November 14th, 2013 at 12:52 PM ^
Fuck fuck fuck, please make this horrid streak end
November 14th, 2013 at 12:52 PM ^
I knew it. Good luck to the future Rhodes Scholar.
November 14th, 2013 at 12:54 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 12:58 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 12:58 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 12:58 PM ^
the team's poor play blew another one...
November 14th, 2013 at 12:59 PM ^
Why would he come here? We have proven we aren't elite. And it looks like players are not progressing...
November 14th, 2013 at 1:00 PM ^
does this change if Saban goes to Texas?
November 14th, 2013 at 1:03 PM ^
Then he'll probably following Saban there.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:04 PM ^
Smart, classy kid. Best chance at success is Alabama ---> NFL. Not Michigan ---> NASA. He'll get coached by the best in the business and if he indeed has the drive, he will become the a first round pick with guaranteed millions. Hoke and Co. have to start winning before we can make such claims.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:08 PM ^
This sucks! I blame this on 2 things:
1. Our team playing so shitty this season
2. Essentially forcing Hand to choose between sports management here, or engineering at Bama. Even though Bama's engineering program is a JOKE compared to Michigan's, Da'Shawn apparently cares a lot about studying engineering. We shouldn't be telling top recruits that they aren't smart enough/have enough time, to study engineering at Michigan.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:11 PM ^
So let them actually enroll in engineering classes where the vast majority will discover they are in way over their head and flunk out? Honesty is probably better than blowing smoke up their butts.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:10 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:11 PM ^
.......we say that we have heard that Hand is fat, lazy, takes plays off, is not a true "Michigan Man" etc., etc.???
actually, good luck to him
November 14th, 2013 at 1:20 PM ^
Actually, I don't wish ill will on Hand. He's just a kid.
Instead, this is the part where we say, "Poor Hand, he shouldn't have gone and done that. No program lasts at that level forever. He just signed up for a program that's on a wave about to crest & crash. Saban to Texas, major NCAA violations & sancations, etc. Alabama will not be nearly the same program in 2015-2017 as it is today, and Hand will regret chasing a trend rather than helping to make one."
Slightly different approaches to the same thing: rationalizing a recruiting blow to our program, and telling ourselves things that will make us more comfortable in our warm beds at night.
November 14th, 2013 at 1:15 PM ^
November 14th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^
To what degree does this impact Malik McDowell's decision?
On one hand, I could see it being a big boost--one less D-lineman in the class to compete with for playing time. On the other hand, he's that less likely to belong to a totally dominant D-line a few years hence without the addition of Hand.
Also, how does Mattison play this final recruitment of McDowell now? It seems like for the longest time, McDowell was seen as the second fiddle to Hand, at least in terms of buzz & gossip. Of course Mattison's would never try to telegraph that to McDowell, lest they insult him. McDowell is a fantastic athlete and we would obviously LOVE to have him. But McDowell isn't stupid--he's gotta see his relative scores in the rating systems compared to Hand. Now that Hand is an impossibility, Michigan now turns it's sights exclusively on McDowell as a remaining D-line prospect and perhaps intesnsifies it's wooing of him. On one hand, that's a flattering--to suddenly be "THE GUY" that Michigan is after. On the other hand, if he perceives a sudden uptick in interest from Michigan, simply because Hand is no longer available, does that come across as insulting to him? In a sense, "Oh, NOW you're all about me, now that Hand isn't an option....."? Kind of like the girl who gets asked out by the popular guy in town, but deep down knows it's because his top other options didn't pan out?
Meanwhile, this entire time, MSU has been into McDowell and was not in the hunt for Hand. Hand's selection of Alabama makes zero impact on MSU's footing regarding McDowell, at least in isolation. MSU is the Steady Eddie--interested before, and interested after all the dramatics regarding Hand at Michigan. Is there a perception out there that this is the case? If so, does McDowell see any of this and decide that the edge should go the school that wanted him the same for the entire ride, rather than a Michigan who *might* have allowed their interest to flag a big when they thought that Hand was an option?