Interview with EJ Holland: The U-M recruiting analyst opens up about negative recruiting, current commits that deserve more love, Michigan's recruiting secret weapons and more

Sep 15, 2020

Thanks to the positive feedback I got from my interview with Michigan/Saturday Night Live alum Mike O’Brien last week, I’m going to continue trying to do an interview per week with a personality related to Michigan sports that’s of interest to my readers. Starting this week, I’ll be putting them behind the premium paywall.

This week’s guest was Michigan recruiting analyst EJ Holland. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, EJ does fantastic work covering all things Michigan on the recruiting trail for TheWolverine.com. Prior to joining the Michigan beat, he covered Notre Dame and Texas recruiting. And prior to that, he worked for me in Dallas.

LISTEN TO THE FULL 40-MINUTE INTERVIEW HERE

You can follow him on Twitter at @EJHolland_TW.

Previous interviews (free): Chatting with U-M, Saturday Night Live alum Mike O’Brien

If you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to sit through all 40 minutes at once, here’s a helpful guide to the different topics we discussed and the timestamps at which they occur:

— 1:30-5:30: Talking about the famous EJ Holland grind on the recruiting trail. Why he thinks it’s imperative to properly cover his beat (“watching full games instead of film”) and digging into just how often EJ is on the road covering Michigan recruiting.

— 5:30-9:00: Why competition is a good thing when it comes to recruiting coverage, and why national analysts need to step it up when it comes to evaluating prospects.

— 9:00-12:30: Since EJ has covered Michigan, Notre Dame and Texas recruiting, a look at how those fanbases compare to each other, and which ones are the most irrational/annoying. Plus which other schools rank high on the delusion/irrelevance scale (hint: rhymes with schmichigan schmtate).

— 12:30-13:30: EJ’s impressive feat of having already seen every single Michigan commit in this class and next class in person.

— 13:30-15:30: Discussing the current Michigan commit that's not getting enough love and will WAY outplay his ranking.

—15:30-16:30: EJ’s No. 2 pick for current Michigan commit that’s not getting enough love.

— 16:30-19:30: EJ’s pick for Michigan’s most unsung hero on staff when it comes to recruiting.

— 19:30-20:00: EJ’s No. 2 pick for current Michigan staffer that has been an unsung hero in recruiting.

— 20:00-23:30: Most people are on the same page when it comes to the top remaining “must-sign” prospects Michigan is targetting for the 2021 class. But which 2022 guys are most important for Michigan, especially considering some of its recruiting struggles this cycle.

— 23:30-28:00: On EJ’s great relationship with JJ McCarthy, what his ceiling might be in Ann Arbor and what EJ’s player comp would be for the incoming five-star QB (hint: think Heisman Trophy winners).

— 28:00-31:00: Breaking down which schools have been negative recruiting Michigan the most this cycle.

— 31:00-32:00: On what Michigan needs to do to get into the next tier of recruting with the Ohio States, Alabamas and Clemsons of the world.

— 32:00-33:30: How Jim Harbaugh has changed his recruiting approach and philosophy since arriving in Ann Arbor.

— 33:30-38:00: A deep dive into one of the most extreme fashion evolutions in the history of journalism. How someone can go from one of the worst-dressed journalists in America to one of the most fashion-conscious (and proof that someone actually owns a Tai Streets Detroit Lions jersey).

— 38:00-end: Wrapping things up. I say nice things in hopes that he reciprocates by saying nice things about me. EJ foolishly obliges.