decommits
antwaine richardson

Antwaine Richardson Decommits Comment Count

Brian

6_2929879[1]

Antwaine Richardson has decommitted from Michigan's class.

While most of the decommits Michigan has suffered over the past couple weeks were a long time coming, Richardson's comes out of left field. I had not heard a peep about his status being in question; in fact I heard the coaches really liked him as late as a few weeks ago. We were not accounting for a potential departure from him in our best guess list.

So… Michigan has 20 commits in this class and we are still expecting a couple more decommits. In addition, Nate Johnson and Jordan Elliott are shaky. Buckle up, it's a wild ride to Signing Day.

Comments

abcd123

January 21st, 2016 at 4:16 PM ^

Luckily, we won't have too wait too Long. Sometimes, a bump in the road comes, and you just have to hope that you get over that Hill, even if it looks like a 50/50 shot. Sometimes, you have to just take something that you've already received, and be Freddy to put it in the corner where you need it when that time comes.

Joined: 01/19/2016

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alum96

January 21st, 2016 at 4:25 PM ^

Yes he was.

Damn this one stings - I truly hope the Swenson stuff is not spooking anyone.  The Ambry Thomas tweet is bugging me and guys like Onwenu retweeting Swenson's departure tweets, etc.

This is the guy who impressed the coaches basically on 1 leg as he was injured in camp. 

And the 2017 DB depth chart becomes ever more strained...

Joined: 04/28/2012

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Rabbit21

January 21st, 2016 at 5:33 PM ^

I think the common thread between both of them is that they are Michigan St. targets and are probably getting their ears filled with ant-Michigan stuff right now.  I have a feeling the coaches will get on this and straighten everything out, but a lifeline was definitely handed to Groucho Mark and his legions of doom.

Joined: 11/12/2009

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True Blue Grit

January 21st, 2016 at 4:01 PM ^

probably ever seen in the several weeks before and including NSD.  And it's possible we may not even be done at the end of NSD.  CB's, LB's, and Tackles are critical positions in this class that we can't afford to fall short on (I'd think at least). 

Joined: 01/21/2011

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Jack Be Nimble

January 21st, 2016 at 4:04 PM ^

Now I'm sort of wondering whether this is the new normal.  Is every January going to be a wild free for all or is this largely an artifact of being Harbaugh's first full class?

Joined: 10/03/2014

MGoPoints: 1806

alum96

January 21st, 2016 at 4:34 PM ^

You know our LB concerns going into 16?  Those will be the DB concerns going into 17.

All 6 of our "top DBs" will be gone en masse post 2016 (if you assume Peppers declares early like any sane person)

The depth chart of 2017 will be led by grizzled veterans Canteen and Brandon Watson...followed by Kinnel and Cole and Washington.  i.e. every job is up for grabs in the secondary. 

We just need bodies out there to account for normal flameouts, attrition, injuries, etc at this point.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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UM Indy

January 21st, 2016 at 4:10 PM ^

Don't want to see anyone go, but I must say it's a helluva lot more exciting coming down the recruiting stretch with Jimmy around than it has been in ... ever.



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Joined: 03/05/2009

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stephenrjking

January 21st, 2016 at 4:12 PM ^

Weeks like this are weeks that I wish I didn't know how the sausage was made.

Just dropped some thoughts on the thread when this went up, so of course the thread is now sidelined. Short version:

This is obviously Harbaugh's plan going in. Get early lower-ceiling guys that he likes on soft commits. Commits both parties are free to shop around on. That gives him players to go to; if he finds better players (and he looks diligently for them) the spot might not be there. Now, it's not necessarily horrible for the early commits, IF they know this is the deal. A mid-range team would feel good about getting a guy that Jim Harbaugh liked, after all.

But that's how Harbaugh is making the sausage. And he's in play for a lot of top guys. Now, it's going to hurt, pretty badly, if Michigan whiffs on a few of these and winds up filling the class out with guys no better than the guys that decommitted. But Harbaugh is shooting for the moon.

And this is the opposite attitude to the previous regime's approach that bequeathed Harbaugh with Shane Morris, Wilton Speight, and a smoking crater to compete under center.

Joined: 03/15/2012

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RDubs

January 21st, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^

I don't think necessarily obvious that this was Harbaugh's plan going in. With judging one way or the other, it could be realistic that he thought the process would take longer and that the early commits were guys he wanted to build with early. The season exceeded most outsider expectations. Doing so may have opened up doors to recruits that seemed unrealistic to the staff originally. 

If the 2017 class is handled the same way, then you can say it's a pattern. To say otherwise is rushing to slap a label on something. We may see a very different and more selective strategy with the next class. 

Joined: 09/09/2008

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stephenrjking

January 21st, 2016 at 4:39 PM ^

I suppose this is a possible interpretation, but that makes this less savory to me, more like a guy ditching his date because some cuter girls are flirting with him a bit. Given what some of us thought when the guys signed, that Harbaugh was overloading on lower-ranked guys, I have to believe that he knew that there were bigger fish available. After all, he was in on #1 overall Gary from early on.

I will always have a hard time not gravitating to the semi-objective interpretation that fits my Michigan bias, and to me the scenario I outlined above is the best possible interpretation given the facts in hand. There are certainly possible explanations that are worse. I have reason to believe that Harbaugh is intelligent enough and ethical enough not to engage in that sort of thing, but who knows?

Joined: 03/15/2012

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GoBlueNorth

January 21st, 2016 at 4:59 PM ^

I always find your posts refreshing, intelligent and well thought out and for that I thank you.  You even think it's okay for people on here to have different opinions and yet share the same passion and again, I thank you.  Unfortunately we will ikely never know what happened in this case and it won't be the last time that we as fans (some of us) sit and cringe or at the very least scratch our heads.   I for one appreciate the intelligent dialogue.

Joined: 06/03/2011

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Blue Durham

January 21st, 2016 at 5:13 PM ^

the same strategy that he used while at Stanford, which is not totally unexpected. This was pretty much covered by Brian about a year ago. Perhaps a difference now is that he didn't quite anticipate attracting more interest in higher ranked guys, thus resulting in higher attrition on the earlier commits, or so it seems.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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Benoit Balls

January 21st, 2016 at 6:52 PM ^

if you're middling recruit, I'm sure the Michigan offer helps get you on the radar at other schools, so they do get some benefit, albeit indirectly. I'm not saying thats Harbaughs plan (to help middling recruits raise their stature) but it doesnt hurt. if this were the old days where once a recruit was "committed" other schools would lay off, thinking the race was over, that'd be a different story, but from what I gather every school recruits whoever they want, verbals be damned, all the way until the fax machine warbles

Joined: 11/27/2010

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CommodityTrader

January 21st, 2016 at 4:18 PM ^

The more I think about and watch this process the more I see Harbaugh's MANTRA all over it.  I believe that these players are competing for their spots at Michigan and that they are being told where they are on the depth chart based on their current skills.  Thus their senior year often requires growth and improvement.  When that doesn't happen, then other players and prospects, with better skills may get offered their spots.  Competition

 

Now if this process is transparent between the coaches and the prospect and if communication is positive and ongoing, then I think this is a great process and will get us the best talent possible.  Plus will get us players that know what to expect when they arrive.  If the process is murky, opaque and poorly communicated then I expect better of Harbaugh.

From what I've seen of Harbaugh and the staff, I expect that this process is robust and in Harbaugh I trust,

 

Joined: 11/20/2012

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Rabbit21

January 21st, 2016 at 5:11 PM ^

Damn, I remember when Sam Webb reported on his commitment and he sounded like an exciting get with a lot of potential.  This is really a shame and I hope it's not a harbinger of other guys getting spooked.

Joined: 11/12/2009

MGoPoints: 30303

Toasted Yosties

January 21st, 2016 at 5:51 PM ^

Everybody and their mom is jumping on him at this point, fans from a variety of teams. I saw a OSU fan on twitter spending 5 hours retweeting various talking heads around the college football world. 5 HOURS! Is it run-of-the-mill hate or fear? Here's hoping the recruits aren't swayed by the noise. Haven't seen so much antagonism towards a coach like this. Not even the likes of Saban or Meyer. Quite a day.

Joined: 06/05/2013

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