Could we have cooled on Grimes and Murphy?

Submitted by Huntington Wolverine on
I know these guys are supposed to be silent commits until signing day but with RR and company pursuing the mystery O and D linemen, is it possible that we've cooled on our pursuit of Grimes and Murphy? I know the staff was high on Grimes and willing to work with Murphy as part of the deal but we've seen a lot of commitments to shore up our secondary and it seems like we're in on some D-line guys that would be much bigger grabs than Murphy and fill gaps in the class better. If we have, it would free up two scholarships and allow us to fill some positions of need. Thoughts?
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BlueInDallas

December 28th, 2009 at 9:41 AM ^

If they are silent commits (which I've only heard on these boards), then that just means they want the stage to announce when the time is right. But, the coaches should be planning the rest of the class with them considered in the fold. In that case, I don't think the coaches have cooled. I think the coaches are recruiting until the end because kids change their minds and because we might have some non qualifiers.

Joined: 09/14/2009

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TomVH

December 28th, 2009 at 10:12 AM ^

No, Michigan hasn't cooled on them. If there's possibilities of guys not qualifying, like there is, it doesn't make sense to sit back and wait to see what happens. They're recruiting more kids, because they might have some spots to fill, which is smart. I said this before, but Tony Drake hasn't even taken his ACT yet. He's not going to get his scores back for awhile, so I'm interested to see what happens there, and why he never scheduled it in the first place.

Joined: 10/21/2008

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Blue_Bull_Run

December 28th, 2009 at 10:27 AM ^

It doesn't take a recruiting expert (which is good, because I'm not) to realize that its tough to get into college when you haven't even taken your SAT/ACT by winter break of your senior year. EDIT: For reference, the high school overachievers who applied to engineering school have probably already received an acceptance letter (that means taking the ACT/SAT + submitting it + having the admissions committee review it) by this time of year.

Joined: 11/25/2008

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jg2112

December 28th, 2009 at 11:29 AM ^

I'm trying to think back 16 years or so, but I believe I took my ACT in my junior year. I wanted to have it in the bag for when I started to apply for colleges in September of my senior year of high school. The fact that Drake isn't taking it until January is amazing to me.

Joined: 11/24/2008

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Tacopants

December 28th, 2009 at 4:17 PM ^

It didn't used to be that way. They instituted that for the HS class of 07 or 08 onwards because of the joke that was the 11th grade MEAP tests. Most college bound kids take the SAT/ACT sometime junior year or over the summer so they can start applying to colleges. Taking your ACT January of your senior year as a normal student basically guarantees that you wont get a chance to retake them before decisions are made and mailed. In Drake's case, he's not going to find out his scores until late February/March, and won't be able to schedule another test if he does badly until April/May/June. All in all, this doesn't sound good.

Joined: 07/06/2008

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Big_G

December 28th, 2009 at 10:20 AM ^

Tom do you think Michigan might start to keep their options open with other recruits as with Tony Drake starting to look more and more like a non-qualifier or a person who qualifies late in the process? Or as he'll be another slot/small back do you think Michigan might be viewing him as value added in that as he isnt playing a position of immediate need, they can still take him while anticipating that he will qualify at some time. I've seen film of Tony and he seems like someone worth waiting for, but it is becoming a bit alarming to see info such as him not even scheduling the ACT yet. It always make me shake my head when I see people treating the "student" part of student-athlete as an optional thing.

Joined: 06/30/2008

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Huntington Wolverine

December 28th, 2009 at 10:24 AM ^

It was just a theory I had rattling around and I figured this would be the place to air it out. I knew the non-qualifiers issue was the other factor for the late offers but I wondered if it was some combination of the two. Thanks for the info. Is there anything from Drake's academic performance (GPA, etc) to suggest that his ACT will be an issue? I could see him putting it off till after the season if he was pretty confident in his ability to get a qualifying score.

Joined: 10/26/2009

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jg2112

December 28th, 2009 at 11:31 AM ^

I've read online (sorry, don't have links) that Drake's HS corch stated he really didn't take academics seriously until he got the Michigan offer last spring. If so, that could explain why he's in academic peril, and why the ACT is no certain thing. FYI, and I don't know why I'm writing this here, but the St. Paul papers reported this weekend that Seantrel Henderson is 2 points shy on his ACT from qualifying.

Joined: 11/24/2008

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trueblue1997

December 28th, 2009 at 11:39 AM ^

the longer it takes for a recruit to commit, the less of a chance we have at getting them. especially the case with grimes, who i heard visited ole miss. dont know why he wants murphy to come with him so bad... on the other hand, i think that thronton is not a good chance to commit, wilson will probably go to tenn, and although i like kitchens, he may be blocked from commiting while rich rod applies the snake oil to taylor, the mystery DT, and the mystery OL (hopefully hurst, crisp, or donnal).

Joined: 12/22/2009

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wishitwas97

December 28th, 2009 at 12:46 PM ^

wanted to go to Michigan but there were some extordinary circumstances that prevented him from going to Michigan. He silently committed to Michigan twice only to be pulled back by an "outside" force. However, GBW was right on with Donovan Warren. They were the only one who knew that he was coming to Michigan while everybody thought that he was a lock to go to USC.

Joined: 01/29/2009

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