Caleb Stacey Decommits
I'll have more on the ramifications of this during the week, but 2012 OL Caleb Stacey announced on Twitter today—and it has been confirmed by multiple sources—that he has switched his commitment from Michigan to Cincinnati:
Before it gets out from anyone but me I have decided to decommitt from Michigan to stay home and play ball at the University of Cincinnati
— Caleb W. Stacey (@Caleb_Stacey) January 21, 2012
An assistant coach at Cincinnati Oak Hills, Stacey's high school, told The Wolverine that Stacey wanted to stay closer to home ($), and that was the reason for the switch. Michigan now has 23 commits in the current class with room to take up to five more players, and they are among the finalists for three offensive line recruits: Josh Garnett, Jordan Diamond, and Alex Kozan. It's feasible that the coaching staff could take all three, bringing the total to seven offensive linemen in the class, if they desired to do so.
I hope you all will join me in wishing Caleb the best of luck at Cincinnati.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:21 PM ^
I mean, I go to UC, so I guess I should be excited to have him for the home team, but at the same time, man, "This is Michigan, fergodssake".
However, good on him for making the right decision for his life instead of trying to force himself into a bad situation.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:23 PM ^
Not really surprised though. With all the top guys we are after, Stacey is a 3* that could potentially struggle to see the field. I still wish he was in the class, and sorry to see him go, but those are the breaks.
Frankly, I expected something like this (not Caleb specifically), and glad it happened well before NSD.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:25 PM ^
Ditto. Best of luck to Caleb. Probably a better situation for him as a player.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^
I was actually really excited about seeing this kid develop as a Wolverine...but the Heart wants what the Heart wants, Good Luck sir
January 21st, 2012 at 6:27 PM ^
Makes sense, he wants to play instead of being a depth player. Hope we can get a playmaker at another position. We suddenly have 5-6 spots available with Stonum's departure and this decommit. Hopefully we can make a splash with some big time players.
January 22nd, 2012 at 10:54 AM ^
Stonum's departure does not effect the amount of scholarships available this year.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:30 PM ^
I hope Caleb has a fine career at Cincy. I figured one of the lesser rated OL Recruits would do this, he might have gotten lost in the shuffle at the position in AA.
I'd like Kozan for sure since we're recruiting him at center and either Garnett or Diamond would be great, Go Blue!!!
January 21st, 2012 at 6:35 PM ^
We better land at least 1 of the remaining linemen on the board. Depth is scary.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:38 PM ^
I'll be clear on the "lost in the shuffle/depth player" thing. Stacey was the only guy slated to come in who really projected to center, a position of HUGE need right now. I think he would have had every chance to start at Michigan. It really sounds like this was all about being close to home, not a playing time issue at all. If it was, I think he would've decommitted a long time ago—it's not like Michigan's targets along the line have been any sort of secret.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:57 PM ^
Wouldn't distance have also pushed him to decommit a long time ago? It's even less of a secret that Ann Arbor isn't in Central Ohio after all...
I dunno. If you have inside info then I'll believe it certainly, but on the face of it, it sounds more likely that playing time was the concern rather than distance. It's not particularly far from home in the first place. As far as the possibilty of playing center - yes, that's a possibility at Michigan, but it's also only 1/3 as much playing time available as it would be if he could also realistically compete for the guard spots.
Seeing your playing time shrink from G/C/G to C is a big deal it would seem.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:11 PM ^
Okay. No one is making you believe Ace. Feel free to make up whatever narrative you what to believe in.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:17 PM ^
Ace is claiming to have any inside info here - he was just stating his opinion I believe. Please correct me if I'm wrong...
January 21st, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^
You never know when something can come up at home and change a situation quickly, and to be clear I'm just making a general statement when I say that—I don't know anything about what's going on with Stacey. To be perfectly honest, I don't think it's any of our business to question what he's saying about why he decommitted, especially without any real basis for doing so. Respect the kid's decision and be glad he's put himself in a better situation.
This isn't specifically targeted at you, kmedved. I've just seen this a lot and I don't think there's any point in speculation.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:32 PM ^
Nobody is trying to dig into his personal life. While his stated reason should be given a lot of weight, it would be foolish to ignore the numbers including the recent rumored commitment of Diamond and lean of Garnett, the fact that as recently as 5 days ago he had seemed quite happy with his commitment and the fact that this decommitment comes on the heels of an in home visit.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:27 PM ^
Well said. Not many kids are going to come out and say they were scared of the competition. Who knows what he was really thinking, but just because that's the story being floated doesn't mean it's the full scoop.
Seemed like a good kid either way. Hope he does well.
January 21st, 2012 at 8:18 PM ^
You do realize that Cincinnati isn't in central Ohio, right? Or maybe you don't...
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:02 AM ^
Although it looks like they're calling it the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport now.
January 22nd, 2012 at 11:55 AM ^
Not that it really changes your point that much, but Cincinnati isn't in central Ohio either. It's about a 4 hour drive from A2. Maybe that makes a difference to a kid, I dunno. It was probably more about comfort than distance as the crow flies (or as the car drives up I-75).
January 21st, 2012 at 8:02 PM ^
There are no proven linemen projected to return in 2013, which would be Stacey's first year after a red-shirt. The returning depth consists of Bryant, Miller and the other 2012 recruits, most of which are listed as tackles.
Even if a couple of the '12 recruits outclass him, he'd still be in line for playing time.
Furthermore, recruting rankings for linemen are notoriously unreliable. A 3-star is getting scared off by 4-stars is ridiculous.
The only way Stacey got scared off is if the coaches cooled on him. This seems highly unlikely. No reason to insult the kid by suggesting he is scared of competition.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:39 PM ^
Good luck to Caleb - seemed like a nice kid who just realized he'd be fighting an uphill battle to see the field and made a prudent choice to stay closer to home. Wish him the best, and expect that this will lead to more commits down the line as space opens up.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:40 PM ^
AJ Williams still considered at TE? I was under the impression he would be coming in at OL.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:46 PM ^
Whatever the case may be, wish Caleb well. Sad to see him go. And ultimately doesn't matter the reason he left...he is gone, and we have to deal with it.
Williams is coming in as a TE. And I know, Ace and others are adamant that he stays there. I am not so convinced, after seeing him play several times this year. Time will tell. But for 2012, he is a TE.
And we are certainly tight on the roster with centers. After Khoury and Miller, it is a lot of blank space. Bryant and Barnum have been talked about there, but no idea if they have played the position in their entire lives. That said, we can probably survive 2012 without another C, but going forward we will need someone badly.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:49 PM ^
He should change his twitter pic.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:50 PM ^
I am not gonna spend too much time judgeing him or trying to determine his motives. I like every single play we have recruited for this class so I am defenately not happy to see him go but he seems like a respectful kid who made a tough choice.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:52 PM ^
Sometimes harder for someone to decide this close to NSD, but good for him ot do it now, instead of after a year. Gives us some more flexibility recruiting-wise; love to see Brady pull 3-4 more high-quality guys, close the class, and have some more schollys for next year.
January 21st, 2012 at 6:55 PM ^
This why you continue to recruit Diamond, Garnett, and Kozan even though we're "full" at the position. Things like this happen all the time. Love the way Hoke recruits. This staff is so impressive.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:01 PM ^
Was this definitely his decision, and not a case of us deciding to "slow-play" him?
January 21st, 2012 at 7:13 PM ^
I hope not! He's been a commit since the very beginning and our only good prospect for center besides Kozan. I would be disappointed in the coaches if they told him to look somewhere else, instead of honoring their commitment to him.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:09 PM ^
Thanks for helping start off this class on the right foot for the new staff. And unless we meet on the field, best wishes down there. We still want you to beat Ohio.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:10 PM ^
5 days ago he was visited by Mark Smith (our LB coach) and tweeting smiley faces to Matt Godin. Before that if you look at his twitter you see lots of pro Michigan stuff.
It seems likely something happened in that meeting.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:13 PM ^
Or, he just changed his mind. It happens.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:19 PM ^
It's definitely possible, but if you look at the timeline it's less likely than something happening at that meeting. And that something could be anything, maybe Smith made a bad impression... I have no idea. But Stacey had seemed very happy to be blue.
January 21st, 2012 at 7:21 PM ^
There's a fine line between telling a recruit that they're better off maybe looking at some other schools and just emphasizing that they will continue to recruit OL/OG players aggressively.
One sounds nefarious, while the other sounds just like responsible coaching/recruiting. I'm not sure they're actually any different. It would be crazy of Hoke to not keep recruiting aggresively, and it would be equally strange for players to not consider what that means for them.
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:32 AM ^
January 21st, 2012 at 7:26 PM ^
makes the switch seem rather sudden to me. he was all about Michigan then bamf! Gotta be a real personal reason to make this switch so suddenly. Good luck at Cincy.
January 21st, 2012 at 10:21 PM ^
Who is he, Nightcrawler?
January 21st, 2012 at 7:28 PM ^
have a big say in where recruits wind up going...
January 21st, 2012 at 7:29 PM ^
was thinkin the same thing^^^^
January 21st, 2012 at 7:45 PM ^
Either a family member is ill or he has met the women he loves and is making a commitment to her rather than us. I don't blame him for either reason (or any reason for that matter).
Michigan is not so far from where he is in Ohio to feel perpetually homesick. Something rather serious has probably happened. Let us hope whatever it is - he is and his family are ok.
I am very dubious this is a depth chart thing. I also highly doubt we would slow play someone who is ALREADY committed to us. Hoke strikes me as a man of integrity and this is not something he would do to someone who is committed to him.
I wish Caleb the best as should we all...
January 21st, 2012 at 7:47 PM ^
UC getting a heck of a
playerhttp://mgoblog.com/diaries/tomvh-what-michigan-getting-ol-caleb-stacey
January 21st, 2012 at 8:56 PM ^
soooo 10 months ago it was cool? do the kids even check out the whole package before they choose? without a coaching change or something major happening to the school....I just dont get it.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:58 PM ^
shut up
January 21st, 2012 at 10:03 PM ^
You can say this about gunner Kiel but not about a guy like Stacey. You have no idea if Michigan told him that he'd be hard pressed for playing time or if he just decided to decommit of his own volition.
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<br>Either way he doesn't deserve that.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:03 PM ^
Best of luck to him and I hope Cincinnati meets his needs.
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<br>I was looking forward to seeing him at center, but not meant to be I guess.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:06 PM ^
Hope things go his way at Cincinnati. And hope things go our way with the extra spot we have now.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^
I'm disappointed to hear this. I think he'd have been a very good player at a position of need (center). It also changes our remaining recruiting to now. Before this, we had met all our needs and were looking for some very nice bonuses. Now, we have to add at least one more OL. It sounds like we're in good shape there, but it ups the stakes on getting at least one of Garnet, Diamond or Kozan.
I suppose that's what makes this time of year exciting.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:51 PM ^
Pretty graceful tweet ... I've seen far worse.
January 21st, 2012 at 10:20 PM ^
Better on ya' Caleb to know you want to be close to home now.. Good luck to you in the future, much as we"d like to have you in Ann Arbor, your heart has to lead you to the right program, and Cincy ain't half bad. Best of luck from all of us from the Michigan folks with an unhealthy attention to recruiting :)
But in the end, we hope you've hit your right fit that will give you playing time and get you developed for the next level. The coaches clearly liked you for Michigan, so we can only hope that you can similarly develop into a beast at Cincy. And that Michigan and Cincy never play each other unless it's in the BCS Title Game.
January 21st, 2012 at 10:23 PM ^
even more of a possibility. I could be wrong, but aren't we recruiting him as a center? Chances of taking all three Garnett, Diamond and Kozan increases in my opinion. I'll take those three and Sam Grant to end the class, thank you.
January 21st, 2012 at 10:27 PM ^
at CB
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