Magnus

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).

los barcos

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?

Blue_Bull_Run

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.

Erik_in_Dayton

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.

Blue Palasky_68

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!

Blue Palasky_68

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.

Blue_Bull_Run

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

Magnus

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...

Blue Palasky_68

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.....

Magnus

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.

Blue Palasky_68

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.

Blue_Bull_Run

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.

markusr2007

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.

markusr2007

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.

touchdown chad henne

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.

Tater

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.

Blue_Bull_Run

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.

Don

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.

SanDiegoWolverine

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.

Magnus

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.

aenima0311

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.