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David Dawson (#55) |
Detroit (MI) Cass Tech offensive guard David Dawson decommitted from Michigan on Sunday morning. He had been flirting with visiting other schools – particularly Florida – for months, and he has decided to visit Gainesville this coming weekend. During the summer, quite a stink was caused when he was at The Opening in Oregon and mentioned that he wanted to visit Florida. The coaches put a stop to that flirtation at that point, and some people assumed that would be the end of it. However, Dawson’s comments about that incident and his attitude in general made me think that he would continue to be one to watch.
Head coach Brady Hoke has a policy that any players committed to Michigan shouldn’t visit other schools; if they do, their scholarship offer will be rescinded. Obviously, Dawson broke that commitment when he decided to visit the Gators. I have no problem with Hoke’s policy at all. He wants guys who are 100% committed to Michigan. At the same time, I hold no ill will toward Dawson for wanting to look around – kids making the biggest decisions of their lives should consider all their options before they’re past the point of no return. Unfortunately, he made a decision for Michigan before he was 100% sure.
As you might have concluded from my past posts and comments (see his commitment post), I’m not a huge fan of Dawson’s abilities. Obviously, some of the recruiting services disagree with me, as he’s a top 250 prospect to all four major recruiting services; I gave him a TTB Rating of 67 (a.k.a. an average Big Ten starter). I think he could have earned a starting job later in his career at Michigan, but I didn’t see a path toward stardom for him. In that respect, this shouldn’t be a huge loss for Michigan.
However, now the Wolverines will have to regroup and go after another offensive lineman to fill the class. All of Michigan’s offensive line offerees have committed elsewhere except Laremy Tunsil, who’s not considering Michigan. Lemont (IL) Lemont offensive tackle Ethan Pocic and New Lenox (IL) Lincoln-Way West offensive tackle Colin McGovern were both very high on Michigan before committing to LSU and Notre Dame, respectively. Those are the two offerees that I would keep an eye on to see if they reconsider their choices. If the coaches are expanding their recruitment, options could include Penn State decommitment Dorian Johnson, Canton (MI) Canton offensive guard Cameron Dillard, or Huber Heights (OH) Wayne offensive guard Lovell Peterson.
Michigan now has 22 commitments in the class of 2013.