Exit: David Dawson Comment Count

Ace

According to TomVH($)—and confirmed by Sam Webb and Josh Helmholdt($)—Michigan and 2013 Cass Tech OL David Dawson have parted ways. Dawson had wavered in his commitment back in July, when he mentioned at The Opening that he wanted to camp at Florida, and it appears that there's still serious interest in visiting Gainesville and potentially a couple other SEC schools. Given the visit policy of Brady Hoke's staff, if Dawson wanted to follow through on a visit he would no longer be considered a commit; my guess is that's what caused the mutual break.

While the Wolverines still have four blue-chip offensive line commits in Kyle Bosch, Chris Fox, Patrick Kugler, and Logan Tuley-Tillman, it's likely that they'll look to add one more to replace Dawson. While all of the current offerees on offensive line are committed to other schools, it's possible the staff looks to reconnect with IL OL Ethan Pocic, a current LSU commit who had very high interest before the available spots filled up, and IL OL Colin McGovern, a Notre Dame commit. If the staff decides to go after an unoffered prospect, the likely top target is Dawson's high school teammate, MSU commit Dennis Finley, who impressed at the Sound Mind Sound Body camp this summer.

UPDATE: 247's Steve Wiltfong reports that Dawson will take an official visit to Florida this weekend ($).

Also, Dawson sent out this tweet just a few minutes ago. I expect Michigan fans to show the same level of class:

Comments

The Wolf

October 14th, 2012 at 2:51 PM ^

Not sure if you can answer this (perhaps naive on my part), but is it Dawson saying "thanks but no thanks" or the coaches effectively saying "no harm, no foul . . . but we can no longer deal with/wait on your vacillation and/or decision timeline"?

 

If that makes any sense . . .

Lucky Socks

October 14th, 2012 at 2:19 PM ^

Pharoah went behind the coaches back.  Assuming Dawson called the coaches and "de-commiting" before scheduling his official, is it fair to assume his scholarship OFFER has been revoked?  

Personally I think he's probably just not a commit and may have a spot available if we don't fill it asap.

Moral:   Act like LaQuon.  Keep your options open until you are 100% sure.

turtleboy

October 14th, 2012 at 1:59 PM ^

While depth is an issue right now, we should be fine for depth even without a talent like Dawson's by the time the 2013 linemen are ready to play. With Kalis, Bryant, Bars, and Bosch we're in great shape until the 2014 class starts filling up. If we're close with prospects like Green, McQuay, and Treadwell then maybe we don't need to pursue another Guard.

Mmmm Hmmm

October 14th, 2012 at 2:01 PM ^

Not that several hours ago anybody would have wanted to lose Dawson, but Michigan probably was not going to take 5 OL every class going forward.  If Michigan can get somebody at or above Dawson's level in 2014 (and every indication is that Hoke can recruit highly ranked OL), the team probably will not notice the difference over the long term.

Blue boy johnson

October 14th, 2012 at 2:08 PM ^

Yes, I don't think guard is a major issue for M. I think the two walkons who played guard yesterday can at a minimum be servicable BIG OL. I'm referring to Joey Burzynski: RS Soph and Graham Glasgow: RS Fresh. Those two combined with the 8 OL recruits in the last two classes, plus Chris Bryant and Jack Miller, make this departure relatively minor even if Hoke doesn't pick up another OL to replace Dawson.

Mich1993

October 14th, 2012 at 3:16 PM ^

Given our OLdepth chart next year, I've been watching closely when Burzynski comes in whenever an OL goes down.  To me, he's looked at least as good as the guys he's replacing.  May not be a beast that will pancake his man, but he executes his responsibility on each play I've seen.  I though the same of Miller in his snaps yesterday.

If Lewan comes back, our OL next year should be about as good as this years.

DanGoBlue

October 14th, 2012 at 3:48 PM ^

This is a major bummer. He was my favorite of the O-line commits this year. Seemed to possess good consistency and a well focused mean streak, which has obviously garnered him a lot of attention elsewhere. Michigan may well be okay without him, but they would be better with him.

Ah well, best of luck to you David Dawson.

Mr. Yost

October 14th, 2012 at 5:21 PM ^

We need interior linemen.

Are we devistated? No. Does this mean we're done as we know it? No.

This is Michigan - we'll be fine. But this DOES hurt this class, we need interior guys on the OLine and Dawson was an EXCELLENT OG/C prospect.

Hopefully we can find someone equally as good (or better) to replace him on the interior.

IncrediblySTIFF

October 14th, 2012 at 1:58 PM ^

Hope this guy the best, I can't fault him for wanting to look around. Of course, if he wasn't sure he shouldn't have made that commitment. Hopefully he will be regretting it when we start winning championships.

RockinLoud

October 14th, 2012 at 2:00 PM ^

Sometimes kids just need to get out, go somewhere different.  I grew up in Michigan then went to college in southern California, even though I love it in MI. 

Best of luck to him where ever he ends up at.  Hopefully we can fill the spot with the same caliber of player.

cbs650

October 14th, 2012 at 2:01 PM ^

texas has filled classes early for years without really hearing of many decommitments from them. Is it just that they have/had a different policy as the current staff? Not saying that the policy is right or wrong just wondering.

thisisme08

October 14th, 2012 at 2:32 PM ^

A Texas offer was your gold ticket, they often do not send very many out so when you finally get that offer you take it and hold onto it plus they are bred to bleed orange down there and while the maize and blue does wonders with instate kids, its just not comparable to what Texas does.  

turtleboy

October 14th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^

They've had their regular share of commit attrition, we just don't hear about Texas recruit news much. Texas recruits also have a general habit of staying in Texas, Mack Brown has a similar way of recruiting to Hoke and co, too. He basically avoids top Texas recruits with agents and third party representatives.

BigShotDave

October 14th, 2012 at 2:03 PM ^

I hate to see him go but it's probably best for all parties.  He's been a bit of a drama queen the entire time we've been courting him and it's better that we cut our losses now rather than later.  I wish Dawson the best wherever he goes.

Brown Bear

October 14th, 2012 at 2:42 PM ^

Not enough Negs for this post. Drama queen? Are you familiar with what this kid has gone through in the last few months on top of all the pressure to make one of the most important choices in his life? Show some class like Ace said and keep the name calling off thee board please. Thanks.

sundaybluedysunday

October 14th, 2012 at 2:07 PM ^

Personally, I would like to see them go after a committed prospect before they offer Finely. Not only because Pocic, McGovern, Montelus are higher ranked, but because Finley's sister is at State and I actually think he would be less likely to make the switch. In general though, I'm not very optimistic that they'll be able to swing anyone else and I'm fine with 4 linemen.

mejunglechop

October 14th, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^

If I remember correctly Dawson didn't get on with our commits at The Opening and was hanging out with Florida guys instead. With that, his penchant for tweeting BREAKING NEWS MAYBE and doing lots of interviews I'd long suspected he enjoyed the spectacle more than other Michigan commits. Maybe despite his ability he wasn't the best fit for this class.

bob_ufer

October 14th, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^

This is why you never want to have a "favorite commit". That sucks.  Big loss.  Love the ratioanlization that we go through - big loss. 

Hope his parents like the flights down to FL rather than the 45 minutre drive to his games.

One a commit stats chirping about other visits it usually ends up this way - just a matter of how fast.  Hope we get someone good to replace him.

goblue1213

October 14th, 2012 at 4:56 PM ^

Personally, I would rather the coaches keep this scholarship for a "best of the best" type deal. Maybe this opens up the spot for McQuay. If not, I think we will be fine using that scholarship next year. My only concern would be if this signals a change in the pipeline that has been Cass Tech.

flysociety3

October 14th, 2012 at 2:14 PM ^

I'm not going to pretend like this doesn't piss me off...

I absolutely love Hoke's no-vist policy because that serves as an insurance when kids decide their word means nothing.

As a recruit, you're in a win/win situation when you 'commit' (or whatever you want to call it)...You can secure a spot in a class while exploring every other option..

I don't mind if kids want to be careful in making their decisions, because I would do the same... BUT DO NOT COMMIT UNLESS YOU WANT TO GO THERE

It's that simple, honestly.

mushroomX3

October 14th, 2012 at 2:22 PM ^

I'm kinda relieved we parted ways. His commitment to Michigan has always been less than solid based on the recruiting dramas that he has caused in the past. At least this happened early enough that the staff has ample time to look at other recruits. Best of luck to him.

Monocle Smile

October 14th, 2012 at 2:25 PM ^

Some of the comments here are why I don't closely follow recruiting. You run into grown-ass men who bitch and moan about the choices of those who aren't even legal adults yet and likely have zero collegiate allegiance. The obsession with 16- and 17-year-old kids turns me off. Hats off to people like Ace and TomVH for dealing with this.

This is evidently what Dawson wants. Leave it at that.

MichiganPoloShirt

October 14th, 2012 at 2:26 PM ^

Bottom line is this, we don't know what kind of carrots these people at Florida are dangling over this kids head. I honestly believe Michigan doesn't pay kids and I honestly believe other schools do. I'm done

Mlaw2010

October 14th, 2012 at 2:34 PM ^

Very classy tweet by Dawson.  Very disappointed by his decision, especially given the support his fellow commits gave him during a difficult time in his life, but I hope he makes the right decision for him. 

In the meantime, it is being reported that Michigan has already been in touch with Pocic.  If they can get him on campus he may be a likely candidate to flip.

Magnum P.I.

October 14th, 2012 at 3:03 PM ^

You should probably look at the 2012 and 2013 classes in combination when thinking about future positions. It sounds like Kalis, Bosch, and Kugler are bound for the interior. Magnuson, Braden, and LTT are pretty sure to play tackle. From what I've heard, the other guys--Bars and Fox--could go either way. 

We obviously don't know anything about these kids' ability to contribute at this point, but I think we have more sure things on the interior. Adding Pocic to fill a tackle spot would be a coup right now. 

denardogasm

October 14th, 2012 at 2:56 PM ^

I'd say there's a better chance at flipping Olinemen than usual because of the way their recruitment went.  It was pretty clear we wanted Pocic but just ran out of room at the position over the course of about a week.  No bridges burned there.  It doesn't help that ND is pushing for the top 5 though.