Drake no longer a Commit per Scout
http://michigan.scout.com/a.z?s=162&p=8&c=1&nid=3428162
This is his profile page where interest level is listed as Low, but the only school on his list is Michigan.
But even more, at Scout, UM went from 26 commits to 25 with Drake no longer listed.
January 20th, 2010 at 3:51 PM ^
Even though I think Drake is a good player, I'm satisfied with Williamson and Dileo playing slot from this class. We're deep at slot receiver right now, especially with Teric Jones moving back to offense (although I think he might have moved to offense partly because of Vincent Smith's injury).
January 20th, 2010 at 4:26 PM ^
I'm really excited to see him challenge for PT - glad there is some time separation between him and Odoms/Roundtree (I'm pretty sure he redshirted) b/c he could be a really solid player.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
Yes, Gallon did redshirt.
January 20th, 2010 at 3:54 PM ^
I don't get why Teric Jones blew his red shirt last year. Kind of a waste.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:49 PM ^
The coaches probably think they can recruit a more productive player in the intermediary than offering a 5th year to Teric. If he's not going to get a 5th year either way, why redshirt him? Might as well use him when you have him.
January 20th, 2010 at 3:55 PM ^
not coming was fairly well known. too bad. but if theres on position we dont need people, id say its slot.
wasnt there talk that kinard may not be eligible either? i havent heard about it in a while so i assume he's fine. anyone know?
January 20th, 2010 at 4:17 PM ^
There were indeed rumblings about his grades, but there were a number of recent articles in which he talks about what position the coaches told him that he will play, etc.
The implication there is that he'll be eligible.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^
http://twitter.com/UMGoBlog is saying there might be arumblings a recruit from Ohio wont make the grades...kinard?
January 20th, 2010 at 4:02 PM ^
I wasn't that thrilled w/ Drake until Magnus mentioned liking him. That caused me to watch his highlight tape. That kid is a midget bolt of lightning! I really hope he can get his test score (or whatever) in order and enroll. He was born to play in Coach Rod's offense.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:09 PM ^
If true, I wonder what side lost the interest? If the coaching staff knew he wasn't going to make it in, as all on here have come to believe, could this be the start of making room for the end of recruiting surprises? Now saying that, I was really wanting to see this speedster on the field on Saturdays!
January 20th, 2010 at 4:20 PM ^
He hadn't even take his ACT as of recently. Stated frankly, that's not a good way to get yourself into college - be it UM or any other school.
In my opinion, if you want to play big time college football, it's you responsibility to at least sign up for the damn test.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:45 PM ^
I guess the real question should be, is the coaching staff going to keep him a spot next year if he can get his academics in order? It seems that we will be a little down on scholarships next year as per the 2011 board and I wonder if the coaches will still be interested in bringing him in next year ala Witty this year.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
If Drake is really as good a prospect as some people think, then it makes sense to keep a spot for him next year. In fact, it might even work out better that way - let's be honest, we really didn't need another slot in this class. If we bring him in next year, at least we'll be spacing them apart.
But we need to keep in mind that next year's prospects will be entirely different. It's possible that Drake isn't even good relative to the 2011 class
January 20th, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
The thing is, if the kid isn't even willing to take the qualifying test, then that seems to say something about his character. Witty tried really hard to qualify and the coaches stuck with him. Drake, on the other hand, never visited and never took his test. I don't know if Rodriguez will put in the time/effort to work on this kid and wait for him again, but the biggest thing to me is that Drake played for Skyline HS in Dallas, which is a powerhouse. If Rodriguez wants to make inroads at Skyline and nab some future recruits, it might behoove him to work with Drake. We'll see, I guess...
January 20th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
I can see your point, but it doesn't seem that we pull enough recruits from Skyline for this to be a factor. Plus, with all the blame solely on Drake, I can't see where it would have any effect on going back there next year or years to come. With Texas being under Mack Brown's finger, he would be our biggest problem. Just my E-pinion though.....
January 20th, 2010 at 5:49 PM ^
Yeah, but we also went after Corey Nelson, who was interested in Michigan for a split second. So Michigan obviously smells what Skyline is cookin'. Keanon Cooper is another guy from Skyline who got an offer from Michigan a couple years ago.
The blame would fall squarely on Drake's shoulders, but it would look especially good if Michigan worked with Drake and waited for him to get eligibile.
I'm not saying we should. I'm just offering pros and cons.
January 20th, 2010 at 10:11 PM ^
I agree with what your saying. I would love for Michigan to start getting some of these kids from Texas like we are from Florida. If we can be a presence in three of the hotbeds in the nation, this turn around would be a lot less painful.... but I guess a couple winning seasons would help too.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
Weren't you particularly high on his potential? But you're right, his academic potential is probably quite low if he hasn't even tried the ACT yet.
Isn't it funny that some of these kids can barely get out of high school, but once they get into a football program they tend to be able to make it through college with the help of tutors? I think that says something about the state of college football.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^
I don't know... A lot of these guys with academic problems in high school have the same problems in college, too. Marques Slocum is just one example.
But yes, I was high on Drake. I still am. If he ever makes it to college, I think he could be pretty damn good.
January 21st, 2010 at 12:15 AM ^
I don't know. It might also say something about getting the additional help of a good tutor or the discipline that likely comes along with it.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:09 PM ^
At the same time, the kid has his own ass to kick for not taking school seriously. I would have liked him to be a part of this class. It's a shame.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:14 PM ^
Would have liked to add Drake to the mix for purposes of competition, but good god almighty Michigan already has Odoms, Roundtree, Grady, and Gallon, plus Teric Jones and this Drew Dileo character.
If RR wins more time, we'll probably see more slot positions in next year's haul.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:21 PM ^
You forgot Terrance Robinson. Sadly for him, that seems to be a recurring theme.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:14 AM ^
excited by the prospect of TRob at slot in this offense. I thought he was going to be a real force, but, eh, not so much.
Still early, though, as I said. Here's hoping that the 'light comes on' for TRob at some point in his UM career.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:27 PM ^
was another example of the voodoo kind of "bad luck" Michigan's been having trying to extract value from their recruiting classes.
It sucks because he looked very promising coming in as a freshman.
As far as I'm concerned, Michigan's football media guide can never have enough Robinsons on it.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
Robinson had serious problems holding onto the ball based upon reports out of practices.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:27 PM ^
I'd rather lose him now than lose him after we've already given up the time and the room in the class. If we thought he was in and then he didn't make the Clearinghouse, like what happened (I believe) with Spoon and Taylor Hill, and we'd lost out on Rashad Knight or some other guy waiting for his turn, we'd all be pissed rather than just a touch sorrowful.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:45 PM ^
Marcus Witherspoon never made it in, but as far as I know, Taylor Hill got cleared to play. He just didn't like it once he got here and decided to go back closer to home.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^
situation was that he was completely left in the dark by the coaches and then told one day while in camp that he did not qualify.
Seemed like they did not communicate well with the kid, which I think is something the coaches owe to a kid.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:53 PM ^
That is seemingly what happened, but I also read recently that Witherspoon and Rodriguez had a disagreement on the practice field, too. I don't think Witherspoon was a great fit for Shafer's defense, and apparently he didn't show a great work ethic. He hasn't got on the field at Rutgers, either.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:17 PM ^
Yeah I knew Taylor, and he just wanted to be close to his family.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:29 PM ^
...it's more proof that RR is serious about his players being student-athletes. When you're "all in," you had better really be all in, and that includes taking care of business in the classroom. I hope parents who care about their upcoming-recruit sons take note of this.
RR is not going to let anybody slide, nor is he now going to take anyone who is a risk to do so. RR is doing things the right way.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:02 PM ^
By failing to take the ACT, Drake created a situation in which no football coach or admin could help him out.
It's not like RichRod asked him to graduated in the top 10% of his class or anything.
I'm curious what's going through his head. The only possible conclusion is that he doesn't even really want to play D1 football.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:40 PM ^
presumably he could take his tests and be admitted somewhere for 2011, but some kids for whatever reason just don't seem to be cut out for college. It's not for everybody. I hope he gets it together just for the degree.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:12 PM ^
Couldnt we ask Drake to grey shirt? I thought thats what they are used for.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
As I undertand the term "grey shirt," and as it's used at OSU, it can't work b/c he can't enroll in the school...He'd probably be best off, in my half-knowledgable opinion, going to a military academy and doing nothing but working on his test score and playing football.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
Ok so in order to be grey shirted, you have to be academically eligible in the first place. Makes sense now that I think about it. Thanks for clearing it up.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^
The year of your grey shirt (again, as I understand it) you're enrolled in school but not on the team. Todd Boeckman (spelling?) did that at OSU.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^
I just read a recruiting article today about a player who wants to play for Florida State but because their class is full he was only offered a grey shirt. In the article it says that the grey shirt just means the recruit would enroll in January 2011 to count towards that recruiting class. If I can find the link I'll post it. But I had been under the impression before that grey shirt meant they player enrolled but payed his own way the first year.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:47 PM ^
Hey Magnus(Or anyone else with reliable info)
I thought i remembered hearing that Kinnard could have similar academic/clearinghouse issues. Any word on one of our only true LBs?
January 20th, 2010 at 4:49 PM ^
I haven't heard anything specific regarding his academics, but a couple recent articles (from Rivals and AA.com) indicate that he's still primed and ready to come to Ann Arbor. He took his official visit last weekend and was at the UConn game, so that seems like an indication that everything looks good for him to sign in February.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
That you have to be cleared to take an offical visit? I thought RR said that last year during a news conference.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:55 PM ^
I think it is kinda ironic that when Michigan loses a commitment that our average player ranking on Scout goes up.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:32 PM ^
Ryan got his 3rd star today... some of our other commits got their position rankings (but not stars) increased. That's why we went up 1 spot
January 21st, 2010 at 12:24 AM ^
The added stars after committing makes RR look really good. He is catching the guys the services missed.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
read above
January 20th, 2010 at 4:58 PM ^
That's what we need!
We need Sean Parker and Rashad Knight.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:11 PM ^
Good news. That opens up space for either Parker or Knight without grayshirting anyone.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:19 PM ^
A shame. Of all the lesser-regarded kids in this class, I had the highest hopes for Tony Drake. He always seemed to have a few long plays ever week in the Friday Night Lights posts.
I'm sure whomever fills his slot will be more than adequate though.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:50 PM ^
As for the more general Drake topic, I too am ambivalent. He looked promising, but perhaps he's not ready for the responsibility of being a student athelete at a major institution.
Nice to hear Kinnard seems to be in good shape. LB depth woo-hoo!