Processing Is Not Rare
If you had Teddy Greenstein in the Brings Up Erik Swenson Next pool, collect your winnings. I get annoyed at Greenstein because he puts up a front of objectivity while putting out article after article designed to put Harbaugh in a bad light. See the recent article on refereeing where he asked the Big Ten's head of officials if he was bad at his job, got a "no," and said "well, I guess that wraps it all up, folks!"
Anyway. This one was somewhat spoiled by Harbaugh explaining the situation from his perspective...
"There's a camp in June, and we really want you to come so we can see you.' It ended up, after a couple of conversations, that he wasn't going to come to camp.
"I said: 'We're going to be in Indianapolis in the beginning of June for a satellite camp. It's closer to your home.' He said no. I said, 'We really need to see you for ourselves.' He said, 'Just evaluate my senior tape.' 'OK, that's what we will do.'"
...but Greenstein does his best to frame it anyway.
What happened to Swenson is exceedingly rare: a high school player in good academic standing, who remains loyal to the school to which he verbally committed, getting dumped within weeks of signing day.
There is a term for a school dispatching a player it no longer wants: "processing."
Connecticut coach Randy Edsall got crushed last week by national media figures Paul Finebaum ("total disgrace"), Mike Greenberg ("How you go to sleep at night, I have no idea") and the Washington Post's Sally Jenkins ("No one is more committed to Randy Edsall than Randy Edsall") after his scurrilous actions regarding a high school linebacker from New Jersey named Ryan Dickens.
Contrary to pearl-clutchers in the media, "processing" kids before they can sign is a common practice getting ever more common. That's why there's a term for it. Most of these situations go uncommented upon because the kid and coaches know the score and are just looking for a landing spot. The rare thing is a kid getting pissed off about it in the media.
I think we can safely assume that someone moving down from a Power 5 program to a lower level has been processed, and there have been a number of these this year: CB Nick Roberts and QB Todd Centeio went from P5 programs to the AAC. S Ahman Ross is trying to find a landing spot at Appalachian State or Colorado State. RB Bentavious Thompson looks likely to end up at UCF. FIU is the crystal ball favorite for WR Kevaughn Dingle.
That's five guys not from all of the Power 5 or one P5 conference but one recruiting class: Miami's. Every collection of team-specific recruitniks in America has a subliminal list of a few guys who are technically committed but won't actually be in the class. For Michigan this year they were Carter Dunaway and Chase Lasater; for Ohio State they were Danny Clark, Bruce Judson, and Todd Sibley.
The 24/7 decommitment tracker is missing a pager so it only goes back three days. In those three days (three days!) there are four recruitments that look like processing of some variety:
- WR Warren Jackson decommitted from Arizona and fielded a couple of quick CSU picks.
- LB DeMarco Artis decommitted from FSU and told 247 that it was "unfortunate."
- LB Jabreel Stephens decommitted from Louisville and looks set to pick USF.
- LB Jaquan Henderson flipped from Tennessee to Georgia Tech.
It is exactly one week from signing day.
Even if not all of these are genuine processings that should be sufficient to demonstrate that the practice is not rare, or anything close to it. If Greenstein had done 15 minutes of research he would have reached the same conclusion. You have to wonder why he would not take such a basic step before making an easily-disproved factual assertion.
January 25th, 2017 at 9:23 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 2:44 PM ^
It's pretty easy to see that Erik was injured, was having a down senior year and didn't want to camp in front of harbaugh in-person and get knocked around and have his scholorship pulled. He did what he thought was best to still end up in Michigan's class by not showing out for Harbaugh in-person and it didn't work out for him. Either way, it was bad timing for him and hopefully he uses his emotions from the experience to fuel him on to a successful college and maybe pro career. It looks like he is on his way to doing so. Win-win.
January 25th, 2017 at 2:49 PM ^
It's called "concern trolling".
By the way, if you're being processed, I highly recommend getting processed in Camp 4.
Don't worry NCAA; it's not a satellite camp.
January 25th, 2017 at 8:30 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 8:32 PM ^
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January 26th, 2017 at 9:47 AM ^
I was going to make a sarcastic comment "as opposed to my suggestion of burning with ice" and then I remembered that you actually can get ice burns. Sooooo yeah.
January 25th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 3:01 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 3:02 PM ^
...harbaugh=bad...i'm not sure of the history between those two (if any) but he definitely seems to have it out for JH...
January 25th, 2017 at 3:20 PM ^
The NCAA hates Harbaugh because he embarrassed them. The SEC hates Harbaugh because he embarrassed them. Refs hate Harbaugh because he yells at them and, while not infallible, more often than not he's right. But what the heck did Harbaugh do to get on this guy's bad side?
No, I think it's just contrarian clickbait. For every person having success there will always be jackasses who try to cultivate a reputation of thoughtfully stroking their beards and tut-tut-ing them when, if you read past the Very Serious tone, their "analysis" amounts to lazy cheap trash.
January 25th, 2017 at 4:00 PM ^
See: Drew Sharp.
January 25th, 2017 at 4:33 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 3:03 PM ^
It is the old hollywood thesis. Anytime you get your name out there it is good. This is whether you have done it in a positive way or, more so now a days, in a negative way. i, for one, find this writer ,greenwhatever, to be of NO significance to me. Thus, I ignore.
However, as usual, Brian makes a fine point.
January 25th, 2017 at 3:04 PM ^
framing a report to fit their narrative? Good thing this kind of silliness hasn't become commonplace.
Well done Mr. Cook.
January 25th, 2017 at 3:14 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 3:33 PM ^
I'm pretty sure Swenson happened last year, right?
Or, did I wake up in some bizzaro universe where I have to live through 2016 again? If so, I need you to get David Bowie, Arnold Palmer, Prince, Carrie Fisher and Muhammad Ali to a safe place. Just trust me.
January 25th, 2017 at 3:46 PM ^
You have to wonder why he would not take such a basic step before making an easily-disproved factual assertion.Because the overwhelming majority of sportswriters are idiots, that's why.
January 25th, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^
somebody I wouldn't piss on if he was on fire.
January 25th, 2017 at 4:23 PM ^
What was the genesis of Teddy's beef against Harbaugh/Michigan?
January 25th, 2017 at 4:24 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 4:29 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 8:00 PM ^
I'm sorry, this kid was either delusional or felt very entitled. A new coach who you do not have a long standing relationship has repeatedly asked to have you come to a camp, which is a very normal thing, and you keep turning him down and he tells you that you need to be evaluated and you tell him see my tape, well you are pretty stupid to not think something bad may happen.
If he was hurt, why not skip the senior season an just go to the camps to please the man who may be your new coach. He was not hurt enough to miss games, but was hurt enough to not go to camps?
January 25th, 2017 at 9:16 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 4:32 PM ^
He can take care of himself without the Michigan fanbase constantly getting worked up over a writer (Greenstein) or personality (Finebaum) trolling Michigan to generate more interest. We are ultimately only encouraging them to continue doing what they are doing.
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January 25th, 2017 at 8:21 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 4:47 PM ^
He does it for clickbait and the people who hate Harbaugh to read and go "OOOO..he is a jerk up there in Michigan."
January 25th, 2017 at 5:02 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 5:11 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 6:02 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 6:33 PM ^
I realize it's OT season, especially given that state of the mens basketball and hockey teams, but why are we feeding the clickwhore trolls?
Look at Skip Bayless: if you don't have anything intelligent to say, say something ridiculous....
January 25th, 2017 at 8:08 PM ^
I love how self-important Teddy is.
He actually thinks JH gives a damn about who he is or that he wrote some stupid story about Michigan a year ago.
Face it, Teddy: no one cares about you, especially Harbaugh. He called you back because he is courteous and he has nothing to hide.
As for me, before reading Brian's post, I could not have told you who Teddy Greenjeans was.
January 25th, 2017 at 8:13 PM ^
A couple thoughts.
1) He was probably surprised and disappointed when Harbaugh agreed to participate. He probably would have rather written the narrative he wanted with a blip about how Harbaugh refused to comment. (imagine the article without Harbaughs portion)
2) The timing (a couple weeks out from signing day) is probably not a coincidence. Article reads as an excuse to say "remember this horrible thing Harbaugh did".
3) Funniest part was the line about Finebaum being outraged. His hypocrisy knows no bounds.
January 25th, 2017 at 8:20 PM ^
deafness TO politics, or to the small "p" political issues, far from the real of traditional politics, that pervade college sports. "Processing" is a terrible term, sounds more like "rendering" or the treatment of some product that you hold a completely impersonal view of. And the photo of the coal carts underlines the disconnect.
Which is unnecessary, because as ugly as the term is, Harbaugh has actually shown plenty of affection for his players, and followed a justifiable course of action with Swenson. Kid was the pick of a previous coach; Harbaugh and co. had every right to decide for themselves and--foremost--to SEE. And the kid failed to report.
An ear better attuned to the contradictions could have pointed out the ugly AND defended Harbaugh.
January 25th, 2017 at 10:15 PM ^
The primary fact is that when Harbaugh took over for Hoke, he reoffered Swenson, which he was not obligated to do. So in fact Harbaugh initially recruited him into the class, even issuing him a official offer sheet.
Secondly, Harbaugh's main defense that the offer was contingent on camp evaluations is in dispute. Swenson and his coach maintain that was never communicated to him, Harbaugh says it was.
And lastly, the most damning part is that the situation could have been easily avoided well before signing day, by simple and direct communication. If the offer was contingent on camp evaluations, then you pull it when he doesn't show up. There would be no ambiguity there. However, the situation played out exactly as it would when a kid is squeezed out due to a growing recruiting class, which is what most likely happened.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:43 AM ^
The whole thing went over your head if you think that the posting of the coal picture was a disconnect - it was intentional.
As someone who has been here since 2008 I'm shocked you're not aware of the fact that Brian has written about this issue and similar topics (greyshirting, blue shirting, medicals, oversigning, etc.) multiple times, has advocated for paying players, among other player-friendly changes. The picture is intentional, it's a statement on how NCAA recruiting currently works
January 25th, 2017 at 8:26 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 8:47 PM ^
Let's stop pretending that what Greenstein does for a living is any different than what Brian does for a living. Greenstein (evidently) writes anti-Michigan articles to get clicks from anti-Michigan fans. Brian writes pro-Michigan articles to get clicks from pro-Michigan fans. Two sides of the same coin.
In this case, IMO, both authors are missing the point and exagerrating the facts to support their viewpoints. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Harbaugh screwed up. He admits this. He didn't clearly communicate Swenson's status to Swenson. This caused Swenson unnecessary heartache in having to search for a new school in a less-than-ideal timeframe. Swenson was prejudiced (though I think at this point he's just being spiteful--you're with Oklahoma, get over it).
Is Harbaugh the demon that Greenstein paints him as? No--largely because it's unlikely Harbaugh screwed up on purpose.
But Brian's take is also offbase, IMO, because he goes on this irrelevant defense of how "processing" is common. The problem in the Swenson case wasn't about "processing," it was about how Harbaugh failed to communicate to Swenson what he had to do to maintain his status in the class. It was a mistake, Harbaugh admitted it, and we can all move on.
(I'd also like to point out that in prior years there were plenty of people on this board bashing SEC/ACC schools for "processing" recruits close to NSD, so....)
January 25th, 2017 at 10:38 PM ^
What? "Irrelevant defense"?
The whole piece was about the "exceedingly rare" shit Harbaugh allegedly took on Swenson's dining room floor during sunday dinner. Accurately characterizing processing and the frequency with which it happens directly addresses the salient point in Greenstain's bit.
I'm sure Brian and the rest of us would like to "all move on" as you say, but here we have a half-baked turd made fresh with questionable ingredients from LAST YEAR. The story should have read "remeber that time when Hoke offered the guy and then it was weird and the dude was like wtf cuz he didn't have a scholorshorship because of reasons? Yeah, me neither".
And, frankly, to compare what Brian & Co. at MGoBlog do to what Groinstein does is insulting as well as technically incorrect. I have never seen that kind of #journalizm since I've been here... which means for, like, a year maybe.
Sorry. I git trigger happy when mah tits git triggered.
January 26th, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^
The defense is irrelevant for the same reason Greenstein's jab is irrelevant. Whether "processing" is common or uncommon is irrelevant to whether it's justifiable. Evaluate the practice on its merits, not how common it is.
There were plenty of people here pre-Harbuagh who found the practice of rescinding offers close to NSD solely because the kid's stock dipped to be distasteful. There were plenty of posts about Footy McFootballface being HORRIBLY SCREWED OVER by AlaClemFloriAuburnOuiville because the school rescinded his offer. (Opposite was also praised: 'Member when Belein was a saint because he honored Austin Hatch's scholarship even after the plane crash?) All of a sudden, who cares because everybody else is doing it, amirite?
(Some people may try to make a distinction between deliberately oversigning versus cutting a guy because their stock dipped. I'd argue that the former can actually be more fair to a recruit, because, if the recruit is paying attention, he can read the tea leaves and see the train coming down the track, not to mention the other schools in his ears telling him to do the math. Kid like Swenson maybe doesn't see the latter coming at all. Ultimately, IMO, oversigning, processing, rescinding offers, whatever, is all fine assuming that the necessary information, terms, conditions, etc. are clearly communicated to the kid.)
January 28th, 2017 at 10:41 AM ^
We may agree to disagree.
Greenstein is not concerned about the ethics of football recruiting. If this piece had been written about these evils, or even processing specifically, Harbaugh's name would have been one of many evil coaches mentioned. That would have strengthened his argument, and is easily researchable.
In fact, he downplays the role of the victims (plural for emphasis). Processing is commonplace. This article makes it sound like a one-off evil Michigan thing. Leaving out the many victims is actually counter to the cause, and again, easy to research.
You are not wrong about discussing the merits of processing. However, without the stunning frequency with which processing occurs, it would hardly be worth discussing. I would argue that frequency is what elevates the threat level in this case. The system could easily tolerate a handful of "misunderstandings" every decade. A reasonable person understands you cannot eliminate violent crime, only reduce it to an acceptable amount.
Follow his argument and see that "Harbaugh and Michigan do bad stuff" isn't part of a premise, it is the conclusion itself. This was a hit piece. Brian's outrage is appropriate and his defense relevant as it would likely lead an uninformed reader to the correct conclusion. Imagine how this would look if Harbaugh had failed to respond? I firmly believe the author was hoping he would not.
January 26th, 2017 at 12:02 AM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 9:56 PM ^
We have an article in which a player's coach called Harbaugh a liar, and Harbaugh admitted he could have done a better job at communicating. And the big take away in all of that was apparently how "rare" or "not rare" processing was?
Well I am glad we got that sorted out.
January 25th, 2017 at 10:14 PM ^
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January 25th, 2017 at 10:25 PM ^
what's Brian's point? There were far more important and interesting things in that article to write about then how "rare" processing is.
And even when making that point, it seemed Brian's only objective was to undermine the credibility of the author.
January 25th, 2017 at 10:49 PM ^
January 25th, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^
So....I still don't understand your comment. Must be me.
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January 26th, 2017 at 1:13 AM ^
Brian focused on one sentence, actually one word (rare) in a sentence and tried to build some case off ot it. For what?
That is like reading an article about the spirit of Christmas and the author saying that there is usually snow during Christmas and you run the numbers and find that more Christmases didn't have snow. Does the really invalidate the article?
It doesn't take a rocket surgeon (to borrow a term from St. Vincent) to understand what the article was about. It wasn't if processing happens, but how it is handled. In this case it was handled poorly.
Brian to ignore that and focus on a meaningless statement by the author, i statement that by the way was supported directly by Swenson's coach, shows that he is being extremely obtuse or has another agenda that has nothing to do with objectivity.
And to answer your question directly, I am not implying anyone should feel any certain way about it. Your emotions are your own. I care as much about how you feel about it, as i do about what you decided to eat for dinner. But my take away was that mistakes were made, Harbaugh admitted he needs to be a better job. An article about the best way to avoid messy breakups that don't smear Michigan's name or reputation when "processing" happens would be far more interesting and constructive. And more on topic.
And post script here: If I am reading an article in which a high school coach called the Michigan head football coach a liar, then i would think that merits far more of a discussion. But as the wise philosopher Paul Simon said "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest,"
January 26th, 2017 at 12:36 PM ^
Suggesting it happens rarely implies that Harbaugh is outside the norm and therefore kids might not want to go to UM. Add to that other quotes and this isn't a focus on one word. (such as: "In the first three or four hours, my phone rang 50 times," Molinari said. "(College) coaches were blown away by it. They said, 'There is no way that this happens.'"). Take those coaches at their word that they would NEVER do that, of course.
But even Greenstein has repeteadly said this happens all the time. So WHY put that line in there? Contrary to your assertation that this is meaningless, it is a comparison of Harbaugh, and therefore Michigan, with other coaches and programs. That is hardly meaningless to kids trying to pick out schools.
Also, while I understand you may disagree with what Brian has presnted the first tweet below Teddy's pinned story is this:
@TeddyGreenstein 1. Harbaugh's side is by far the most accurate 2. What transpired with Weaver is where the real story should have been
— Steve Lorenz (@TremendousUM) January 25, 2017
So I wouldn't be fully sold on Brian not being objective on this.
In the end I actually think Harbaugh handles this correclty once he could. He effectively said we had justification for it (kid didn't go to camps despite our instructions) but obviously we didn't do a good enough job communicating that, so we will going forward. Mistakes happen, absent a time machine, that's really the best you can do.
January 26th, 2017 at 7:57 AM ^
'Processing' happens and it is a common part of the modern day recruiting process,
Yes.
not something we should all be deeply concerned about.
No.
It's bad. It's morally wrong. We should care and want it stopped.
January 26th, 2017 at 10:40 AM ^
I disagree that it's "morally wrong."
If you come from the premise that a school should be forced to honor any offer it gives to a player if the player "commits," then it's a one-way street. Players obviously aren't required to honor their "commitments" - they can decommit or flip at any time before signing a LOI. So it would be strange to treat offers as sacred but not commitments.
In addition, the reality of recruiting right now is that schools must make far more offers than they have spots. Literally every school out there has offered more than 30 scholarships. So what happens if more guys commit than they can take?
Based on these two facts, I think it's understood, both by schools and by recruits, that an offer signals a high level of interest, but is not written in stone. The problem is with the language - "offer" and "commit" probably aren't the most accurate terms we could use, when the system dictates that neither one of those things can be 100% solid. But unless you want to reform the whole recruiting system, there has to be some flexibility built in.
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