Hand To Alabama
Da'Shawn Hand chose Alabama over Michigan and Florida in an excruciatingly long televised announcement on NBCSN, citing the opportunity to major in civil enginering and the chance to win a national championship.
I've got nothing else. This month can't end soon enough. Please be civil in the comments, especially since it's pretty darn difficult to blame Hand given, you know, the state of things.
November 14th, 2013 at 3:02 PM ^
But my argument remains that teams are "elite" for stretches, and sometimes that can be a couple of years (like with Saban at Alabama) or even a couple of years. OSU was downright elite under Tressell, remarkably solid under Cooper, and look to be the same under Meyer. Yet do people consistently view them as elite? I'm guessing not, save for the recent run, because they lost in bowl games and their own title win is considered a bit of a fluke.
UM isn't the most elite team in the world, but I was specifically refuting the idea that Alabama is some amazing program that has always been a dominant national player. Saban has made them elite since he got there; that probably won't continue once he leaves, if you look at historical precedent. That said, kids today are totally going to see them in a different light than me.
November 14th, 2013 at 5:11 PM ^
FYI, Bear Bryant won 6 NCs total. That's pretty elite of Alabama, don't you think? Wake up Michigan fans. We are NOT an elite team. Even our last NC was SHARED!
November 14th, 2013 at 5:33 PM ^
Just leave the shared MNC out of it. As we all know, Tom Osborne got a retirement gift in 1997. Lloyd Carr and the Michigan defense won that title on the field.
November 14th, 2013 at 6:24 PM ^
I think the conference also let us down big time. I remember coming back on a bus from the Rose Bowl (Thanks Evans Scholars!!) and watching Nebraska destroy a banged up Tenn squad. I had a bad feeling that combo was going to screw us.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:31 PM ^
The sort of revisionist analysis you're forwarding that somehow the past 20 years were so awesome at Alabama is ridiculous. Saban era is historically almost unmatched but the rest of their results very, very mixed.
Michigan has actually been the more consistent program over that time but the lows and highs (particularly recently) far more epic at Alabama.
You could look it up, but why let facts get in the way.
November 14th, 2013 at 3:03 PM ^
This was my argument as well. You look at their win totals other than Saban and you'll see a decent program with a history of sanctions. To me, that's not elite.
November 14th, 2013 at 3:20 PM ^
Mike Price era...not elite, indeed.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:59 PM ^
My point is that the Saban era has dramatically altered the perception of Alabama. Before he showed up, they were a middling team with a couple of lost seasons due to sanctions. I mean, as recently as 2003 they were a legit 4-9, and hadn't lost less than 3 games since 1994.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Alabama_Crimson_Tide_football_seasons
UM hasn't be amazing, but Saban turned them into another beast in the minds of recruits, and I recognize that. But your findings are heavily weighed (rightfully so to your argument) by Saban. And remember to, some of those SEC years were turrible (like the Big 10 is now). And maybe this is just me, but I also think a program that has multiple sanctions should be held accountable for that when it comes to their "eliteness" because, well, they apparently had to cheat significantly enough that a bunch of goobers in the NCAA enforcement office found them out.
November 14th, 2013 at 4:54 PM ^
Not even counting 2 of the 4 times they've had the games taken away by the NCAA. That's 10 out of 20 years that they've had at least 5 losses. Some would say that's half. That's a program that was bumbling around and cheating most of the time followed by maybe the greatest coach of all time having a historic run at a school (and probably later getting slammed for cheating.)
November 14th, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
If he started paying attention to college football 10 years ago, at age eight, in Virginia of all places, he wouldn't care about our history. That's as much SEC territory as it is ACC or Big East. We're not an elite program anymore. We weren't elite when LC left. And we didn't close the deal in 2006. Once OSU started handing it to us on a yearly basis and we couldn't escape September without a loss, we lost elite status. We have a good brand name that kids recognize, which gets them on campus. But UCLA is a good brand name in college hoops and they haven't sniffed elite status for a long time.
Alabama has three national titles in four years, with a demolishing of Sparty in the middle of that. Every year, they're churning out first round draft picks. Best team in the most adored/hated conference in the country. And they're Alabama's professional football team. To top it off, they have Nick Saban. I don't think 1997 registers with someone who was a couple years old at the time.
November 14th, 2013 at 3:04 PM ^
This I totally agree with the fact that Alabama's recent success matters to a bunch of kids, so I'm not trying to argue that right now they aren't an elite program. My only point has been that people skew toward the recent history when in totality Alabama has been an average program before Saban showed up.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
What ever happened to the Nick Saban to Texas hysteria? Do we think that was just a lot of noise?
November 14th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
That was Saban's agent doing his job. He can extract more money out of Bama with the Texas threat.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:43 PM ^
Even if it were to happen, you'd expect Nick Saban to act like that absolutely is not happening... until it does.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
nothing more, but everyone else please feel to overreact... good luck to the kid and the civil engineering degree.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
nothing more, but everyone else please feel to overreact... good luck to the kid and the civil engineering degree.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
Well this isnt over if Saban leaves for Texas in January.....
November 14th, 2013 at 1:57 PM ^
It is a ploy for more money. A la Les Miles.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:30 PM ^
They're more desperate than Alabama. All that money left over from the Pony Express scandal will find a new home in Saban's bank account by February.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
Oh well. Seems like an awesome kid and wish him well.
Is anything good going to happen the rest of this season?
November 14th, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
It has to end at some point.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
Season ends.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
I wish I could share your optimism. It feels likw this operation is in a tailspin.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:26 PM ^
You did it. You found the impossible silver lining.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
classic.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:34 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:46 PM ^
...finds your taste in neckwear questionable.
November 15th, 2013 at 8:11 AM ^
The expression of the girl on the right is just as fitting. That's exactly what I looked like during the announcement.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:21 PM ^
due to the incompetence of FUNK and BORGESS. Seriously. They've made our program look like garbage this year. I would not be suprised if we lose Peppers and a couple of others b4 national signing day.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
Burn the whole thing down!
November 14th, 2013 at 1:22 PM ^
I am excited for Thanksgiving. So I can fight my depression with food.
100% worst month ever is right.
November 14th, 2013 at 2:17 PM ^
@MGoShoe @SamWebb77 We have pints of ice cream if you need comfort food to get you through the day.
— Meijer (@meijer) November 14, 2013
November 15th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^
I love him. He's so obviously one of us.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:22 PM ^
this team better win Saturday
November 14th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
Would have been pretty shocked if he'd still been UM-bound after seeing this overhyped team drop three out of four. Obviously we outside the program have no clue what's going on inside the Fort, but to the external observer it's hard to discern what exactly the coaching staff's plan is, or if they even really have one.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
Be civil, like... like... civil engineering? *sad*
November 14th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
That gif from Ace's post is pretty much everything right now, huh?
November 14th, 2013 at 1:24 PM ^
Hand's decision was just that - Hand's decision. I'd love to see him in maize and blue (or highlighter yellow and blue if you want to be accurate), but I respect his decision. I hope we all will.
So good luck, Da'Shawn. I hope your career at Alabama goes well.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:57 PM ^
Stop this nonsense, get on twitter, and completely bash the 18 year old kid. Now!
November 14th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
But the crystal ball was 88%...
November 14th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
I hope his new team loses all their games (but it probably won't, so I don't have to feel bad for wishing that).
November 14th, 2013 at 1:25 PM ^
I read that as "Please be civil engineering in the comments."
*dies*
November 14th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^
Remember, remember, the Fifth Fourteenth of November
Quote is for Saban - not Hand. Such hate boiling over about him - but wish Hand the best. Good kid with a bright future.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:26 PM ^
...the world is not ending. Michigan already has some pretty good defensive linemen on the team and in the pipeline. I like Hand as a player, but I don't think he's a program-changing player. If Hoke is going to lead Michigan to greatness, he'll still do it.
The defense is good enough already to win some championships, by the way (Big Ten or BCS). The offense is the questionable part, in my opinion.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:28 PM ^
You can scheme around D linemen in a way that you can't with DB's. If i could pick one, I'd have Peppers.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:34 PM ^
thanks for talking me off the ledge, guys!!!
/looks down cliff, still ponders jumping anyhow
November 14th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^
Woulda been sweet for both but, if you had to choose
November 14th, 2013 at 1:40 PM ^
Magnus,
I like you. I really do. You're one of my favorite posters on this site, but I think for me today has nothing to do with schematics or logical thinking.
It has everything to do with the picture of a guy who has been favored to come to Michigan for months and months - the #1 player in the country none the less - at the zenith moment for program, picking NOT MICHIGAN. its the emotional feel that you get when another top recruit holds out until the end to pick NOT MICHIGAN.
knowing that Alabama was like, well its cool if he doesn't come here. And Michigan being like WE DESPERATELY NEED HOPE! and then Hand picks, NOT MICHIGAN.
We're desperate for some glimmer of hope. Whether its Al or Brady at least admiting that there are real issues. Or Braxton Miller getting a really bad cough...... Something...... instead we get #HandPicks NOT MICHIGAN
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