Anthony Fera Decommits
Texas kicker Anthony Fera is decommitting according to GBW, and this is his profile picture on the ol' Facebooks:
Using stunning powers of deduction, I deduct that Fera is highly likely to end up at PENN SHHHHTATE.
1) Sigh.
2) With KC Lopata done at year's end and Bryan Wright struggling through a number of back and hip injuries, a kicker in this class is a must. Back around the time Fera committed, the other main candidate was Floridian Brendan Gibbons, who remains uncommitted. I would assume Michigan takes a hard look at him.
3) I don't think this one is a major blow or anything—it's a kicker—but four decommits in one year is pretty rough, and there remains the possibility of one or two more. I said it would be bumpy; Michigan really needs to hang tight through the next few months, at which point the upward swing should be apparent and the toxic media environment will ebb significantly.
4) [PSU righteousness] I CANNOT BELIEVE WHAT A SNAKE AND A LIAR JOE PATERNO IS ARGH ARGH ARGH. [/PSU righteousness]
BONUS Facebook news-like substance from Tom VanHaaren: Bryce McNeal's leaning towards Colorado and responded to an out-of-touch "Good luck at M!" wall post with "I'm not going there." Said response was phrased in such a way that made it clear he has no intention of recommitting ever-ever. He gone. Like Newsome gone.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:45 AM ^
HEY! GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT!!!??????
I'll be waiting for the apologies from all of those hack journalists who blasted Rodriguez for the Shaw and Roundtree pulls. Waiting. Still waiting........
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 AM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 AM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:54 AM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:55 AM ^
"I'm committed to Michigan," Newsome said. "Me and Bryce McNeal were going around bragging how we're going to beat Randall Carroll, who's going to USC, Cierre Wood, who's going to Notre Dame. We were bragging about things like that."
pfffffffffft
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:04 PM ^
How the hell does a kicker decommit? He doesn't like our snapping style? He doesn't like our usage of a kickoff specialist? He was intoxicated by the nightlife of Happy Valley? Our goal posts lack top-end visibility?
Seriously, I can handle all manner of decommitments without ever getting pissed off at a high school kid who saw something he liked at another school. But not a kicker. You're just a damned kicker - you should want to go to a better adademic school, because kicking field goals is kicking field goals no matter what the rest of the team is doing.
God save us from Brian Wright. And kickers.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:28 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:25 PM ^
I don't understand why, when Michigan pulls in a recruit that had perviously committed elsewhere all hell breaks loose but when the coin is flipped, all is silent on the journalistic front.
It pisses me off. I hate PSU. I hate OSU. I hate ND. I hate MSU.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 PM ^
Nate-Dawg, it's the same way with Michigan hockey. They host a few regionals, kick ass and win the regional to head to the Frozen Four, and all hell breaks loose about how unfair it is, blah blah blah. But when other schools host a regional, there's no outrage whatsoever about it being an unfair advantage. So, when Michigan does something... OUTRAAAAAAGGEEE!! When someone else does the same thing... meh.
And I'll disagree with Brian's point #3 about it not being a major blow. Remember how bad our kicking game was for a few years before Rivas came in? Heck, even the short time before Lopata established himself. I was scared of watching a PAT! Kicking something as simple as a 30 yard field goal can be the difference between winning and losing and if we start shanking kicks because we have no one capable, I can almost guarantee it'll cost us a game or two down the line. Losing out on one of the top recruits in any player's position isn't good, especially when you have no depth to fall back on.
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 PM ^
That kicker/punter from Utah had a huge impact on the outcome of our game with them.
The photo of Fera with JoePa, was that last Saturday? Our game at PSU? Perhaps the PSU fans not booing their team (which trailed at the half) swayed the impressionable young man?
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:40 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:43 PM ^
Maybe I am a little more paranoid then the rest but this just does not seem good. What is happening that is causing all these guys to jump ship? Is it that they committed too early or just the results of painful season? Say we dont land Will Johnson, would it then be fair to say this class is turning into a mediocre class at best?
I grew up used to the years where we ALWAYS got the best players, but horribly underachieved. I guess we can hope for the oppositte right?
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:06 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 PM ^
I only started paying attention to recruiting a couple years ago, but it seems that decommitments have become a much more significant issue each passing year. Not just for Michigan, but in general (though it has seemed to affect Michigan particularly hard this year). What explains this? Are coaches putting more pressure on students to commit much earlier in the recruiting process, before they have had a chance to take visits to multiple campuses? Are recruits just more schizophrenic and more apt to decommit (for whatever reason) today compared to the past? Will this make it more likely that we will see an early signing period in football in the near future, as in basketball?
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:10 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:35 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 PM ^
Dumber the school = hotter the women
October 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 PM ^
Do new coaches usually have more trouble with decommits (less of a history with the players they are recruiting). Losing McNeal, Newsome, Fera and (possibly, but probably not) Campbell in one class seems incredible.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:10 PM ^
We never had them. Until they sign the LOI, they're just window shopping.
Like the coaches say, "A verbal commitment just tells me who my competition is."
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:05 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:11 PM ^
October 22nd, 2008 at 1:47 PM ^
A PSU fan sheds some light in on of the free boards. Apparently, Fera's dad is a big PSU fan and has been nudging his kid to take a hard look at PSU. Probably a case of I committed too soon and fell in love with the first school I visited -- maybe I need to take a look. Then went to a PSU game, decommitted from M and committed to PSU.
Tough break. We NEED a kicker in this class. Hopefully schollie for the other guy and hopefully he doesn't ditch us.
October 22nd, 2008 at 2:50 PM ^
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