess and Hollowell will most likely have a redshirt freshman year, followed up with usage in the special teams their second year. Countess is a little small, but it's nothing a few years work won't fix. He's a fast cornerback that will help keep with receivers in the Big Ten. Hollowell on the other hand, is 5'8, 162 lbs with a 40-time of around 4.7.

Brady Hoke needs to steal one guy today, the rest he virtually has locked up. The one player he needs to sneak in and steal is four-star defensive tackle, Darian Cooper. Cooper is considering other Big Ten schools, Iowa and Michigan State, with Georgia Tech also in the running. The recruiting battle for Cooper is air tight and he is expected to make his decision by noon today.

One huge move that could be made for the Michigan offense, signing four-star running back Justice Hayes. He's the third ranked running back according to Rivals. He's got great speed that could help in addition to an already great runner on Michigan, Denard Robinson. A deadly duo could be formed by the two.

Still remaining is another big name offensive prospect at tight end, Chris Barnett. Barnett has a soft verbal to go play for the Arkansas Razorbacks but still has a chance to sign with the Wolverines after a visit to the campus in January. Sneaking in and stealing this four-star prospect from Texas, straight from under the noses of Arkansas could help significantly raise the quality of this recruiting class.

Another big key in determining Hoke's success today is the tightening race for four-star linebacker Leilon Willingham. The 6'2, 240 lbs linebacker is also considering Washington, UCF, Arizona State, Colorado and Texas A&M. 

The key to this National Signing Day for Brady Hoke though is, sign as many good, quality, defensive players with tremendous upside as you can. That's your biggest weakness.

Reports already have a loss marked up for the new head coach, Hoke. Four-star offensive lineman, Jake Fisher, has already decided to attend Oregon over Michigan. Fisher was already committed to Michigan while Rodriguez was still the coach, but after his firing, made his options open again.

Three-star outside linebacker, Frank Clark, has already made his intentions known he will be signing with the Wolverines for next season. Clark comes from Glenville Academic Campus in Cleveland, Ohio. 

The first step to proving yourself to Michigan fans, is to keep this recruiting class in the Top 25 and add to this defense that returns almost all of it's starters.