ESPN Article on Recruits Not Coming

Submitted by bluebyyou on

This is old news, but sums up the story about Dorsey, Kinard and Jones not joining the team as expected.  This was on the Big Ten Blog this morning and discusses that with the loss of Dorsey, the recruiting class has dropped down a notch.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten (no link to the exact story)

It drives me nuts to see three players, including one with the potential to make a large impact, not showing up.  While we don't lose the scholarships, we lose an opportunity and that is something that should not keep happening.   Plus, I hate the idea that information about our recruiting class dropping a notch becomes even more nationally disseminated. 

Between items like this, the NCAA investigation and our W-L record over the last two season, the hole keeps getting deeper and makes it harder to get great talent.

madtadder

June 29th, 2010 at 11:06 AM ^

Jones and Kinard were both going to redshirt anyways. Now they will just redshirt at a prep school. For a guy like Dorsey, he can play football just about anywhere he wants, but for Jones and Kinard, Michigan is definitely their best option. If they really want to play football, they will get their grades in order and come next year.

jumpbalya

June 29th, 2010 at 11:06 AM ^

Devin Gardner.  Who i think should redshirt.  although now that Jones is not here maybe he should not redshirt.  what do y'alls think?

sorry, it's off topic, but i'm just wondering.

Blue 57

June 29th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^

should redshirt. We have 2 capable QBs with a year under their belts. Letting him play in serious game time puts us back at that "freshman qb" status again. Losing Dorsey was a huge blow. That kid would have been on the field this fall without a doubt. That one really makes me sick.

jvp123

June 29th, 2010 at 12:16 PM ^

We may have 2 capable QB's with a year under their belt, but they're both going to be on the field a lot, which increases the chance of one of them getting injured. So, if Gardner is redshirted, it will be a decision that is made after the season, not during it (e.g., Justin Turner)

Zonereadstretch

June 29th, 2010 at 12:26 PM ^

I could be wrong, but I thought the decision to redshirt had to be made by a certain juncture in the season...game 7 maybe? If so technically the decision to redshirt would occur in season and be contemplated by the coaches ahead of that juncture.

RONick

June 29th, 2010 at 12:41 PM ^

This is a common misconception.  There are a standard set of circumstances set forth by the NCAA (I forget what they are exactly) which outlines the necessary parameters for a player to redshirt.  Once the season is over, anyone who can meet those standards then petitions the NCAA for the redshirt.  Thus, technically, the decision is made at the end of the year for every player...

Maizeforlife

June 29th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^

These areticles on ESPN and other local sources are over sensationalizing the attrition rate at UM.  This happens everywhere.  The only reason we have it spread across the front pages like this is because 1) Dorsey was a huge recruit and a major loss, and 2) RichRod is a lightening rod for controversy (whether it's merrited or not). 

bluebyyou

June 29th, 2010 at 11:14 AM ^

Is the loss of three recruits out of 27 typical for most programs?  I have no idea as to the percentage of no-shows in Division 1 or, for that matter, for Michigan before Rodriguez.  I can't remember specifically what happened with the 2009 class, but I remember at least one player didn't qualify.

denverblue

June 29th, 2010 at 11:19 AM ^

Here's the ESPN link:

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/13488/where-does-michigans-201…

It's a Rittenberg story, and he usually does a pretty good job of taking the high road and avoids sensationalist journalism.

Also, I think losing 3 recruits to academics in one recruiting class is, I would imagine (I don't have the numbers) higher than the average, hence the extra attention.

MCalibur

June 29th, 2010 at 11:55 AM ^

The difference is that Stanford manages to avoid singing iffy kids to LOIs (note: they are offered just vetted before signing day...novel concept).

Dorsey passed the clearinghouse and got rejected by Michigan. Same deal with Witty. Both of those are on Michigan as an entity. Coaches and Admissions are not on the same page. There's absolutely no reason for that.

Jones had a bad test score but a solid GPA by all reputable accounts. Nothing nefarious there.

I'm not sure what Kinard's situation was.

Nevertheless this whole uproar is bullshit. None of the players recruited by Rodriguez have had academic issues. The one who wasn't upholding his end of the bargain (Cissoko) got the boot.

RR dismissed a five star, starting cornerback even though it meant starting a walk-on in the secondary and the GPA is as high (or higher) as it has ever been, yet everyone wants to conclude that RR is willing to undermine academics in order for on feild success. Un-fucking-believable.

Feat of Clay

June 29th, 2010 at 1:16 PM ^

Dorsey did not get denied by the University.  There wasn't a decision made on his application (if he even fully submitted it).

This may seem like a nitpick but it's a pretty big distinction to me as a former admissions person, and IMO it's a pretty big distinction in this case.  Why?  Because to say he was rejected suggests something happened other than what our best information has been about his case. 

Feat of Clay

June 29th, 2010 at 4:37 PM ^

Were we not told that they never formally acted on his application?  It was reported that U-M returned his letter of intent because it was clear he wouldn't be admissable if/when his application became complete.

IMO the Daily headline was wrong to say Dorsey was "rejected" by admissions.  The term "reject" in admissions has a pretty specific meaning.  Everything I've heard sounds like his application--such as it was--was withdrawn because U-M wasn't recruiting him anymore and because everyone finally agreed U-M wasn't going to be able to accept him.

"Not accept" does not equal "reject" or "deny" in admissions parlance.  Negbang away; I realize it's nitpicky as all hell.  Also annoying, apparently. 

MCalibur

June 29th, 2010 at 6:32 PM ^

Yeah, I understand the need/desire to shape what history remembers about this particular episode but I know that I'll remember that Dorsey wanted to be here, the coaching staff wanted him to be here, and he's not. There's only one other party that had influence on the matter.

For the record I don't disagree with the outcome per se, only the manner in which it unfolded. I'm not rejecting what  you're saying and I actually believe it to be true, but there's simply isn't enough plausible deniability here for my taste. Sorry.

Firstbase

June 29th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^

...RR's or Michigan's fault that these kids are academically weak. For crying out loud, these kids have won life's lottery and should be working their butts off to take advantage of their good fortune. 

It isn't that hard to pass HS and get a passing SAT score. The Dorsey's of the world have no one to blame but themselves. 

bluebyyou

June 29th, 2010 at 11:27 AM ^

It may not be RR's fault that a kid screws up his HS academics, but one would think that our coaching staff should know from the gitgo whether a kid has a good chance of showing up in Ann Arbor August 1.  Maybe I am being naive in thinking that Michigan still has a strong presence on the national recruiting stage even with our recent "issues", but why waste your energy recruiting kids with iffy academics. 

Double Nickel BG

June 29th, 2010 at 1:14 PM ^

theres only so many talented kids that go above and beyond the academic standards, and also have a interest in Michigan?

 

I agree, if theres no chance for him to get in, don't recruit him. If it's 50/50 and you feel that the kid can come in and grow in the classroom while helping you on the field, you better believe I hope we go after him, even if we swing and miss a time or 2 a year.

Paly33

June 29th, 2010 at 11:20 AM ^

Correct me if i'm wrong but didn't Alabama under their second year with Saban sign a class of 30+ recruits and roughly 5-7 didn't make it to the Fall either?

My feeling is that this is not uncommon like DB has said before and will not be the last time.  Were just under a microscope at this point and they over blow every news story about the program.  Though I wasn't happy to see DD go.

jumpbalya

June 29th, 2010 at 11:23 AM ^

how does this affect the depth chart???  who do you all think will start at CB?  I say it should be woolfork and christian.  safety should be, i think, kovaks and maybe the impaler.  what say you all?

njv5352

June 29th, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^

This is not just a RR thing.  It has been happening for a while and at all major schools.  I psoted this in one of the Jones threads, but it applies here too.  This site has a wealth of info regarding the recruiting classes from 1993 to present.  It shows who was in, who left, who stayed, drafted etc......Surprising info here when you break it down by class. 

 

http://www.mikedesimone.com/recruiting/recruiting.htm

mds315

June 29th, 2010 at 1:06 PM ^

Its really interesting how social netwroking has really revolutionized recruiting.  Facebook and twitter have really added on the the scout.com and rivals.com's of the world.

Fifteen years ago, you didnt know players until they played

Five years ago, you knew who kids were as freshmen in high school.

Now, you can friend request or follow recruits.