Beaver Gone. To Conference USA. Comment Count

Brian

Right, so that is Shavodrick Beaver's myspace and he's been flat-out lying to the mods at Rivals and Scout:

Tulsa received a quarterback commitment Friday afternoon when Shavodrick Beaver announced he'd sign at the University of Tulsa.
Beaver, a 6-foot-3, 185-pounder, is from Wichita Falls (Texas) Rider High School,and has been ranked the eighth-best quarterback in the country by rivals.com.
Beaver had given a commitment to the University of Michigan, but switched to TU after a home visit by TU coach Todd Graham.

This seems like completely farfetched crap, but Rivals has an article with quotes($) up, too. WTF? This one really bothers me because for months Beaver's been called up and has said things like "I'm ten thousand percent committed!" Man up and admit you're wavering.

Michigan now needs to scramble for a second quarterback in the class. They've been recruiting FL QB Denard Robinson and may look to get involved with WVU/Tennessee decommit Tajh Boyd; expect Eugene Smith to get a phone call, too.

UPDATE:

Comments

Elno Lewis

December 19th, 2008 at 8:54 PM ^

Earl might think so.

Does Michigan deserve this junk for raping WVU? I mean, what other school has ever got this much grief in a year?

Fock it. I am wearing some garlic cloves around my neck.

MinorforPresident

December 19th, 2008 at 8:58 PM ^

Decomitted players. This has to be unprecedented given no coaching change other than the DC this off-season. So paging Tom VH - what type of shot do we have now with possibly landing Denard Robinson who A) may be able to run the spread B) can switch to another position and get meaningful playing time because he's such an athlete or get back in the running with Tajh Boyd? I personally like Boyd much more than Beaver.

mad magician

December 19th, 2008 at 9:23 PM ^

I'd be more upset if he was going somewhere other than Tulsa. All I can really say is, whatever dude. Not cool, but whatever. I guess commitments just don't matter as much anymore. On the bright side this may give us more of an in with Gardner, right?

mad magician

December 20th, 2008 at 1:51 PM ^

I realize that. But we may just have to resign ourselves to having only one scholarship QB in this years class. The early vibe from Rivals, which makes perfect sense to me, is that the coaching staff is not going to panic and rush into signing someone they don't really want. And it may be too late to get into the game with someone we do want.

spybucks182

December 19th, 2008 at 9:25 PM ^

I have a feeling this was somewhat mutual. I think we will soon find out that this had more to due with Beaver's injury-riddled senior year than him getting cold feet or Tulsa looking more appealing than UM. I also think this decommit will come with a commit from another good dual-threat quarterback. So all of you getting your panties in a knot need to calm down.

lane

December 19th, 2008 at 9:33 PM ^

Welcome Tajh, you have 9 new messages....

BEEP
Hey Tajh, Rich Rod here. I've got some great news! We've got a scholarship for you... Give me a call. I'll try you again when I get to the office

BEEP
Tajh, my man, just got home. Did I tell you our helmets have wings? Call me!

BEEP
Hey Tajh, Rich here again. Was in the shower, thought I heard the phone ring. Call me.

BEEP
Taj, pick up pick up pick up pick up.....damn it.

BEEP
Hey Tajh, we've got TWO schollies for you if you want 'em... Hell with it - THREE! I'm pretty much here all night. Hit me back.

BEEP
Tajh, me again. I stepped out for some supplies, snake oil and all that. Thought you might have called.

BEEP
Tahj, I think your machine is.....

BEEP
Uhhhhhhh, sh@t.

mooseman

December 19th, 2008 at 9:58 PM ^

I try to maintain perspective. I recognize that Michigan is not all things to all people. Growing up in TX or VA or BFE we must be a far away concept-helmets, bighouse, whatever. I am a fan and recognize my point of view is skewed.

And yet...the all time winningest program in college football brings in the coach who is thought to be the father of the spread and a team who so obviously needs a dual threat qb AND WE CAN'T GET ONE OF THESE MOTHERFUCKERS TO STAY COMMITTED?

I hope that Tate is the man. Rick Leach with a better arm. But if I'm Newsome or Beaver or whoever, I don't see a guy that is a slam dunk. HE wouldn't scare me away. So is it something else? Pryor I can understand. We were late to that show and I think he was always going to be a MFing Buckeye. I just thought that this year, dual threats would beat a path to our door.

With all the recent turmoil, I agree with the previous poster--big punch to the balls.

mooseman

December 19th, 2008 at 10:49 PM ^

It’s called the spread — an offspring of the run-and-shoot offense popularized by Mouse Davis in 1975 while he was coaching at Portland State. The father of the most popular version currently in use is former University of West Virginia head coach and current University of Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez, who featured multiple-threat athletes as the focal point of the high-powered offense, that looks like no other. www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/article/8161/

Nov 18, 2008 ... Rich Rodriguez came to Ann Arbor as the father of the spread offense, which has transformed college football. But his first year at Michigan ... michigantoday.umich.edu/2008/11/rodriguez.php

bleacherreport.com/articles/5067-wvu-20-how-will-rodriguezs-replacement-revise-the-spread-offense/

Mar 27, 2007 ... Rodriguez is Father of the Spread www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=191403

Rich Rodriguez basically invented the spread-option offense www.freep.com/article/20071216/SPORTS06/71216048/1054/SPORTS06

There are plenty more.

GeoTracker

December 19th, 2008 at 10:28 PM ^

Big whoop. He didn't impress me as a passer.

With Beaver gone we'll have Threet and Forceier getting the lion share of the snaps. We can coach the two of them better than 3 of them. Plus with Threet slightly ahead we'll have less of last years evaluation chaos with Threet and Death.... hopefully.

Also we're in better shape to tack a QB on in 2010. If Beaver was here, we'd be relying on one of the freshmen to redshirt to keep a decent depth over the next few years.

Coloblue

December 19th, 2008 at 10:40 PM ^

I never understand why anyone worries about decommits. If there's anyone you don't want on your team, it's someone who isn't sure he wants to be there. I don't blame 18 year olds for changing their minds, and I don't take the commitment concept seriously until signing day when the letter shows up signed.

Stop thinking about "commitments". There are very few real ones until that last day. Let's see if the Beav stays at Tulsa for four years. Let's support the guys who want to play for M

Henne for Heis…

December 19th, 2008 at 11:04 PM ^

I agree with Brian in that he should have been more of a man with regards to his commitment. While it's possible he changed his mind on a dime, I doubt it. He and his family probably talked about it way before. So yeah, he's full of crap, but that's okay because he isn't at Michigan anymore. Hopefully we'll find someone to replace the future of Conference USA.

tomhagan

December 19th, 2008 at 11:40 PM ^

you were weak when Michigan was strong, and stood by your side with your major injury and surgery.

Good luck with your mended shoulder chump.

Lets hope we turn this one in to a positive....

Rush N Attack

December 20th, 2008 at 12:28 AM ^

I won't panic until AFTER signing day. It's a long ways off. (Well, not really, but...)

But this one really is shocking. I mean Tulsa? Who saw this coming? Anyone? If you would've told me we were losing Beaver to another school, and given me 70 guesses, I probably still wouldn't have come up with Tulsa.

On a side note....isn't Rodriguez supposed to be out recruiting right now? Is it possible he's getting the snake oil ready for another qb, and Beaver caught wind of it and jumped ship? I'm just grasping at straws right now on this one....

I mean Tulsa? Tulsa.

Tulsa?

We lost a committed recruit to Tulsa?

HEAD ASPLODE.

The Other Brian

December 20th, 2008 at 12:46 AM ^

Apparently this blindsided the coaches as well, so it definitely wasn't because RR found another QB.

But yeah, this whole thing stinks. Beaver was committed for eight months...and two weeks before classes start for early enrollees, with the recruiting dead period looming, he bails on us for Tulsa. Something definitely isn't right here.

Maybe this is just me, but that makes no sense to me, him wanting to go to a vastly inferior school just to be close to family. Maybe I'm just an ass, but if an elite school from across the country, like Stanford or something, called me up and said they wanted me to attend their school and they'd pay for everything, I'd say goodbye to my family and be on the first plane outta here.

Maybe it's just me I guess, but it doesn't seem like a lot of these kids have the bigger picture in mind. It seems like Beaver's only concern is playing football close to home. He's not thinking about what might happen if his football career ends prematurely, and what it would be like if it comes down to the degree he gets.

Rush N Attack

December 20th, 2008 at 12:56 AM ^

de-commit so far that just doesn't add up in my head.

Something just doesn't SEEM right. I guess, for all the reasons you just listed. Wasn't he supposedly recruiting other player to come here? Wasn't he tight with Forcier? Maybe we'll find out what really happened, but don't you normally de-commit, before you actually commit to another school? He didn't even do that.

Also, how do we know the coaches were blindsided by this? I guess that, in and of itself, is kind of scary.

The Other Brian

December 20th, 2008 at 1:03 AM ^

The "insiders" at the recruiting sites generally have a pretty good sense of what goes on behind the scenes, and this caught everybody offguard. On Wednesday, two/three freaking days ago, Rivals put out an article where Beaver said he couldn't wait to get to Michigan, and they he was definitely coming and that he didn't even have a myspace page. Nobody had the faintest clue he had visited Tulsa or that the Tulsa coaches were going to his house for a visit.

When you consider all that, it's hard to envision the coaches NOT being blindsided. This was completely out of left field, so much so that when the Tulsa World first broke the story, everybody was laughing about how the writer's credibility was shot - and then Tulsa's Rivals site put out a commitment article.

Just a really crappy situation.

tomhagan

December 20th, 2008 at 2:18 AM ^

actually Beaver had posted an anti UM message on his Myspace/Facebook a week ago, and then when asked about it...he recanted it... the signs were there and this shouldnt surprise anyone...however the timing of it, is curious, and his whole denial thing is just stupid...but the kid is not a man... Michigan football will survive

The Other Brian

December 20th, 2008 at 2:30 AM ^

He didn't just recant, he claimed he didn't have a myspace page and that someone was impersonating him.

That, combined with being committed for 8 months and suddenly realizing he needs to stay close to home and possibly sabotaging any chance we have of landing another QB, pretty much sums up what kind of character Beaver has.

wolverine1987

December 20th, 2008 at 10:35 AM ^

When Brian said the other day that although decommits are up around college football, we have a higher incidence of them than other major programs--that was before Beaver.  I think its prudent to ask ourselves why this is?  Looking at OSU, even ND and others, we are not seeing nearly this rate of kids changing.  When a kid is quoted as saying that one reason (besides Mom and home) that he was impressed by Tulsa was because the coaches talked about growing as a person, "something the Michigan coaches didn't address" it really makes me wonder if there is something missing in the culture of the program at this time. 

Laura63

December 20th, 2008 at 12:55 AM ^

"Overall: there's a ding from the McNeal departure and if Campbell doesn't rejoin the fold it'll be a huge disappointment; other than that the decommit hullaballoo is a lot of hype with little impact."

I think we just felt big impact, Brian.

Kevin Newsome, Bryce McNeal, William Cambell, Shavrodrick Beaver. Who's next? What are these recruits sensing?
Is there another Big Ten school that has seen their highest rated recruits decommit to the degree we have? Doesn't seem to be a problem at tOSU, Penn State, MSU. Nor ND. At some point, even the RR dittoheads on this board might get a clue that something just isn't right in the new regime.

tomhagan

December 20th, 2008 at 2:15 AM ^

well..."laura63" you sound quite a lot like "wvulaura" the west virginia anti-RR troll on the Freep message boards. Very much so indeed. The fact is that true UM alumni and fans are sticking through this and not panicking....certainly not trolling like the old WVU fans or OSU or whatever fans are...something smells? perhaps it is your own post blowing back in your face.

Laura63

December 20th, 2008 at 11:41 AM ^

Fact is, no other Big Ten team--or Notre Dame--has seen so many of its high-profile commits decide to decommit. As several others point out on this thread, RR's status as an offensive innovator, spread formation genius, and dynamic coach should not only be attracting the top dual-quarterback talents, but retaining their commitments. These are facts. More facts: we received commitments from Kevin Newsome and Shavrodrick Beaver and each subsequently decommited. More facts: LSU, not known for emphasizing the spread a la RR, won Russell Shepard's commitment over UM. Rivals rates Shepard as the #1 dual-threat QB.

I don't question RR's coaching record or recruiting abilities and believe that he will continue to attract top talent. Some of the top players he recruits, like Pryor and Shepard, may not choose us. That's ok--LSU the tOSU have been very successful recently, as we all know.

But given the high rate of our decomits, I'm worried that our highest-rated recruits, and maybe some prospects that we should "logically" have landed, are picking up bad vibes somewhere in the recruiting process.

mth822

December 20th, 2008 at 9:02 AM ^

I would more of the same next year as well. I think this has become part of the game in recruiting. Ultimately, Beaver has no clue, and does not care about things like Alumni Associations,weight of Degree and or quality of degree and so on. He's just a football player and hes like 17-18. Michigan needs to focus on developing Threet and Forcier now. This may in the long run be a good thing for all parties involved. Goodbye Beaver.

chitownblue (not verified)

December 20th, 2008 at 12:07 PM ^

On the "my word is my bond" line of thinking. First, let me preface by agreeing that Beaver clearly pulled the wool over our and our coaches eyes here, and clearly was playing a game of politics. Fine.

But, I'd like to remind everyone of Jordan Barnes - the lightly regarded 3-star LB that decommitted last weekend. By all accounts, the kid received the silent treatment from the coaching staff for months on end - as clear a sign as any that Michigan's football program wanted to back out of their scholarship offer - something Barnes complied with. These kids get jerked around by the schools a great, great deal - it's now starting to appear as if players are going to jerk the schools around. It happens, and neither is better than the other.

In reply to by chitownblue (not verified)

PA Blue

December 20th, 2008 at 12:16 PM ^

"verbal commitments" are a byproduct of recruiting websites. A player says to a coach, "I want to be a Wolverine and I intend to sign on LOI day" and likely means it. That gets transmitted to the (rabid) fanbase and they consider him "signed, committed, a done deal, etc..." but the reality is that things can change (and sometimes do).

There is no formal "verbal commitment" recognized by the NCAA.

In reply to by chitownblue (not verified)

The BlackHand

December 20th, 2008 at 12:45 PM ^

...I only got two things...my balls and my word...and I don't break'em for no one.

Guess I'm old-school... but you do have a point with the Jordan Barnes thing...