Dallas Crawford Decommit.
http://mgorecruit.blogspot.com/ is reporting that ESPN says Dallas wil visit and decide between Miami, USC and UNC officially before making his final decision.
Dissapointing but i would not mind replacing him with a DT or a position of need. Quite a big DB class.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:58 AM ^
Well Tabb has dropped us too. If I were Brady Hoke I'd be going after Frank Clark for Tight End and then whilst he's in Glenville, make a play for Cardale Jones, as we really need a QB in this class.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
RR got some to visit, but he had no connection to LC and didn't get any to commit. Ginn Sr. hated LC after his son didn't get an offer. Brady Hoke coached with LC and was his choice. This is Michigan. 3 strikes and you're out.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^
Not according to Sam. The last two mornings he has said that Ginn Sr. likes Hoke and has great respect for him. Not sure if that translates into commits, but it sounded like an improvement over recent history.
Sorry no link, I think today he mentioned it during the recruiting roundup.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:55 AM ^
This is a huge blow to this recruiting class. Hopefully coach Hoke reaches out to him and brings him back, if not I wish Crawford the best of luck.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
I wish he would talk to Hoke once before he made this decision. I just feel anyone who gives this guy a chance will be won over.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
He has the benefit of being at a major college, but these kids have never heard of him as most of them he never recruited. To the recruits he is a no name and most of them thought RR just needed more time. Dallas has said as much in regards to RR only get two full recruiting classes.
On the bright side Michigan and Ohio have exceptional HS talent next year and we should be able to sign a full class. OSU only has 13 available scholarships for next year at present.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
would at least talk to Hoke? This recruiting class is looking very, very thin.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^
huge loss. We needed this guy. But whatcha gonna do -- this is going to happen with a new coach. Just have to weather the storm, hope some of our less heralded corners come thru.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:57 AM ^
Hoke has an impossible task to salvage this class in less than three weeks. That really sucks DB waited so long to decide on Rich Rod.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
DB put Hoke (and the recruits, too) in a bad position by waiting so long to make a decision
January 13th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
that DB apparetnly had already made in his mind in November.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:57 AM ^
I hope Hoke is on the phone working the recruits hard trying to get them all back on board.
January 13th, 2011 at 10:58 AM ^
January 13th, 2011 at 11:08 AM ^
January 13th, 2011 at 11:04 AM ^
So...less than 3 weeks before signing day and we are down to 13 commits, none of whom play QB or WR. And that's assuming Goudis remains committed, which is up in the air.
Wow.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:02 AM ^
This class is going to be a fucking nightmare in a few years. I don't know if it is in the top 40...
January 13th, 2011 at 11:06 AM ^
I agree that it will be a sinkhole, but if Hoke can shore it up somewhat and all of the underclassmen from the past few years continue to pan out, UM will be able to survive. Other teams have the random poor class (though to be fair, rarely this bad), yet still recover. We'll see, but hopefully Hoke can rally the troops in the next couple of weeks.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:42 AM ^
Completely agree with His Dudeness...This class could haunt us. We are lack of talent in many areas (I think we would agree DEFENSE) & getting a piss poor class is not going to help going forward. Plus, national perception that UM is losing, has a no name coach in their eyes & recruits aren't spurning them is not good.
It's not all doom & gloom, but I think this Hoke transition could be as ugly or more so than RR's 1st few years. Keeping all the current players is HUGE because they're not filling behind them in recruiting right now.
Hopefully Hokemania can poach the shit out of some studs before signing day....
January 13th, 2011 at 11:04 AM ^
I will only caution that Dallas may change his mind once Hoke gets in contact with him, and we don't know whether or not this has happened yet. Kids are fickle and can change their mind, so who knows. But yeah, huge loss for this recruiting class, though honestly at this point I'm not surprised. This falls completely on DB, and I hope that nobody forgets this in a couple of years and blames Hoke and/or RR.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^
I agree, Dallas may change his mind. The issue is time. With this weekend cancelled. There are 2 weekends to visit. That will be tough with new coaches.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:04 AM ^
sucks....hopefully hoke can work da 2-minute drill 2 perfection and snag sum late high-quality recruits
January 13th, 2011 at 11:07 AM ^
I'm reserving judgement until LOIs are signed. I still think a lot can happen between now and then. In any case, freaking out about it doesn't help.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:08 AM ^
His biggest recruiting job is Denard Robinson.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
enough of the press conferences, interviews and luncheons. Get to work on recruiting, please.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
"Quite a big DB class" ???
Not compared to the NEED, it isn't.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
we need to start targeting every available 3 star (and likely 2 star) recruit left. Unfortunately it appears this recruiting class is doomed. DB really hamstringed Hoke with the late hire. Now we will have to wait even longer for Hoke to get decent talent to fit his system. He is certainly not set up for success. Although I respect DB's notion to "do what's best for the players" in regards to the bowl game, what about the players' experience next year and their chance for future success?
January 13th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
So he decommitted BEFORE having a conversation with Coach Hoke?
That's not Hoke's fault or Brandon's. Some other coaches out there are snake-oiling our kids (as evidence by the recent quotes from Denard's HS coach).
January 13th, 2011 at 11:12 AM ^
gave an interview where he blasted the crap out of Dave Brandon and said that if Brandon had just handled all this in December, Crawford and a bunch of other guys wouldn't be looking around.
Whether that's fair or not, it sounds like all this was very much a factor.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
He decommitted BEFORE Hoke was hired. But then Michigan was still a finalist.
Now he's dropped Michigan completely.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:22 AM ^
but we had coaching limbo so we didn't get anybody. Like it or not most kids commit to a coach who they have built a relationship with over time. BH didn't recruit many kids of Dallas' ability at his previous HC jobs. It was well known that Dallas was going to decommit unless the new coach was someone who had previously been recruiting him (Miles).
January 13th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
January 13th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^
What? Where did you read anything like that?
January 13th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
January 13th, 2011 at 11:19 AM ^
link?
January 13th, 2011 at 12:56 PM ^
The top part got cut off but it Dallas said he thinks the 2 best DBs are Karlos Williams and Deanthony Thomas.
January 13th, 2011 at 1:02 PM ^
I agree that Karlos Williams and DeAnthony Thomas looked like the two best defensive backs in those games, but some of those comments about Countess are silly.
Some people get offered because of their size? Is that why 5'10", 171 lb. Blake Countess got college offers? Because he's so huge?
January 13th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
It aint over till the fat lady sings, we have time before signing day to talk with all and get them back. Verbals arent final and we may see some other teams verbals become our signings. Also should see some names we have not heard of from the wwest coast as coach Hoke settles in, right now staff is job1.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:30 AM ^
and also remember, signing day is not the LAST day guys can sign - it's the first one...obviously, the majority of the guys will have made up their minds, but there will still be some opportunities.
any word from TomVH about Hoke's SDSU recruits and how many he might bring? I've been off the board for 18 straight hours for the first time in a week...
January 13th, 2011 at 11:11 AM ^
get on the phone with Dallas
January 13th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^
we have a coach that wants to improve the defense. Doesn't make sense. More to the story obviously.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
We fired the coach that recruited him and brought in a new coach 3 weeks before signing day that he's in all likelihood never heard of.
January 13th, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^
I understand that there is a lot of uncertainty for some recruits these days, but he committed to Michigan at a time when the head coach was on the hot seat, all signs pointed to the DC getting sacked at the end of the season, and the Michigan defense appeared to be in a downward spiral. Assuming we get the DC situation figured out ASAP, he would still have the opportunity for playing time, but would be working with a defensive-minded coach. For a defensive player, I don't see how the current situation is worse (again, assuming that we get a decent DC sometime very soon).
January 13th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
He'll have to wait until tomorrow to call him
EDIT: My bad. They are allowed one phone call per week.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:14 AM ^
This is the thing that irritates me the most about Dave Brandon's insistence that his timeline would not hurt things long term. It absolutely does, because this weak class will be redshirt juniors/seniors in Hoke's fourth season -- the guys that will be relied on to lead the team and most likely be the biggest producers.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
It's clear DB put Hoke in a tough situation by making his decision late.
However, I think the biggest issue with recruiting is an aura of negativity surrounding this program for the last few years. Even when RR was doing well at the beginning of both seasons, there seemed to be this overhanging suspicion that all was going to fall apart as the season went on. Sure enough, it did, and it made it harder and harder for RR to recruit when people were whispering behind his back that he may not be around much longer. Transition to Hoke, where all these former players and coaches are speaking out for him. I know they were partly (mostly?) responsible for RR not getting a fair shake early on in his career at Michigan, but their voice means a lot. To have Braylon and Hutch and some other guys supporting our new coach is starting to bring some of this positivity back to our program. I think we all could do a little part in trying to help this along, as it will go a long (but not necessarily statistically-based) way in helping recruiting.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:16 AM ^
According to Rivals, Dallas has said "That ship has sailed."
It's unfortunate because he might have been the best DB in the class. I like Countess, but I'm not too high on the other two.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:23 AM ^
First off ESPN recruiting is not top tier.
I'm pretty sure Dallas hasn't even spoken to Brady yet and Michigan doesn't even have DC. Or a DB coach. So this song isn't over yet.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
what are the odds of landing jernigan now that we have a DL coach who runs his preferred system?
January 13th, 2011 at 11:32 AM ^
Given that he's probably never heard of Brady Hoke, I'd say our chances with him are pretty darn slim. He wants to stay in the south.
January 13th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
The "he's never heard of him" argument is getting tires. How many of us hadn't heard of Hoke before a few weeks ago? How much do you know now? WHat if he came to your house and told you about himself and his philosophy for 4-5 hours? It doesn't take long to get to know a guy.