Brady Hoke: Takes 5-6 years to build a football program

In Brady Hoke's opinion, it takes time – more time than he had – to build a college football program.

Asked about second-year Texas coach Charlie Strong, the former Michigan football coach didn't hesitate to explain the timetable at a major program.

"Five to six years," Hoke said in his debut on SiriusXM's "College Sports Today" dropping hints about what he faced coming into Michigan. "That's what everyone wants, two or three, especially if you're a fan of the school. I know you may have to change an offensive system as far as going from a pro style to spread or a spread to a pro style. Defensively, are you going to be a 3-4 team or a 4-3 team? All those things are part (of it) as you go out and start to recruit.

"Whenever you get one of those jobs, that first recruiting class is going to be about a 50/50 class. Especially when you're hired as the coach."

Hoke only had four years at Michigan, compiling a 31-20 record before he was fired Dec. 2, 2014.

As he alluded to, he came to U-M in 2011 and changed from Rich Rodriguez's spread offense to his pro-style, a process that took longer as Hoke's staff tried to embrace quarterback Denard Robinson's abilities.

While Hoke said most major programs have high expectations and less patience, he conceded Ohio State and Urban Meyer were the exception.

Meyer arrived in 2012 and has gone 38-3 with a national championship in his first three years in Columbus.

U-M must push itself out of stagnancy

"I believe it's a different beast," he said. "(Previous permanent coach) Jim Tressel is a pretty good football coach and a pretty good recruiter. Nothing taken away from Urban, because he's proved it at Florida, proved it at Ohio (State), proved it at Utah. (It's) depending on what you have there. We won the Sugar Bowl (in 2011 and went 11-2) and had 15 fifth year seniors so we had guys who played a lot of football and we had Denard Robinson, maybe one of the most dynamic quarterbacks to play at the University of Michigan when you look statistically.

"You look at your team, you look at what you have philosophically you go out and start laying the foundation you start recruiting the kind of guys you need in the program, school-wise, academic-wise and the football end of it."

Hoke has moved to North Carolina with his family and is closer to the SiriusXM studio, which he'll participate with twice a week in the 4-7 p.m. time slot. Next week, he'll be part of a camp tour heading to Clemson, Georgia, Florida State and Florida.

But right out of the box in his first episode, Hoke was asked to evaluate his successor at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh and the U-M team he left behind.

"I believe Jim's going to have a good football team this year," he said. "I know he's very comfortable there in Ann Arbor. It's a good staff he's assembled to put together and they're going to have a good year, a better year than people think. The recruiting our staff did really fits to the style of offense and style of defense. That's something that's going to help them. Jim's done a nice job at every spot he's been at, whether Stanford, University of San Diego or the 49ers.

"I expect them to surprise some people this year."

U-M continues push to reconnect with students

Despite a few questions later, he didn't pin down a specific record, but conceded that the quarterback uncertainty is the biggest issue with the Wolverines.

Regardless of Ohio State's prestige and returnees – Hoke said he doesn't see any problems on the Buckeyes – he figures "The Game" will be a challenge.

"I don't see a weakness," Hoke said. "I do believe going to Michigan at the end of the year, just because of how the young men at Michigan feel about that game, that will be a heck of a game. Obviously, Michigan State, Mark Dantonio has done an unbelievable job. (But) that last game is a tough one (for Ohio State.)"

The show got a little personal for Hoke during the first hour, with one caller praising him and comparing him to Steve Spurrier, one thanking him for giving current U-M offensive lineman Logan Tuley-Tillman a scholarship, and one taking him to task for calling Ohio State "Ohio," saying that meant he didn't understand the rivalry.

Hoke chuckled, reminded the caller that his father John played for Woody Hayes at Miami (Ohio) and he grew up in Ohio, so he had a pretty good idea what it meant.

Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.