Erik Swenson (image via 247 Sports)
EDIT: Bumped from yesterday since this has been made a big deal. Also, I wrote three posts yesterday and didn’t have time to write one for today. Also also, Kiante Enis has also decommitted but it will be a bit before I can get that post up.
Downers Grove (IL) South offensive tackle Erik Swenson decommitted from Michigan on Wednesday. He had previously been committed to Michigan since late November of 2013, which was at the end of his sophomore season and during Brady Hoke’s second-to-last year. So . . . that was a long time, and in fact, he was the longest-tenured Michigan commit. (Believe it or not, the new holder of that crown is QB Brandon Peters, who committed just before the spring game last year.)
Swenson is a 6’7″, 305 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #31 offensive tackle, and #322 overall. He was recently named an All-American by Tom Lemming. He also has offers from Illinois and Northwestern, and a couple Crystal Ball picks have come in recently for Northwestern. That is not a bad backup plan.
However, rumors have been swirling for a little while that Michigan was not in love with his development up through his senior year. I can confirm this sentiment based on looking at his senior film. He seems to be a kid who peaked early when he reached 6’7″ and about 285 lbs. as a sophomore, but his athleticism has not continued to develop. If you look at the highlights below, he is slow off the ball. He does not bend well. Against mediocre competition, someone his size with that recruiting profile should be burying guys into the ground. Sure, there are a few kids who end up on the ground, but not because he finishes them – it’s mostly because they’re outweighed by 100 lbs. Take a look for yourself:
Based on those highlights, I think his commitment to Michigan may have been artificially propping up his recruiting rankings. That’s not the #322 recruit in the country.
Hit the jump for more.
On the other hand, I feel for Swenson. He committed to Michigan, stuck with his commitment (until now), and was excited about the future of Michigan football under Jim Harbaugh. He spent about 26 months committed to one of the premier universities in the country (academically and athletically), and now he appears to be headed for somewhere of a lower profile. That has to be rough on a 17- or 18-year-old kid.
From Michigan and Jim Harbaugh’s perspective, I understand it. Brady Hoke proved that the Michigan job was too big for him, and there’s a decent chance that one of the problems was with his identification of offensive line talent. Now that Michigan has had four years of Brady Hoke recruiting, four years of Brady Hoke coaching, and one year of Jim Harbaugh coaching, and the offensive line still isn’t anything special, this is a concern not to be overlooked. Harbaugh built up the Stanford program and coached in the NFL. He knows what he wants, and Swenson apparently isn’t it. Swenson was also given the chance to prove himself in his senior season, and as I mentioned above, I don’t think that mission was accomplished.
Still, it’s a bad look for the Wolverines. Signing day is two weeks away, and the kid ostensibly has two weekends to find a new destination. He could have used all five of his official visits, and now he’ll only have a chance to use two unless he carries his recruitment past National Signing Day. Essentially yanking a scholarship away from a kid who was committed to you for over two years is never going to play out well. And Michigan is not in a position to defend itself, since talking about high schoolers a) seems petty and b) is a recruiting violation before a NLI is signed. So if media members or the Swensons themselves say anything bad about Harbaugh and Michigan, the football staff just has to turn the other cheek.
The old saying goes that “Winning cures everything.” It would be great to see Michigan take every kid who ever committed to Michigan, to get everyone through the Clearinghouse, and to win national championships. Unfortunately, that’s not how these things work. Michigan is not the only school to have some egg on the face in the recruiting world, and they join a list of teams that includes Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, etc. It’s not a coincidence that those teams have all won national championships in recent years. I do hope that Michigan avoids events like this in the future, but ultimately, Swenson was not wanted by Michigan’s staff. Once a player signs an NLI, he’s given a scholarship for four years. That’s a lot of time to devote to a player that Michigan thinks will stay on the sideline. It’s better for him and for Michigan for Swenson to go somewhere he’s wanted. It would just be nice if these things were sorted out a little earlier in the recruiting process.
Michigan is now down to 22 commits in the 2016 class. That includes just three offensive linemen: OG Michael Onwenu, OG Ben Bredeson, and OT Devery Hamilton. The coaches recently made contact with Georgia OT E.J. Price and hosted OT Stephen Spanellis on an official visit, so attempts are being made at adding another lineman.
You need to login in order to vote
Oooh….kinda scary with only three OL with verbals. You think it’s possible for Owenu to de-commit and then we’re left with only two in the class? I’m hoping that there’s others lined up that we don’t know about…
You need to login in order to vote
We have to take more Olmen… absolutely..
You need to login in order to vote
Hmmm…..
https://twitter.com/SamWebb77/status/689884531629826048
You need to login in order to vote
I don’t think Onwenu will decommit. But you never know.
You need to login in order to vote
I also looked at the film, and yes, he definitely looks sloppy and does not dominate as he should. He’s not a four-star offensive tackle.
I read that Harbaugh was willing to give him a scholarship to Michigan regardless but told him that he’d stay on the sidelines with his development thus far. I hope this plays out well — hopely Swenson can find a reputable program to go to and does not trash Michigan to the media. I agree that Harbaugh should’ve gotten this out of the way quicker, though. I think the timing is a mistake on Michigan’s part. I also remember Ondre Pipkins trashing Michigan saying Harbaugh wanted his scholarship or something — Harbaugh has to get smoother in dealing with things like this — this might hurt M’s reputation.
And as for IDing OL talent — Harbaugh’s Stanford featured great O-lines that often destroyed people at the LOS by the 4th year of Harbaugh regime. That’s what Harbaugh wants, and I guess Swenson did not fit into his scheme. Harbaugh should’ve realized this sooner and should’ve settled this already.
You need to login in order to vote
Where did you read that Harbaugh sais that he’d honor the scholarship? From what I read, it was Drevno who told him that his scholarship was pulled, and when you asked for Harbaugh he was left hanging. Total douche move on the staff’s part.
You need to login in order to vote
Rivals has been reporting that Swenson was asked by Harbaugh to work out for him. Swenson refused and then Harbaugh looked at his film and warn the kid ahead of time that if he didn’t improve, his scholarship would be dropped and that is what exactly happened. The timing of this decision was off, but I understand what happened.
You need to login in order to vote
Ohhh a Notre Dame douche already opened fire on Michigan over Swenson:
http://michigan.247sports.com/Bolt/Notre-Dame-senior-athletics-official-calls-out-Michigan-42995007
You need to login in order to vote
” there’s a decent chance that one of the problems was [Hoke’s] identification of offensive line talent.”
That’s pretty safe to say, especially considering the rumors that one of the returning starters won’t be invited back for a 5th year, in favor of Raulerson/Newsome and the chance to offer a scholarship to a recruit.
I don’t mind what happened to Swenson but I mind WHEN it happened. They should have let him know in December if they didn’t like his development/performance.
You need to login in order to vote
I agree that WHEN is the problem. The staff should have started to realize by mid October that he wasn’t developing as well as they wanted and let him no by late November that there wasn’t likely going to be a spot for him. He should have been given at least 2 months to try to set up officials and make backup plans. Instead they strung him along and drop him at the last moment. I’m sure he’ll be able to find somewhere else to go, but how many schools have already filled their spots for the OL by now which limits his options somewhat?
You need to login in order to vote
We’re losing a lot of players–including OL–after 2016. We need scholly room, and those from the 2015/16 class have to be able to compete in 2017. If Swenson didn’t convince the staff he was up to it, I do not blame them for rescinding. It’s much better than plummeting back to 7 wins in 2017.
As the father of two athletic sons, I would prefer to know sooner, but we don’t (and likely won’t) know what kind of discussions took place.
You need to login in order to vote
I agree that the “when” is the problem. You also have to wonder whether the chatter about his development is the full reason or whether Michigan suddenly felt the crunch of the 28 player limit and/or has another better prospect coming.
Recruiting is a nasty business, but what matters is communication. If Harbaugh was up front with him the entire time about his status, what they wanted to see from him, and the odds of him seeing the field then I can’t complain too much.
As it is, this makes me very uncomfortable. This entire recruiting cycle has been awkward with the early offers to no name guys, the late attrition, etc. I just want to get it over with and I hope that even with winning I never feel ok about coaches doing this type of stuff.
You need to login in order to vote
I don’t get the feeling that Michigan has a better player coming in Swenson’s place. I think they figure they might as well use the scholarship elsewhere; maybe they don’t see a need to have him taking that scholarship for four years.
You need to login in order to vote
I don’t mind a little house cleaning this year, to clear out guys who have not been pulling their weight, and to get the best possible recruiting class we can in place, but it’s not something I’d like to see us make a habit of or get a reputation for. If it’s just this year, winning will make people forget about it, but if it keeps happening, that’s not good for the program.
You need to login in order to vote
Here is my take, I think that the film shows proof that Swenson did not try to improve and that is understandable. Was the timing odd? I agree, it should have been dealt with sooner, not two weeks before NSD. I am letting this slide because Harbaugh has been busy for several days on the recruiting trail and he was not doing anything wrong. I do feel for the kid, no doubt about it, but he failed to take a hint that he was no longer wanted by Michigan and that’s on him, not on Harbaugh. To me, both Harbaugh and Drevno have dropped hints that Swenson should look at other schools, but Swenson and his coach ignored the hints. Both sides learned a lesson and I strongly believe that Harbaugh is aware of the backlash that he got for this situation. I have faith that Harbaugh won’t let this happen again, he is smart to know that.
You need to login in order to vote
Harbaugh seems like a guy who is straight forward. I do not understand this “hinting” thing. Why can’t the Michigan coaches just be direct with Swenson that his spot in the class may not be there as they are not happy with his senior year development? I also do not buy the excuse that Harbaugh was too busy to communicate with the kid. This is way too important not set aside some time for. As a guy who jeers the SEC coaches for doing the same thing, I have to do the same for Harbaugh. I know that winning cures all ills but if this becomes a pattern, I will be an unhappy supporter of Michigan regardless of Harbauh’s Win Loss record.
You need to login in order to vote
H e was asked by Harbaugh to work out for him and he refused and they looked at his film and told him ahead of time that he needed to improve or his scholarship would be drop.
You need to login in order to vote
Just a day ago one of the other recruits said that Coach told him he had to work his ass off and pass several other players to ‘earn’ playing time…. Why would they not have had the same conversation with Swenson? Keep in mind Jim and staff cannot comment on the situation, and i doubt they will even after Swenson is signed somewhere else. Jim offered to honor Falcon’s scholarship, but not as an athlete because he had already gone thru two knee surgeries before he graduated HS. Jim offered to honor Pipkin’s scholarship, but didn’t think continuing to play was a good idea after knee surgery, neck problems and two concussions in one season….. A guy who would do that isn’t likely to treat Swenson the way that Swenson is painting it, in my opinion. An article out of Columbus reported that urban liar pulled scholarships from 6 players last year because they has injuries ending their football careers. The article didn’t say that they were offered scholarships to finish their education, just not athletic scholarships. I think a lot of people want to throw mud at Jim because he ISN’T a dirtball recruiter like saban, meyer, etc At lease thats my opinion.
You need to login in order to vote
I have not made up my mind as to whether Harbaugh is in the same class of recruiter as Saban/Meyer. I think the best picture we can paint on Harbaugh is (1) He told all the recruits when they committed that their space in Michigan is not safe. They have to continue to work their ass off or their space is going to be taken up by someone better (2) When enrolled at Michigan, they have to continue to fight for their place in the program or else they will be asked to leave the program. I think alot of Michigan fans would be OK with the above scenario. I have my doubts if this is indeed the case. There are a lot of too many disgruntled former recruits (Swenson/Falcon) and players (Pipkins). Even if the best scenario I painted above is true, I still have an issue with it. This is college football. Not the NFL. I don’t like the “you have got to be the best or you are out”. I keep making the comparison to John Beilein. He has a much smaller roster space but I don’t see him churning his rosters as soon as he finds a better guy to replace him. He let the guy finish his four years of college before parting ways. That is how a college program is supposed to be run. That might not bring us a national championship team but that allows us to hold our head high for doing things the right way. Afterall, Michigan is a place of education where we often tell the kids that winning is not above all else.
You need to login in order to vote
That’s a lot of assumption without detailed facts.
I’d rather not have Michigan football go through more seasons like 2008-10 & 2013-14.
In order to compete, the Coaches need top notch competitors; if identified early that a commit is lacking, why not rescind a non-binding agreement?
You need to login in order to vote
Exactly. These are 18-22yr old kids, and they are not going to think 2~3 years ahead when they get upset. I am pretty sure the competition part was pretty clear to recruits and players.
You need to login in order to vote
They actually can comment on the situation, they just can’t OFFICIALLY comment on it. The relationship of the insiders like Sam Webb is give and take. The program/coaching staff use people like Webb to tell their side and mitigate the damage when things get negative. They also require them to keep quiet on sensitive matters. That’s the price for access.
People acting like the coaches’ hands are really tied here aren’t making an honest assessment. It’s not like Harbaugh is going to shed light on the situation once the kids are all signed and he’s allowed to talk about them. It’s more ‘won’t say anything’ than can’t.
The Swenson, Pipkins, and Falcon situations are all the same thing fundamentally. Michigan offered them a scholarship to play football AND attend school. Not offering them BOTH is Michigan going back on what they promised. When these kids – who are football players AND students, BOTH – don’t get what they were offered and can get it elsewhere the outcome is pretty obvious. Swenson was offered a walk-on spot, Falcon and Pipkins medical scholarships. That’s not what they signed up for.
The excuses being made out there are a pretty weak IMO. Lets just say what it is; a cut-throat business.
The Swenson situation is defensible if it had been communicated in the fall. The coaches (via Webb) are saying it was, but clearly Swenson wasn’t getting the message and there’s a lot of documented history of Harbaugh taking the approach that not communicating with recruits implies they’re headed in a different direction. In that case, the recruit should be looking around for other options. The problem is the kids don’t necessarily know that or get the message. Most of these people are not recruitniks or professionals, they are kids going through this for the first time.
I think people just want some honesty. If you’re going to pull a guy’s scholarship offer (for football!) be it due to injury, lack of performance, or bad breath, you should just let the guy know that.
If you believe in karma you can make some associations here… Michigan boots Pipkins off the team and then gets nailed by DL injuries that play a huge role in the OSU stomping. Michigan says see-ya to Swenson and another linemen (Elliot) decides to check out Austin. Michigan lets Falcon go and replaces him with Walker, whose stock plummets (not that that means anything).
Michigan football is being cut-throat. They just are. Anyone denying it sounds like a fool. Maybe you are OK with it and maybe you are not, but it’s how it is right now and it’s unprecedented. Not the way that Hoke, Rodriguez, Carr, or Schembechler did things.
You need to login in order to vote
Actually you have an opinion, as do others.
Anyone who doesn’t know the difference between an opinion and a fact, is a fool.
How did Hoke handle the sexual assault charges against Gibbons? How about when Hoke lied about the reason Gibbons didn’t travel with team for the BWW Bowl. When you say “Not the way that Hoke did things” it doesn’t really raise the bar very high.
Of course, that’s only my opinion.
You need to login in order to vote
Yup. Losing Gibbons probably meant that Hoke loses an extra game or two. Hoke repeatedly lied his way around, too.
You need to login in order to vote
If you’re talking to me, I didn’t say anything about facts or opinions.
Pulling scholarships from recruits and how Hoke decided to protect his players aren’t the same thing. They are both ethical issues but if you are criticizing Hoke it would be for being too generous/lenient with his players. Harbaugh approach has been different.
Like I said, you might like it and you might not, but it’s very different. Call that a fact or don’t.
You need to login in order to vote