Shaun Joplin
I'm curious if anyone else has heard of this kid because I can't seem to find much info on him from this website, Scout, or Rivals. He played for Sylvania Southview a D-2 school near Toledo where he racked up 1150 yards receiving and 12 TD's while average alomst 25 yards a catch this year. He's 6'3"/ 185lb and his 40 time is in the low 4.5's. I'm not sure what his verticle is but his long jump was 22'10" and he high jumps at almost 7'. He set a Ohio D-2 championship game record with 166 yards receiving and 2 TD's (1 receiving/ 1 rushing). Plus he's playing in the Big 33 game this year but he's still undecided on a school. I've watched a few of his games and talked to people around the Southview program and he wants to come to Ann Arbor but I'm unsure if there was any mutual interest from UM? I know UM is big on finding the under 6' speed guys from the south but wouldn't it be nice to have a taller receiver to go up and get that jump ball for the fade to the corner of the endzone? I don't think he is a 4 or 5 star prospect but with the height and jumping ability maybe he could find a spot on the team? If the name sounds familiar it's because his dad is Stan Joplin, former University of Toledo basketball coach.
January 14th, 2009 at 4:03 PM ^
Nice to meet you Shaun, hope you enjoy your time posting on MGoBlog.
January 14th, 2009 at 4:15 PM ^
and i just peed my pants
January 14th, 2009 at 4:13 PM ^
Hell of an athlete, academic-wise, not so much
January 14th, 2009 at 4:14 PM ^
Dex---its so awesome. You make me laugh everyday. I know you don't care but its awesome.
January 14th, 2009 at 5:31 PM ^
I went to the same high school as Joplin a few years ago. He is a great athlete and Rodriguez wrote a letter to him back in August or September so Michigan has expressed interest though probably only if they really really need an outside receiver (which they might). This year Joplin was on the receiving end of a lot of bubble screens as well including in the state championship game where he was a huge factor. He has a lot of talent in basketball track and football and has started on varsity bball since his freshman year. What hottodd said is right but his grades aren't significantly worse than the majority of people who get recruited to play at any major school including Michigan. Bottomline is he's a fringe guy who could develop into a legitimate player, but its unlikely Michigan will take the chance on him...then again...I wouldn't mind.
January 14th, 2009 at 5:53 PM ^
I hope he comes to aa, he has tremendous heart, if anyone has the chance to see his state final game (replayed every once in a while on Buckeye Cable's BCN)I think he played through an injury.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:16 PM ^
He's an unranked WR who isn't academically qualified.
He won't be coming to Michigan.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:27 PM ^
And here this whole time I thought Shaun was Janis's kid. How could I be so dumb not to put 2 and 2 together. Stan Joplin. Of course, it all makes sense now. Stan Fuckin Joplin. You don't forget about Stan Fuckin' Joplin.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:32 PM ^
He's a good high school player but I don't think he's all that great. And you've got to understand the league he plays in. It isn't very tough, nor is it known for putting guys into D-1 (sorry FBS) schools. The only other two players I know of going to FBS schools from the Northern Lakes League are Eric Page of Springfield (actually not sure where he is going, has a lot of MAC offers but may have a grades issue) and T.J. Fatinikun of Perrysburg who is going to Toledo.
There is however a freshman who plays (believe he started all year) for Southview, Allen Gant, who is a stud. However, I think he'll end up as a Buckeye.
January 14th, 2009 at 6:46 PM ^
You do know that Gant's uncle, by marriage, is Woodson right?
THE Charles Woodson. His Dad played for Michigan too.
But I heard he does like OSU...
But Gant's gonna be a really big recruit from OH in '12, he's really good
January 14th, 2009 at 7:11 PM ^
I watched several of Southview's games this year and have been asking myself the same question---where is the recruiting buzz. I was told at a game by someone that Joplin will be going the basketball route in college. Don't know how legitimate that info is, but his Dad is a former head coach.
Also, along with the freshman Gant, there is a defensive back that was a Junior this season-his name escapes me, but he is really good and really fast. Southview had 6-7 legitimate 4.5 40 guys this season.
I can tell you that Southview as a school is only like 30 years old. The football program has been coming on strong the last 10 years or so. There is already one alum in the NFL with the Redskins.
I can also tell you that about 3-4 weeks ago my least favorite person from C-bus was at Southview with a couple of assistants. Definately a school that is worth keeping an eye on. For a state championship team, they had quite a bit of young talent this season.
January 14th, 2009 at 7:29 PM ^
I played for the Southview team in 2003 when we went undefeated (the league sucked that year as well except for Maumee and Rogers sucked even with Fred Davis playing), and we had a stellar qb in Kelley Rowe. He was a duel threat who ran for over 1000 yards and passed for over 3000 and ended up being first team all Ohio qb. He ended up signing with Bentley College in Boston because he had no D-1 offers. That same year we had two sick wide outs in Aaron Waldie (who won a receiving award at the UM summer camp in 2003) and Michael Norris who were all sub 4.5 guys, but none got recruited to D1 schools. Point is this school has produced a ton of athlete in the the last ten or so years, but none have had success really beyond the high school level, except for Kerry Campbell who is in the NFL.
As far as Gant goes, both Mayzes and Jeremy Rowe (the head coach and offensive coordinator) are die hard UM fans so hopefully that will help with him.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:13 PM ^
I watched him kick a 60 yard field goal and sail the kicks through the uprights kicking off. He looked incredible as a kicker.
January 14th, 2009 at 8:50 PM ^
Sure his Dad coached Toledo's basketball team, so you would think that the family new what to expect to be academically eligible to play in college, but I think his grades may keep most D-1 schools away. He missed part of the season(hoops, I think) last year because he was academically ineligible. Pretty hard for that to happen to the best player on the team.
The local paper has mentioned that UM is looking at him, but I have not heard anything confirming that.
The Toledo press had no business reporting on a high schools kids grades. It is enough to say that a student athlete is not eligible to play. Stan Joplin was an excellent coach in the responses he had to the press about his athletes personal and academic issues, the law says he cannot discuss them. BARTMAN, speaking of edumacation, the correct word is Knew not New when speaking of his family and what they knew. His family stresses education but sometimes kids need to learn lessons on their own even if they are hard lessons. The responsibility was his not his parents, they gave him the tools to use or not use.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:04 AM ^
I am a senior at Southview this year and had a chance to speak to Joplin because I am on the newspaper staff and had to write an article on athletic recruiting. Shaun thinks it would be cool to go to Michigan but, like someone said before, with his struggling academics and the fact he goes to a smaller school that doesn't get looked at very often, Michigan likely won't offer him a full scholarship which he said would make him want to go somewhere else. If he ends up going to any division IA school now it is likely to be Eastern Michigan.
January 15th, 2009 at 10:25 AM ^
I remember when he played my high school in bball. Could dunk as a freshman and couldn't have been taller than 6'1''.
January 15th, 2009 at 7:01 PM ^
Grades are the issue, he missed the second half of the basketball season last year due to poor grades. He is a bright kid but just does not like to hit the books as much as playing sports. You would think his father being a division one basketball player and coach, would have made sure he did the right things to make sure he would get into a quality D1 school. His 40 time is listed at 4.7, but I have a hard time after seeing him play that his time is that slow. If he spends time with the freak Barwis he'll probably be the first human to run a 4.0 forty.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
Kid sounds like a decent player (but if it is true that he runs a 4.7 40, I'm not sure he'd see the field much), but if he has grade problems then it is unlikely that UM could really recruit him honestly. Not to be too brutal, but if you are struggling to apply yourself in high school, what are the chances this kid could stay eligible at a major D-1 school AND a top-25 academic institution? Sure, he'll take certain courses and receive assistance from tutors and the like, but it is almost Herculean what most major college athletes put themselves through to play, plus schoolwork that would be challenging to a large percentage of the US population. I'm not trying to rain on the kids parade, and I wish him the best and would be fine if he made it to UM, but UM might not be the best fit for him.
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