Per our ole friend Tom....Denzel Ward has transfered to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Same school as '14 QB target Michael O'Connor.
Not going to say it's the end of the world, but might put Florida in the drivers seat at this point
OL commit Denzel Ward has transferred to IMG Academy in Florida. Said he moved down yesterday.
hmm, I wonder why.
Damn
Snake Oil
maybe he meant
that the Florida A & M Rattlers will be after him.
Formerly known as PahokeePahokee
book it, he is a golden
book it, he is a golden panther
Looking for BTTYS Nike sb Michigan Dunk Highs size 14, hit me up.
Is he even really
Is he even really considered a commit anymore? He basically said he was opening his recruitment back up a few weeks ago.
I would say not really at
I would say not really at this point.
When he said he wanted to visit Florida, I didn't think he would end up moving there.
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
I'm not sure
This may not really mean anything other than that he decided that was a great place to spend his senior season becoming the best he could at a game he probably never really thought he could play at the highest level.
Long time till next February.
That's awfully naive.
The
That's awfully naive.
The obvious questions to be asked: "How did this suddenly happen, and which Florida Gator booster is footing the bill?"
I kind of agree
I'm surprised how many people are taking such a pessimistic view of this right away. Just like Tuley-Tillman, maybe Ward does not come from a great high school football program. Seeing that Ward is new to the game, the IMG Academy could be how he feels he can best dedicate himself to getting better at football (just like QB Michael O'Connor did).
This is uncharted territory as IMG Academy is just starting their football program and fielding their first HS team this fall. We have no evidence how this is going to go, and may be something we end up seeing more in the future. And I am guessing the NCAA is going to be paying really close attention to the school so I doubt there will be any dirty dealings there.
Ward's recruitment was going to be battle with IMG or not, but we have a head start, and he still considers us his school right now. If we can keep him in the fold, we may get a more polished player and a possible early pipeline into IMG. Our coaches are already scheduled to be there tomorrow to visit Michael O'Connor:
Michigan, Michigan State, USF visiting tomorrow, gonna be a good day!!
- And I am guessing the NCAA
- And I am guessing the NCAA is going to be paying really close attention to the school so I doubt there will be any dirty dealings there.
Are you talking about the same NCAA that I am thinking of?
Hail.
Yes
NCAA has a tendency to turn a blind eye to hijinks of its own members, but not high schools especially one run by a sports agency. For example, their crackdown on AAU teams and the ruling on Eastern Christian Academy this year:
http://www.athleticscholarships.net/2012/09/20/ncaa-deals-blow-to-academy-football.htm
The only hesitation I have is that the NCAA is a client of IMG, but this article details the lengths IMG Academy has to go to make sure it stays on the right side of the NCAA. The academy has been around a long time, and most of their athletes play non-revenue sports.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/06/13/img-academies-weinke/index.html
Don't you go and try to back
Don't you go and try to back up your end of things with facts and citations... not cool, man...
Hail.
Hales Franciscan went 8-4
Hales Franciscan went 8-4 this past season (unlike Tuley-Tillman's Peoria Manual team, which went 0-9), but they're a tiny private school. He's likely not getting the best coaching or competition level there.
Plus the Bradenton/Sarasota
Plus the Bradenton/Sarasota area is nice. It's about a 45 minute drive south of me and I have an uncle there that we see a lot, and it's a sweet place to live, IMO. Close to Tampa, not too far from Fort Myers or Orlando, beautiful weather, Siesta Key Beach which is tip top, any restaurant/store you can think of, and not too bad of traffic by Florida's standards, ect. Probably why Maria Sharapova, Dick Vitale and numerous other people with lots of money live there.
I thought that sounded like a corporation
and upon wikipediaing it, I found that it is is basically part of a corporation. Based on the wikipedia article, I'm not actually sure it's a school...
See my post below, but it is
See my post below, but it is basically a school (K-12) that is geared towards "student-athletes"
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
Actually
it's probably the closest thing to being a college athlete. Entire schedule planned out with academic load just enough to get you into DI schools and emphasis on sports the rest of the day. Wake up, conditioning, classes, practice, study hall. Except the conditioning and coaches are way better than the average HS. Plus they have Manatee HS to compete with and they are always a top 50 (nationally) HS.
I don't hate often but when I do, I prefer to hate that school in Ohio. Stay Victorious My Friends.
I hope they're the Manatee
I hope they're the Manatee Manatees
“When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing” - Bo Schembechler
whoever named them got confused
They're the Manatee Sea Lions.
Really confused.
Because that would be like calling the Minnesota Timberwolves the Minnesota Elephants.
And they call themselves a school!
"I love him, he's a great coach, he's a great mentor, he's a great friend. He's every single thing you want a college coach to be, and he does it flawlessly." -David Molk
Are or our?
IMG??? To bad. Good luck to him.
From the Red Cedar Message Board: "God hates us." Yes He does Lil Bro, yes he does. Everyone hates you.
To or too?
n/t
All right Lemmings. Bring the heat.
Long way
Until next February, but like stated above, he basically isn't committed anymore, and if he is, probably not for long. I'm not pissed, the kid should take his time and make what he renders to be the right decision for him. If he chooses Blue, that's great, if not, there will be others my brothers.
Denard Robinson......They're not going to catch him!
Yeah....
I view this as a positive. He's going to get much better coaching and play against much higher competition down there. Sky's the limit for someone with that frame. I'd rather have a 50% shot at getting a vastly improved monster than a 90% shot at a really raw 4 year project.
Meh, this doesn't mean
Meh, this doesn't mean anything. Long time until 2014 NSD.
It's been a lot. Its been a roller coaster that for some reason seemed like it would never get good. But you know what? We kept fighting. It's like that old saying goes, "Those Who Stay Will Be Champions." -David Molk
He is still good friends with
He is still good friends with LTT right?
I was curious to see what the
I was curious to see what the IMG Academy is about and this is what I got from their website:
The Academy Program is structured with an annual two-semester system that runs from September – May. IMG Academy incorporates a “collegiate-style” daily schedule for student-athletes that consists of a half-day of academics and a half-day of sports training/competition.
At IMG Academy, academic enrichment and athletic skill development represent only a portion of the training that student-athletes receive. We instill the confidence that allows our student-athletes to aspire for anything that their mind can imagine, while providing the tools to help them reach those goals.
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
Sounds expensive
Sounds expensive.
pickup's free, mom!!
pickup's free, mom!!
It ain't easy being cheesy
IMG Academy has been around
IMG Academy has been around for a long time. In the beginning it was created so that tennis players can train year round with schooling on the side, but it has expanded since to golf than to other sports. Usually, they have no allegiance to any school. But I don't think this is a positive turn of events for Michigan.
They might not have an
They might not have an allegiance any school in particular, but
Additionally, the high school prep program includes: Early College / Dual Enrollment via the State College of Florida
I feel like that gives the Florida schools an advantage if the recruit wants to enroll early.
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
Not the same
The State College of Florida is not the same thing as the University of Florida or FSU. It is a public college located right across the street from the IMG campus.
Yes, but in my experience,
Yes, but in my experience, dual enrollment credits are really only accepted by other schools in the same system. I tried to take my FIU dual enrollment credits out of state and could not transfer them, but they were valid in any public univeristy in Florida. Now, whether that really means anything to a student-athlete deciding where to go to college is another question.
State College of Florida
used to be Manatee Community College. They just added a few BS degrees. So the credits should transfer like any other junior college.
I don't hate often but when I do, I prefer to hate that school in Ohio. Stay Victorious My Friends.
So
Is that bulls*** degrees or bachelor of science degrees?
For my privacy, my new username is "non-Oriental non-Andrew"
Pretty much bullshit. Florida
Pretty much bullshit. Florida decided a few years back that it doesn't want to have community colleges, and had I think all the community colleges add at least one bachelors program, so they could call them just regular old colleges.
I know
I'd watch more tennis and golf if o lineman were part of the action.
non-traditional education
IMG is a for profit entity involved in sports at all levels. I do not believe they are geared toward preparing well rounded people. I invision more of a for profit "Marinovich Program".
I would be surprised if this person matriculates at Michigan.
Do we know of any other D-1 recruits who attended this academy?
pbmd
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/img-agency-start-pre...
According to that article, 2013 was the first year they had a varsity team. Also, their head coach is Chris Weinke.
Greetings from Bolivia.
"It's special how the real true people hang together. And if you don't support the program you're not a true Michigan guy. It's that simple." - Gary Moeller
Does this place turn out a lot of D1 players?
What kind of track record does this school have of turning out big time players?
The high school program is relatively new
I believe they just started the high school football program a year or two ago. They haven't had much of a chance to churn out any reputable alumni yet. There is a Wikipedia list of "alumni," but these are all players that have trained at IMG for the NFL Combine.
I doubt UM considers the "credits" he will "earn" at IMG
to be worthy of transfer, since it's obviously a diploma mill for academically-challenged high school athletes. Cross him off the list.
This is false
IMG Academy has sent kids to Ivy League schools and other schools with similar standards as Michigan. The purpose of the school is to provide more intense preparation in sports and started with the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.
Michigan is on their page as well:
really?
sour grapes much Don?
It is what it is. Ultimately we are talking about a student athlete who is in his junior year of high school with an opportunity to go far with his football skills. Why shouldn't he go there and why wouldn't we want him if he did? Don't let your homer glasses obscure your view.
Honestly, I think some people don't have the stomach for recruiting... It isn't about any one kid and great talent usually comes with great risk. It is what it is.
We are the dead.
I'm currently an intern at IMG
The high school football program is still relatively new at IMG, but there have been players training for the NFL Combine at IMG for over a decade now. Based on the reactions I've seen from the who's who of draft prospects this year, the facilities at IMG are better than most major D-1 programs. It's a competitive environment, and whichever school ends up landing Ward will benefit from the year he spends here.
I wouldn't be worried
I would actually be happy about it. Being from Chicago I can tell you, CPS football players are extremely raw and not in shape to play in college right away. Coaching and facilities are sub-par.
Why are people worried about losing Ward?
He's a 3* raw prospect that's as likely to be a bust as he is a boom prospect. With how awesome our 2012 and 2013 OL classes are/were, losing an offensive line prospect like Ward doesn't cause me to lose sleep at night.
With that said, I'd love for him to remain committed, but losing someone like Ferns would be a MUCH BIGGER blow.
BTB, Conor's, and the Jug= The Trifecta
Ferns is a more polished
Ferns is a more polished player, but you could say the same thing about LB depth that you said about OL depth (lots of good talent in recent classes). Considering neither Ferns nor Ward should be required to step on the field immediately, both guys should have plenty of time to develop.
The NCAA has been cracking
The NCAA has been cracking down on schools like this.
No problem with this boarding
No problem with this boarding school. It has been a college prep boarding school for over 35 years with emphasis on Academics, Athletics, Leadership and Character. They have a full time NCAA compliance officer on site to make sure that things are done the right way. The school is experiencing tremendous growth and the team will play in 4 or 5 A and play a very good schedule. I am hearing they will be very talened since over 20 D1 coaches from all over the country have visited the football office in the last 30 days. They are now stopping there and at Manatee. There is great emphasis on honoring commitments to college as it is a big part of the leadership and character program they have in place. The L&C program is part of the John Wooden Leadership Program and is a formal curriculum. In 2012 over 150 college coaches were on campus. The only reason I know this is because my son went there and was recruited to play at many Ivey League colleges.
hmm, I wonder why.
“When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing” - Bo Schembechler