Greg Mattison's unique experiences as an assistant coach at both Ohio State and Michigan allow him to make some comparisons, and it seems he does just that on the recruiting trail.
Before coming to Columbus to become Ohio State's co-defensive coordinator under Ryan Day, Mattison spent eight seasons at Michigan as an assistant coach, four of which were under current Wolverine head coach Jim Harbaugh.
After just one season at Ohio State, Mattison sees no contest between the two programs, and he's not shy about telling top recruits that – even prospects he was once recruiting to Michigan.
“If you're here, I can see you getting developed ten times better than I could see at any other school.”– Greg Mattison to JC Latham
Four-star 2021 offensive tackle JC Latham told Allen Trieu of 247 Sports that Mattison – once his primary recruiter to the Wolverines – sees no contest between the two programs after just one season in Columbus.
"When I first went to Ohio State back in the spring time for practice, [Coach Mattison] was the first guy I talked to because I knew him right off the bat," Latham told 247 Sports. "He was telling me how different Ohio State's program was and how their facilities, practices, culture, all that was a lot better at Ohio State than Michigan. He was really telling me at their school, it's a business and they ran it strict to a T.
"He was telling me, 'If you're here, I can see you getting developed ten times better than I could see at any other school.' So he was kind of really just breaking the ice with me when I first visited."
Mattison may have a unique authority to make this comparison, but he wasn't the only one slamming Michigan this week. 247Spors Director of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong had some scathing things to say about Michigan's overall ability to recruit following the departure of special teams coordinator Chris Partridge.
“I just don’t think, collectively, this staff is recruiting at a level to win a national championship across the board,” Wiltfong said. “It’s a blow losing a guy in Partridge, who I feel like is one of your best recruiters when the emphasis on recruiting at Michigan isn’t the same as it is at Ohio State and Penn State right now. We’re starting to see it on the field.”
Michigan currently has the No. 11 2020 recruiting class nationally, but has just the No. 19 recruiting class in 2021 with just two commitments – five-star quarterback J.J, McCarthy and four-star offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi. Ohio State, by comparison, has the nation's top 2021 recruiting class with nine commitments, six of which are from top-75 prospects.
