A Top MSU Commit in Trouble; Reopens Recruitment

Submitted by BursleyBaitsBus on

http://247sports.com/Bolt/Robertson-not-signing-with-MSU-facing-misdeme…

Auston Robertson (#3 player out of IN, #9 WDE, #101 in the nation) was arrested in January for battery and faces misdeamenor charges. He apparently inappropriately touched a girl at school in October. He was already on thin ice after getting arrested in September for property damage.

Looks like Dantonio was willing to give him a 2nd chance, but the kid seems to have just screwed up again. Don't know about whether the offer is still there or not. 

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LSAClassOf2000

February 4th, 2016 at 6:46 AM ^

There was a tweet yesterday from this kid that came across my feed where he states that MSU is still his first choice, so perhaps the door is not completely shut yet, but as others have said, it sounds like Michigan State is going to sit and wait potentially and see what direction the legal process takes. Either way, it is difficult to read about kids with this level of apparent talent jeopardizing their futures like this over poor choices. Whether they go to a rival or not, you'd much rather see these turn into success stories, I think, instead of stories like this one.

Joined: 01/07/2011

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Wolfman

February 4th, 2016 at 2:59 AM ^

Hope the young man gets it turned around before he gets in big trouble. He'll probably have to go the juco route now and it appears that could be delayed for a year. Good luck, young man.

Joined: 07/23/2008

MGoPoints: 8259

Lie-Cheat-Steal

February 4th, 2016 at 4:18 AM ^

MSU over all those other great offers.  Didn't need to get arrested to prove he makes poor choices and has bad judgement.  

Don't worry, Dantonio will just plug another 3* in, redshirt him, get him on the freshman roid diet, and "coach em up" with chips on the shoulder like usual.  

Amazing how all those freshmen go on to gain 30 pounds of muscle and become All Big 10 or All American in their upper class years, after having offers to just Pitt, Syracuse and MSU. And shockingly, once they are off to the NFL where they actually test for shit, they all go bust.  

Joined: 10/14/2015

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alum96

February 4th, 2016 at 4:21 AM ^

My take from both Rexrode and the 247 guy is MSU is still recruiting him but waiting to see how the legal process works out on this 2nd charge.  So they didn't take him today but are in limbo pending an outcome in the case.

i.e. if he is found guilty they probably walk away, if he is not Dantonio won't care about perception and take him.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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JOHNNAVARREISMYHERO

February 4th, 2016 at 5:06 AM ^

He won't care about perception because no one in the local media will slam his ass on it.

The guy basically gets a free pass from a local media that is more fanboy than actual reporting.

This is the same guy that knows Bullough used steroids and won't report it.

Joined: 02/06/2015

MGoPoints: 4077

Qmatic

February 4th, 2016 at 6:57 AM ^

If we're speaking on Bulloughs, I know of some very serious things Riley (current MLB) was involved in while in high school that has never hit the news. I have a friend who worked at St Francis (his old hs) and told me of some of the things the family, the school, and the town covered up

Joined: 01/09/2013

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Lie-Cheat-Steal

February 4th, 2016 at 4:39 AM ^

for recruiting?  Would love to read some butt-hurt Sparty commentary....

scUM pays players, Dantonio will keep beating UM with 3 stars, etc.  Mouth breathers need to accept that their peak is a blowout loss in the playoff after a flukey year.  After their run of sustained success, the best they can do crack a top 20 class....their "big haul" for the decade, a banner year for the regional University.

 

Joined: 10/14/2015

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LSA Superstar

February 4th, 2016 at 7:11 AM ^

I love giving MSU shit as much as the next guy, but it takes guts to tell the top guy in your class that you may pull his offer because of his behavior.  Lots of schools wouldn't do that.

Joined: 10/03/2009

MGoPoints: 3323

Raback Omaba

February 4th, 2016 at 7:37 AM ^

This sucks for MSU, but sucks even more so for the kid - I guess it's entirely possible that he is just a downright bad guy and doesn't deserve his scholarship, but also possible (and more likely IMO) that he is a young, immature kid that was raised in a poor environment that didn't equip him to make the best choices in life. In my older age I have much more of a leash and perspective when it comes to this stuff - I was 17 once too and while I was raised in a very good environment, still made really dumb choices that I shake my head about today. Assuming the crime is not out of this world terrible, I have no problem with Dantonio keeping a spot open for him. Hopefully the kid gets his shit together and is able to profit off of his God given talents.

Joined: 03/07/2009

MGoPoints: 1629

EGD

February 4th, 2016 at 8:53 AM ^

Yeah, I can't tell if that reply was serious. It kind of seems like it was--but the suggestion that you are "subterfug[ing] our own program" by not condemning Dantonio for this is pretty ridiculous. And by "subterfuge," the poster seemed to mean "undermine," which is not even close to what the word "subterfuge" means.

Joined: 09/16/2009

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bronxblue

February 4th, 2016 at 9:40 AM ^

This is true, but he also has a bit of a (admittedly minor) criminal record, and I am immediately a much less accepting of people charged with sex-based crimes, even it is relatively minor compared to others. Nobody is owed a scholarship just because they have talent, and there are lots of kids who don't do these types of things.

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 172158

ElBictors

February 4th, 2016 at 8:21 AM ^

Couldn't fucking care less about state, Mork, hypocritical ethical standards or what this kid did not didn't do or the idea that we M fans should remember 'innocent until proven guilty' because we're not a jury and this isn't criminal court.

Joined: 03/27/2015

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Champeen

February 4th, 2016 at 9:00 AM ^

As much as i dislike Mike D'Antonio - this is a good move to pull his offer.  I would have though Mike (or izzo) would just suspend him for the first practice.

Good to at least see Mike do the right thing here.

Joined: 04/07/2011

MGoPoints: 15079

bronxblue

February 4th, 2016 at 9:29 AM ^

He'll be let on the team when they play UM or OSU, if history is any indication. I still remember Winston being released from Ingham County and playing UM like week or two later, then off the team by the end of the year. It's a good thing that the offer was pulled, but I'm guessing they'll keep pushing for him if at all tenable.

Joined: 11/22/2008

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Ali G Bomaye

February 4th, 2016 at 10:07 AM ^

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I support Dantonio's approach to this incident. It seems to me that he's basically said that if it turns out that Robertson did what he's accused of doing, he won't be able to sign with MSU, and if it turns out that he didn't do it, MSU will hold a scholarship for him.  It seems like Robertson may not be a standup individual, but what's the harm in waiting to find out for sure?

I think a lot of the criticism around this incident is based on past incidents (ahem, Glenn Winston) where Dantonio has turned a blind eye to actual criminal activity. But I don't really see a problem with what he's doing here.

Joined: 07/08/2008

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AZBlue

February 4th, 2016 at 10:48 AM ^

Take it fwiw but the posters on RCMB yesterday were well over 50% against bringing the kid in -- that should pretty much end the argument based on their history. In their thread it was noted:
---- it was his 3rd legal incident since committing.
---- Even though the incident with the female student was dropped it could open MSU (or any school who takes him) to a huge legal liability if something were to happen again while at college.
---- One player does not make a class, but one bad apple or special treatment for a player(s) can negatively affect a whole team.

It by far was not unanimous, but this is the same group that adamantly believes that the Glenn Winston incident etc. are shining examples of Dantonio's forgiveness and virtue.

Joined: 09/14/2008

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