Amauri Pesek-Hickson, Ex-Wolverine

Amauri Pesek-Hickson, Ex-Wolverine


February 4, 2019

Leawood (KS) Blue Valley North LB Amauri Pesek-Hickson

Leawood (KS) Blue Valley North linebacker Amauri Pesek-Hickson decommitted from Michigan on Monday:

 

Pesek-Hickson is a 247 Composite 3-star, the #44 athlete, and #743 overall. He explained that Michigan is tight on numbers right now and wants to get defensive end and defensive tackle grad transfers, meaning they no longer have room for him to sign his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. Michigan is pursuing Rice defensive tackle Zach Abercrumbia and Central Michigan defensive end Mike Hanna.

He did leave open the possibility of going to prep school, though he stressed that academics are not an issue. It’s not a great sign that his academics appear to be in order (he reported a 30 on the ACT) and Michigan wants him to go the prep school route, but Pesek-Hickson’s only other reported offer comes from Missouri State, so options might be somewhat limited. Michigan has had a couple players attempt to go the prep school route in recent years, with Brad Hawkins waiting from 2016 to 2017 to join the program, while linebacker Dytarious Johnson eventually ended up at Eastern Illinois.

Michigan now has 26 commits in the 2019 class, and no more commitments are expected from high schoolers. While Pesek-Hickson was likely to play linebacker, he had the versatility to play a few different positions. Michigan still has several linebackers in the class, including Anthony Solomon, Charles Thomas, and Joey Velazquez, not to mention Daxton Hill and Quinten Johnson, who could both play Viper. The team currently has 86 scholarship players slated to be on the roster in 2019 (LINK), so some things will have to fall into place in order to fit all the 2019 signees and any potential transfers.

70 comments

  1. Comments: 1863
    Joined: 1/19/2016
    je93
    Feb 04, 2019 at 9:45 PM

    Sucks for the kid. I get the business decision, but how about slow-playing him, or offering as a grey shirt first?

  2. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Feb 05, 2019 at 12:32 AM

    Unethical and unnecessary. Should have been clear with him that the offer was a gray-shirt.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 05, 2019 at 8:11 AM

      I mean, sure, that would be great, but crap happens. I don’t know everything that happened behind the scenes, but Michigan took Pesek-Hickson’s commitment in November and then lost Aubrey Solomon to transfer in December. There’s certainly a chance that Michigan’s needs changed after Pesek-Hickson’s commitment, and the need for a DT (or DE) to play now is higher than the need for a FB/LB/ATH who won’t be ready for a couple years, if ever.

      Again, we don’t know all the circumstances, but I think saying this is “unethical” or “unnecessary” or whatever is speaking out of turn.

      • Comments: 1863
        Joined: 1/19/2016
        je93
        Feb 05, 2019 at 8:21 AM

        Absolutely. But we were his first & only real offer. It could have waited, even until signing day. And let’s not act like it’s the first time. Swenson was another I understood not taking, but couldn’t defend not telling sooner. But at least Swenson had options. This kid can only hope Les Miles is desperate enough, or stay at mizSt

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Feb 05, 2019 at 8:27 AM

          a) I think there’s some misinformation out there about how the Swenson thing went down. Swenson was told that the coaching staff wanted him to do some things in order to maintain his scholarship, and he did not do them. Not only did he have options, but he had time to work them out.

          b) I’m not sure there’s been any definitive revealing of how long Pesek-Hickson has known about this. Did he just find out yesterday? Or has he known for a couple weeks but kept it under wraps? Just because a story came out yesterday doesn’t mean it happened yesterday.

          • Comments: 1863
            Joined: 1/19/2016
            je93
            Feb 05, 2019 at 9:08 AM

            It’s true we don’t know both sides, which is why I don’t agree with MFing the staff…

            But this is a multimillion dollar program with boundless resources. Managing relationships includes not having news like this pop up nearly every year

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Feb 05, 2019 at 12:02 PM

              What does a plausible “both sides” like that lets Michigan off the hook?

              At best, they call this a miscommunication. But ultimately, that’s still on them as the adults dictating terms. It’s not hard to say “you’re a gray shirt”.

              And this sort of thing has happened before. If there are repeated instances of kids feeling misled by the same group, the blame for miscommunication falls on one side.

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Feb 05, 2019 at 12:09 PM

              I agree with you JE. I’d just take it even further. This is deliberate.

              The farce of the grades hurdle for a kid with (relatively) good grades is pretty strong evidence that Michigan wasn’t being straight with the kid.

              Sounds like Harbaugh is being pretty straightforward about it now. Not sure what the parents motive would be to lie about it. I’m honestly a bit surprised people are defending this with a “let’s hear from both sides” perspective.

              Everyone here (with the possible exception of WCB) loves Michigan but that doesn’t change that Michigan did him wrong.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Feb 05, 2019 at 11:57 AM

          It would be nice to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt but they haven’t earned it. To the contrary – they’ve been pretty aggressive in dealing with fringe contributors taking up scholarships.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Feb 05, 2019 at 11:54 AM

        Michigan’s roster needs speak to motive.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Feb 05, 2019 at 2:39 PM

          I’m not denying that Michigan would have a motive to rescind his scholarship offer. What I’m saying is that circumstances have changed since the time he committed.

          FWIW, Brandon Brown had a post on The Wolverine saying that Pesek-Hickson was very responsive to texts, calls, etc. in December. But since mid-January, Pesek-Hickson has been incommunicado, other than sending out an information blast over the last day or two, explaining that he was decommitting from Michigan. So it’s at least plausible that Pesek-Hickson has known about this for two or three weeks and that it’s just coming to surface now. So maybe it seems like a development on February 4, but maybe he was given time to take official visits in January.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Feb 05, 2019 at 3:14 PM

            The issue is rescinding an offer after it was accepted.

            Mid-January, late-January, early-February… different degrees of the same thing.

            Goes back to the same thing – if it’s a gray-shirt offer (you get a spot in 2020 or sooner if a spot opens up) be up-front about it.

            We really going to buy the story that in multiple cases kids are just refusing to talk to their future coaches, and that that just happens to coincide with the coaches wanting to part ways? In the hopes that what – the coaches would just forget about it? That you’ll show up to a program that doesn’t want you? I don’t find it plausible at all.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Feb 05, 2019 at 3:17 PM

            Of course circumstances changed. That’s the whole rationale for Michigan backing out.

            • Comments: 295
              Joined: 12/19/2015
              Extrajuice
              Feb 05, 2019 at 6:04 PM

              I agree with this. They shouldn’t have offered him in the 1st place. Making offers like this pays off 1% of the time… and there’s only a 5% chance of that!

          • Comments: 1863
            Joined: 1/19/2016
            je93
            Feb 05, 2019 at 9:07 PM

            Re: BBrown, if my kid thought he was going to MICHIGAN on scholly, he’d be chatty too. If all of a sudden doubt krept in, and JH started to act like a GF with eyes on someone else, yeah: I think he’d start clamming up a bit too

  3. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Feb 05, 2019 at 8:03 AM

    The eternal problem here is that schools can, by rule, make no comment on unsigned kids, kids have beau coup options for getting their story out.

    Then the other eternal issue … as a wise old divorce attorney once told me, “There’s three sides to every story, his side, her side and the truth.”

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 05, 2019 at 11:58 AM

      The poor coaching staff, they just have no voice. If only they had access to media in official or unofficial capacities.

  4. Comments: 1356
    Joined: 8/13/2015
    Roanman
    Feb 05, 2019 at 8:09 AM

    Sort of off topic, but I was told this weekend that Hutchinson is getting “huge”, meaning 3 tech sized.

    Have you heard anything like this?

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 05, 2019 at 8:16 AM

      I have not heard any position attached to it, but yes, I have heard that he’s putting on some good weight. Personally, I think he’s headed for strongside end, but maybe the coaching staff thinks they can use him at 3-tech with Paye at Anchor and Uche at WDE. They do need help at 3-tech, even though I don’t necessarily think that’s his best position.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 05, 2019 at 11:59 AM

      Not necessarily much differentiation in size between anchor and 3-tech.

  5. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Feb 05, 2019 at 12:39 PM

    https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2019/02/04/michigan-football-amauri-pesek-hickson/2767007002/

    Quotes there paint a pretty clear picture.

    While it is possible that Michigan told the kid he had to get his grades up AND there needed to be an open spot, it’s clear the message didn’t get across to the family. In the end, that’s on Michigan .

    Maybe the miscommunication was deliberate and maybe it was an honest mistake. The grades thing, Harbaugh’s quote on DE/DT, the roster situation including a relatively high number of returning players compared to expectations in late 2018, and past history with questionable roster management all point a certain way. Michigan’s interests here are obvious. The kid’s are collateral damage.

    Doesn’t mean his life is ruined, but it does mean the program is misleading kids and putting them in a difficult position. I think that’s unethical. Like I said up top – they should have been clear that the offer was a gray shirt and just called it that.

    I also call it unnecessary. That’s because a program like Michigan doesn’t need to do this with a recruit of this caliber (not that it should matter). Even from a pure self-interest perspective there’s more to be lost from bad PR in dealing with recruits than there is to be gained for a marginal bump in talent (fringe 3-star vs pure gray-shirt or PWO).

    When you hear multiple in-state recruits saying “they just weren’t real” it sounds like fluffy nonsense but this kind of crap kind of validates the perspective.

  6. Comments: 1364
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    WindyCityBlue
    Feb 05, 2019 at 12:50 PM

    Yet another example of how silly and unnevessary it is for us to offer marginal recruits so early. And why we should stop using the word “commitment” to describe any of this.

    Did we mislead him? I don’t know, and neither does anyone else here, frankly. But if we had waited until today to offer him, would he have honored a “commitment” he made to Missouri State, or would he have switched to us at the last minute and left them in the lurch? And if he had done the latter, would people be calling that “unethical”?

    Schools ditch players, players ditch schools. Both sides have a right to do the best they can for themselves.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 05, 2019 at 1:34 PM

      “Schools” are large institutions and “players” are human beings. The scale of impact is not remotely the same.

      Yes – many people do think it’s unethical to decommit. People gripe about it all the time. “A commitment isn’t a commitment” they say. YOU just griped about it above.

      People also gripe about players skipping an exhibition game after their semester and regular season are over.

      I understand the “business is business” perspective because well, it’s pretty simple, but this isn’t the NFL. This is amateur sports, publicly funded institutions, and children we are talking about. Yes, there’s a lot of money and business factor can’t be ignored, but the human element shouldn’t be ignored either.

      It’s pretty cynical to just treat kids as expendable employees even if you think it’s OK to operate a business that way.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 05, 2019 at 1:38 PM

      His parents say he was mislead and he feels he was mislead. That is what’s reported. There’s no indication or evidence that they aren’t telling the truth. What is the motive for them to lie about this?

      I really don’t get why people’s reaction to this is “Well we just don’t know.” We’re not talking about first-degree murder here – we don’t need proof beyond a reasonable doubt to see what’s going on.

  7. Comments: 295
    Joined: 12/19/2015
    Extrajuice
    Feb 05, 2019 at 6:23 PM

    What bothers me about this is that Michigan doesn’t need to “reach” for this type of recruit in the first place. This is Harbaugh-ego trying to act like he’s outsmarting the rest of the country. Taking another kid that no one else offered and make it seem like only he saw the talent. It kind of worked for Ronnie Bell but his ceiling isn’t high. The cost of this turning into a media debacle is very high, especially when you are bordering scholarship limits and trying to take the PWO / prep school / Gray shirt backpedal.

    As we’ve seen from other Harbaugh gimmicks, like Signing of the Stars, many don’t work (personally, I’d include the spring trips and satellite camps too). You don’t have to re-invent the wheel in recruiting just make sure there’s enough grease to keep it turning!

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 05, 2019 at 6:52 PM

      I think it’s just a case of being competitive and trying to find every edge. Get a gray-shirt that’s better than your typical gray-shirt by dipping into an ethical uhhh…. gray area.

      But yeah, misguided given the risk and “collateral damage” of kids.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 05, 2019 at 9:37 PM

      I’m not really sure where you’re going with your second paragraph. There’s really no way to measure whether Signing of the Stars, the trips overseas, etc. have been effective for recruiting or not. Nobody’s going to come out and say, “Oh yeah, the only reason I’m signing with Michigan is because I might get to visit South Africa!” Every college recruiting decision is the result of 100 different things.

      • Comments: 295
        Joined: 12/19/2015
        Extrajuice
        Feb 06, 2019 at 12:03 AM

        Successful programs don’t spend millions on spring trips or recruiting 2-star players without another P5 offer. Those ideas are measured by whether or not other schools are copying it and they’re not. That’s what I was getting at I guess. But then again even bad publicity is still publicity.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Feb 06, 2019 at 9:20 AM

          I don’t understand your comment. The spring trips have been paid for by donors, not the program itself. And they certainly haven’t spent millions on offering 2-star players.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Feb 06, 2019 at 11:51 AM

            Donors are a big part of the program. This is college football. Their money could/would go elsewhere. The staff’s time also.

            I personally don’t see the harm in going all out for extra camps. It’s not a highly productive activity but the costs also aren’t that high because at this point football programs are all spending their donor dollars on ridiculous luxuries of some form. This one at least brings exposure and mostly positive press.

            Maybe I’m missing where the money should go instead…

          • Comments: 295
            Joined: 12/19/2015
            Extrajuice
            Feb 07, 2019 at 4:44 PM

            I think you misread my statement. Maybe not worded particularly well. It was 2 different thoughts, 1) don’t spend millions on spring trips. Instead, do something positive for the community AND program, give the booster money to Mott Hospital and make a big deal about that! 2) successful programs don’t recruit 2-star talent without offers from other larger programs.

            I know they aren’t spending millions offering 2-star talent!

            • Comments: 3844
              Joined: 7/13/2015
              Feb 07, 2019 at 5:54 PM

              I’m not going to argue that donors shouldn’t give money to Mott Children’s Hospital, but we could say that about virtually anything. What you’re doing right now (taking time to read this site) could be better spent visiting people at a retirement home. Instead of going to see the new “Avengers” movie, you could take that $30 and send it to an orphanage in Africa. A huge chunk of what we do with our time and money could be BETTER spent.

              The bottom line is that those trips aren’t taking money away from students or taxpayers. If some rich business owner wants to send 100 people to Rome or South Africa with the extra cash he found between his couch cushions, then good for him.

              • Comments: 295
                Joined: 12/19/2015
                Extrajuice
                Feb 07, 2019 at 7:17 PM

                The difference here is that no one cares what I do but the spotlight is ALWAYS on Harbaugh and Michigan football. So, when a bunch of rich donors send kids on full-ride scholarships to Rome it makes Michigan looks bad. When I drop $35 on my Grey Goose no one knows or cares and if they do they just figure I’m a loser anyway.

                • Comments: 3844
                  Joined: 7/13/2015
                  Feb 07, 2019 at 7:24 PM

                  …and when a rich guy sends money to Mott Children’s Hospital, nobody cares (you know, in popular culture), because there aren’t popular websites and TV shows that cover children’s hospital donations.

                  I guess we’re going to have to agree to disagree, because I don’t really care where donors’ money goes as long as it’s not going to the KKK or ISIS.

                • Comments: 6285
                  Joined: 8/11/2015
                  Lanknows
                  Feb 09, 2019 at 10:59 AM

                  I don’t think it looks bad for Michigan – exact opposite.

    • Comments: 111
      Joined: 10/14/2015
      UM_1973
      Feb 06, 2019 at 5:05 AM

      I think you nailed the issue here. Harbaugh has no business offering a kid whose only offer is from Missouri State. I am sure if Harbaugh told him to wait, he would happily do so. It was also true of Tyrece Woods (who ended up with no Power 5 offer).

      As for the rest of the stuff, I am Ok with the signing of the stars, the satellite camp and the spring trips. I am sure those can’t hurt even if I doubt the usefulness of all the “gimmicks”.

      The most important ingredients in recruiting that Michigan is sorely lacking is the lack of marquee wins. Harbaugh needs to that and soon.

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Feb 06, 2019 at 9:19 AM

        He offered a similar kid last year, and that kid caught 2 touchdown passes as a freshman.

        • Comments: 111
          Joined: 10/14/2015
          UM_1973
          Feb 06, 2019 at 12:23 PM

          Ronnie Bell is a nice story but I would have prefered to have any of the Ohio State receivers that torched us last yr over Bell. 4/5 stars still trumps 2 stars most of the time.

  8. Comments: 3844
    Joined: 7/13/2015
    Feb 05, 2019 at 9:33 PM

    For what it’s worth, Sam Webb posted on the 247 message board that Michigan was up front all along to Pesek-Hickson that the offer was a grayshirt offer and was contingent upon scholarship numbers. Basically, it was an offer like Jake Moody’s, but Moody found his way to a scholarship in year one, while Michigan isn’t giving Pesek-Hickson a chance to squeeze into the 2019 scholarship situation.

    I stand by what I said above: I’m not going to jump to the conclusion that Michigan didn’t make Pesek-Hickson aware of this earlier.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 05, 2019 at 10:15 PM

      It’s not “jumping to conclusions ” to believe what the kid and his family said.

    • Comments: 1863
      Joined: 1/19/2016
      je93
      Feb 05, 2019 at 10:35 PM

      What had Sam said earlier, i.e., when the kid committed, or after the Dec signing day? I’m asking because he does tend to speak with a ray of light on the program

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Feb 06, 2019 at 9:21 AM

        I don’t know. I’m not going to spend time digging back through 2-month-old message board posts to look for it, either. I’m just reporting what he said recently.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Feb 06, 2019 at 11:34 AM

        This is correct. Insiders like Brown and Webb have a tit for tat arrangement. They get access beyond general media (press conferences, formal sit-downs, etc.). The coaches have their reasons for doing that and it’s not charity – it’s favorable coverage.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Feb 06, 2019 at 11:35 AM

          Both seem quite good at their jobs IMO but the slant of coverage and circumstances around insider access need to be acknowledged.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Feb 06, 2019 at 11:52 AM

          …and the same thing can be said for the kid and his family. The coaches and the family both want to be painted in the most favorable light. That’s why Roanman had the quote above about three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth. So far you’ve only heard the player’s side and the media’s version of the coaches’ side.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Feb 06, 2019 at 12:39 PM

            Feels like yelling blah blah blah we don’t know both sides i can’t hear you blah blah blah.

            All kinds of contentions with the statement above but the biggest is that this doesn’t paint the kid or his family in a positive light. What are they gaining?

            The explanations for how/why you put this on the kid don’t make sense. Meanwhile Michigan’s motives are obvious.

            There doesn’t need to be 3 sides to this. That there is a disagreement in the first place is the real problem. That’s a situation created by Michigan or at best that Michigan didn’t properly plan for, at the kid’s expense.

            • Comments: 3844
              Joined: 7/13/2015
              Feb 06, 2019 at 2:42 PM

              In much the same way, I don’t understand leaping to conclusions based on a DM blast from Amauri Pesek-Hickson. Look, Deondre Francois was kicked off of FSU’s team because of an Instagram post from his girlfriend…who 24 hours later claimed that it was all basically a lie…and then apparently her sister said she was hacked. The whole truth is probably going to be revealed at some point, but you probably would have been mistaken if you jumped to a conclusion within the first 24 hours.

              Clearly, there’s more to this story, because a day or two ago, people thought Pesek-Hickson was left out in the cold without other options. Lo and behold, not just any school had given him a scholarship offer, but an FBS Power Five school. Michigan’s side is claiming it was a grayshirt offer all along.

              I don’t see anything wrong with saying: We don’t have enough information available to reach a certain conclusion.

              You, on the other hand, seem ready and willing to bash Michigan, Harbaugh, Webb, etc. THAT is unnecessary, considering some of your original objections now seem to be completely off base.

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Feb 06, 2019 at 4:12 PM

              APH feels like he was mislead. Michigan chalks it up to miscommunication.

              I agree that Michigan’s side is that it was a conditional offer all along. That was expected, before the coaches confirmed it (via Webb). Just went through this with Swenson so no surprise.

              APH’s side is that the conditions weren’t fully communicated to him that way – was reinforced by his parents quotes (detailed in the freep link). He thought it was conditional on academics not space.

              Going to Kansas doesn’t change the core issue. The precise timing doesn’t change the core issue. DeAndre Francois has nothing to do with any of this in any way. These are irrelevant tangents.

              A detailed transcript of the communications that occurred to parse the words doesn’t exist and isn’t going to come out. We can quibble about details or argue about how bad it is, and if we had a transcript we could parse the ambiguous language to see who is more at fault for any miscommunications that might have taken place. But the big picture story is pretty well sketched out. The new bits don’t change anything to the principal issue.

              APH was offered in a way that he interpreted to mean he was going to be part of the class in January. Michigan no longer wants him.

              What more information do you really need?

              What inappropriate conclusions are stated above?

              I’ve assumed all along that the coaches chose their words carefully but also let APH hear some things he wanted to hear. If they wanted him to know where he stood they could have been VERY CLEAR about his tenuous status.

              I don’t think they were clear but I’m not jumping to that conclusion. I’m saying that either way they are at fault — misleading or miscommunication. It’s their responsibility to not have that happen.

              They let things get left up to interpretation. We don’t know for sure if was on purpose but we all agree there is motive to do it. Whether they did that intentionally or if it happened because they messed up – it’s their fault.

              ——————————–

              I’m not bashing Webb at all. I think he’s great. Doesn’t mean I’m going to believe everything he says without considering the context and pro-Michigan bias.

              • Comments: 6285
                Joined: 8/11/2015
                Lanknows
                Feb 06, 2019 at 4:27 PM

                In other words:

                My conclusion is that Michigan is at fault for how APH’s recruitment played out, regardless of anything presented above, because it’s on them to communicate clearly.

                My speculation (not conclusion) is that this was probably done intentionally based on the circumstances and direct quotes from parents.

                My opinion is that Michigan shouldn’t do this sort of thing again.

              • Comments: 3844
                Joined: 7/13/2015
                Feb 06, 2019 at 7:25 PM

                I really don’t care that much to argue every little point of this. I have lots of things to do. We disagree. Oh well.

    • Comments: 400
      Joined: 12/24/2016
      INTJohn
      Feb 05, 2019 at 11:05 PM

      Wait a minute………..
      IF Sam Webb has credible info regarding this how did he get it? The only place it could have come from would be the staff………. right?

      Wouldn’t this be a recruitng violation? If the staff is leaking info regarding this situation to someone like Sam Webb?

      So now I want to know where Webb got this info and who on Harbaughs staff is feeding this to him either directly or now indirectly – thru maybe someone else who obviously would need to have direct access to/with Harbaugh’s staff.

      Otherwise how can Webb justify it as credible…………INTJohn

  9. Comments: 3844
    Joined: 7/13/2015
    Feb 06, 2019 at 9:22 AM

    The poor kid with no other Power 5 offers and no other choices just signed with Power 5 Kansas…

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 06, 2019 at 11:46 AM

      Good to see him land on his feet at a quality school and respectable program.

      Validates that he was wanted by other quality programs (which is what his parents said). Not a huge stretch to think that Michigan might not have been able to land him with only a gray-shirt offer, had it been clearly communicated that way.

      Another miscommunication. As with Swenson, in the end it ended working out OK for the kid. I still think it’s bad press the program doesn’t need and potentially damaging for relationships and perceptions with bigger fish recruits.

  10. Comments: 3844
    Joined: 7/13/2015
    Feb 06, 2019 at 7:36 PM

    My big question to anyone who argues that this is inappropriate:

    Let’s change the situation just a tiny bit and say that Shea Patterson got injured, Brandon Peters transferred, Joe Milton was healthy and available, Dylan McCaffrey wasn’t recovered from his broken collarbone, and Cade McNamara didn’t qualify. With just one healthy QB available (Joe Milton) and a shortage of scholarships, would you be okay with Michigan saying, “Hey, Amauri, we’re going to honor your scholarship offer and just roll this season with Joe Milton and a bunch of walk-ons at QB”?

    I’m guessing a lot of people out there would be like, “Look, I know this really sucks, but Michigan needs a QB or two, so they need to axe Pesek-Hickson and try to get Virginia Tech’s Josh Jackson or Clemson’s Kelly Bryant.” You don’t want to go into a season with no options at QB, and you also don’t want to go into a season with huge holes on the defensive line.

    • Comments: 1863
      Joined: 1/19/2016
      je93
      Feb 06, 2019 at 9:37 PM

      Good point. Still doesn’t account for miscommunication.
      I am not bashing Webb, but I looked a few places and no insider or recruiting blog ever hinted this was only a gray shirt offer. Webb even talked up the kid’s potential upon commitment, and when he didn’t send in the LOI. My assumption is, if it were only a Grey shirt offer, it would have been reported as such, similar to last year’s Kicked and this year’s kid from ohio

      Happy the kid landed on his feet, but hope the program a root for can clear up misunderstandings like this in the future

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Feb 07, 2019 at 10:06 AM

        Exactly. The kid’s side of the story stands. His parents are a vet and a nurse and he’s got good academics by athlete standards. No evidence they’re lying and no motive for them to do so. Michigan has a clear motive to do what it looks like they did.

        • Comments: 3844
          Joined: 7/13/2015
          Feb 07, 2019 at 11:01 AM

          Sorry, but I don’t buy your logic here. If you can’t think of a motive for the parents to fudge the truth, then you’re not being open-minded.

          • Comments: 6285
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            Lanknows
            Feb 09, 2019 at 11:02 AM

            I don’t see the motive or benefit. I’m open to hearing them.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Feb 07, 2019 at 9:59 AM

      Yes

      • Comments: 3844
        Joined: 7/13/2015
        Feb 07, 2019 at 10:01 AM

        Fair enough. I don’t think that’s the right approach, but okay.

      • Comments: 6285
        Joined: 8/11/2015
        Lanknows
        Feb 07, 2019 at 10:14 AM

        I don’t think Michigan should pull offers, period. Circumstances always change, all the time. That’s not an excuse.

        If they want to make conditional offers — that’s fine. Just be clear about it up front. No miscommunication. Tell Swenson – hey it’s great that you’re “committed” but we need you to play better your senior year or we’ll rescind the offer. No vague language “there are certain standards that have to be met”. Explain the timeline and decision-date clearly. Tell APH he has to get a 3.0 and that it’s a gray-shirt offer. Explain the timeline and decision-date clearly.

        Of course in reality that means you don’t land some of these kids when another school is telling them they are loved and wanted and get a scholarship regardless. But hey – this is Michigan – they have the luxury of getting top talent and shouldn’t be having to stoop to what amounts to deception to get marginal recruits to sign on at the back end of the class.

        I think the program is above it. I don’t think Bo would stand for that crap. Call that Michigan Arrogance if you want.

        • Comments: 6285
          Joined: 8/11/2015
          Lanknows
          Feb 07, 2019 at 10:16 AM

          It’s an advantage to do this kind of thing. I get the self-interest. I get that Alabama does it (albeit with a much higher tier of recruits). Doesn’t matter — it’s unethical to pull scholarships on kids late in the cycle and the NCAA should do something about it.

          • Comments: 1364
            Joined: 8/11/2015
            WindyCityBlue
            Feb 07, 2019 at 10:03 PM

            What exactly is the NCAA supposed to “do”? Until a LOI is signed, there is no enforceable contract between school and player. What we now call a “commitment” is not actually a commitment in any meaningful sense of the word. Either party can walk away from the other at any time, for any reason, or for no reason at all, with no penalty. How could the NCAA change that to make things better, short of allowing players to sign binding letters of intent at any time?

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Feb 09, 2019 at 11:08 AM

              I think you can make a written commitment be a contract. Kind of like signing day. Every day should be signing day. That said, there should be a qualifier of conditions that must be upheld by both sides. If coaches leave, the player should be free to sign elsewhere. If specified academic or legal (lack of issues) are not met, the team should be free to pull the scholarship.

              An offer should be an offer. All this “verbal commitment” stuff is increasingly meaningless, as you say. I think there ways to make a commitment not be a misnomer. Not saying I have all the answers but we’re increasingly sliding away from a situation that is positive for both school and athlete to “it’s just business” and I don’t see that as a good thing. So change it.

        • Comments: 295
          Joined: 12/19/2015
          Extrajuice
          Feb 07, 2019 at 4:39 PM

          To answer Thunder’s question, I’d roll with Milton, and I don’t even think Milton is half the player many other fans think. It would suck for that season but Michigan can’t keep doing this type of recruiting.

          • Comments: 3844
            Joined: 7/13/2015
            Feb 07, 2019 at 5:49 PM

            Why “can’t” Michigan keep doing this type of recruiting? What is going to stop them from doing this once every three years? Is the NCAA going to disband Michigan’s football program? Is Warde Manuel going to fire Jim Harbaugh? Michigan CAN keep doing this type of recruiting, and there’s not really any evidence that it will hurt Michigan going forward. Low-level recruits with no offers to speak of are going to jump on the opportunity to go to Michigan; some will end up like Pesek-Hickson or Swenson (and nobody will end up feeling sorry for them for landing at Kansas and Oklahoma), and others will end up like Ronnie Bell.

            Every one of these players has landed on his feet somewhere, whether you’re talking about early offers (Antwaine Richardson, Chase Lasater, etc.) or late pulls. Nobody who’s been put in a situation like this by Michigan has ended up dropping from Michigan all the way down to going to Tiffin or Northwood or even Michigan Tech.

            • Comments: 6285
              Joined: 8/11/2015
              Lanknows
              Feb 09, 2019 at 11:09 AM

              can and should are different

  11. Comments: 295
    Joined: 12/19/2015
    Extrajuice
    Feb 07, 2019 at 7:26 PM

    You keep mentioning Ronnie Bell. He had a productive season for a true freshman but he’s most likely never going to be a high-ceiling player. Plus, you may find a guy like him once every 10 years, doesn’t mean you waste 10-20 more scholarships on guys like him trying to find a 1 diamond in the rough who may get you decent production. Use those 10-20 other scholarships on players that have higher floors.

    As far as “can’t” I think you’re taking me a bit literal. I’m trying to say they “shouldn’t”, which is entirely my opinion. Of course they “can” do whatever they want.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Feb 07, 2019 at 7:37 PM

      Not that I don’t believe you, because I don’t really know, but your argument might be reinforced by looking at the “low ceiling” players Michigan has taken and figuring out how many of them have hit. Sure, Bell might not be a superstar, but if a late-cycle offer turns into a guy who can catch 2 touchdowns per year, then I’m okay with it.

  12. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Feb 09, 2019 at 11:19 AM

    This isn’t about starz this is about treating people right. That matters IMO.

    This isn’t the biggest travesty in the world by any stretch, but it looks bad for Michigan and I think the press is damaging. I think when you see 4 and 5 star in-state recruits saying Michigan staff weren’t “real” with them – this is indicative of the kind of mentality that the APH saga exposes.

    More generally, JH has a reputation as a cut-throat competitor who can “rub people the wrong way”. I think the aggressive approach towards scholarships – treating it more like an NFL roster – goes a bit too far and is more damaging than beneficial.

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