'14 OT Denzel Ward No Longer Committed

We barely knew ya.

Sam Webb just tweeted that he is "hearing it was Michigan's choice and did not leave the door open for a Dawson-like return" 

As mentioned, better now than this time next year.  I can't imagine the staff will have a hard time finding a quality OL to fill the spot (perhaps with lower cieling, but quality nonetheless).

This makes sense..seemed like this was trending negatively for the good guys.. oh well

It took him this long. Saw this one coming from a mile away

I always thought "He's 6'10", isn't that too tall to play football??".  I hope I am right.  

That's it. I'm getting drunk.

We've shown we can recruit OLmen and if he's moving to FL, and to a Gator pipeline...it may not be worth the trouble.

I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up at Auburn with Diamond.

You could see this coming miles away, even when he committed.  It was done too hastily in the first place.

Am I the only one that wonders how he ended up at IMG Academy in Florida? This seems SECish to me.

Im sure the New meme will be "hoke can't close on 6'10 offensive linemen one year before signing day"

With only 18 scholarships for next year, we must be careful on who we recruit. Wasting time, money and effort on players who potentially could decommit down the road would be a huge setback for the recruiting class. Good call by the coaches IMO to take the safe route.

I would rather have him than not, but to me this isn't much of a loss. Sounds like the main attraction with him was his size and potential. For me that always translates as a big unknown -- some chance that he could become great and some chance that he won't pan out at all. (We've all seen many cases of that, haven't we?) In other words, much less certainty than our other OL recruits the past two years, even if that position has a high level of uncertainty.

Having said that, with all of the line talent stockpiled, I do think it makes sense to go after a high-risk/high-return kid because we can afford a miss. Still, the bottom line on a recruit like this is there's a good chance he won't pan out.

Two years ago this would bother me. Today, not so much. He was a project of sorts and the way we've been recruiting the O-line it just doesn't bother me. Best of luck to the kid, stay down south.

this is not surprising in the least

Writing was on the wall for this one. Good luck to him.

I never get worried about kids committing/decommitting until the year they actual can formally commit.  He may well return to the fold, or go somewhere else.  Everyone involved will survive.

Everyone on twitter thought he wasnt going to last very long as soon as he moved to FL. I'm salty because we get these guys early like Ward, Conley before anyone knows their abilities. The kids jump to commit then decommit after other options come available. Just stop commiting early then decommiting. I read he is still considering Michigan, does he know Michigan closed the door?

-Salty.

No sad face here.   I wish Ward good luck, but I trust the coaching staff to make correct decisions.  If they pulled the offer, it was for a good reason.

Brady Hoke is proving that he can recruit well, and he has the full support of the Michigan Machine to give him leverage with the region's coaches.  The cupboard will be well-stocked, and the "loss" of Denzel Ward isn't going to make much of a difference.

shucks

but at least this is happening now. I kind of feel bad for the kid in a way. I mean, if it was really UM's decision to pull the offer for him taking visits, to think he could have just taken his time to determine where he really wanted to go before making his decision and this wouldn't be an issue. 

I'm pretty far removed from 17 years of age, but I do remember that making difficult life decisions at that time wasn't one of my strengths. In fact, every decision I made at that time was based soley on one thing...instant gratification, that's all that mattered. 

I know there is a purpose for the policy the coaches have adopted, but I will still feel bad for kids who make a hasty decision that isn't completely thought out and end up losing an opportunity to either a) visit other schools or b) miss out on attending a school you would have chosen because you wanted to make sure you made the right choice and visited another campus and your offer got pulled.

I don't know, maybe I'm just to sympathetic when it comes to teenagers because I remember what a mess I was during those years. Anyway, good luck to the kid. 

You never like to see these things happen, and we don't know the circumstances behind it happening.  Michigan will move on.  Best of luck to him. 

as opposed to next January.  He's a offensive lineman.  We're Michigan.  I've never known us to have trouble recruiting offensive linemen when we actively try.  And we'll be fine again.    

Seems odd if they don't let him recommit as he hasn't even finished his Junior year. Give him time and maybe he would come back but oh well.

...but Ward seemed to have a wandering eye. Better to be the dumper than the dumpee!

I concluded he wouldn't be part of the class. Cool first name, though.

@DW75_
Just to let it be known the Michigan coaches still told me I have my offer and they're still recruiting me. It was my decision to part ways