I talked with Josh Garnett
Hey guys, I talked to Josh last night and he gave me a bit more insight into why he chose Stanford:
He said he made the decision late the other night and that one factor that definitely came into play was the fact that it would be easier for his parents to watch him play in Palo Alto than it would be in Ann Arbor. He also said that for the majority of his commitment that he really felt like he was going to commit to Michigan but that in the end he felt more comfortable in Stanford. He continually has mentioned the Michigan fans and the support they showed throughout the process as well.
Also, it didn't sound like he had gotten an overly negative backlash from the Michigan fanbase, which is a good thing to report too. Overall, a good kid chose somebody else and while it would have been nice to see him in Ann Arbor, he'll do good things in Palo Alto as well.
EDIT: I don't post this to drag it on, or even to wish him luck. It's only to clarify why he made his decision and also to pat everyone on the back for being civil post-commitment.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:36 AM ^
January 27th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^
January 27th, 2012 at 9:42 AM ^
Garnett projects more to offensive guard, so I don't think it affects Diamond much.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^
You were quicker. I like how rivals projects him at OG, but then says that he reminds them most of Michael Oher.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:34 AM ^
I think it was 247 sports had diamond listed with a 270 lb. bench. I hope thats wrong
January 27th, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^
Me too I'm fat and far past my playing days and that's what I can put up right now and I'm like 90 pounds lighter than him.
January 27th, 2012 at 1:09 PM ^
I was always told benching your body weight should be average. I was 175 - 180 back in high school but I remember cleanly getting 300 lbs once or twice on our Nautilus weight machine ( little easier than free weights cause the machine balances the weight for you).
The fact he is a potential division 1 football player and out weighed me about 120 pounds and maxed out 30 pounds less than me is concerning if true. To be 100% honest tho I was chemically enhanced so I cheated
January 27th, 2012 at 1:33 PM ^
So you used a Nautilus machine and were on steroids...but you're disappointed that a (hopefully) clean kid who's 6'5" or 6'6" with long arms can't bench as much as you did?
As most of us probably know, it's tougher for people with long arms to build bulk/strength in their upper bodies. It's a longer process and one of the reasons why linemen get better with age and maturity. He has plenty of time to build up his bench press, and bench press is an overrated exercise, anyway, because it's not really functional strength that's being measured.
I'm not making the argument that 270 is a good bench press, and I've heard elsewhere that his commitment in the weight room is in question. But it's just kind of odd to me that someone who was using 'roids and a Nautilus machine is ragging on a high school kid for his weightlifting capabilities...
January 27th, 2012 at 4:11 PM ^
I said chemically enhanced not that i used roids and I was a high school kid so yea I would imagine a 300 pound kid would be able to put up a lot more than that. I said the nautilus balances the weight which makes it easier but it doesn't lift the weight for you. There are a lot of performance enhancing substances that where perfectly acceptable when I was 17-18 that are'nt now.
Dedication in the weight room is a big part into devolping a football player especially an offensive linemen. I'm not a football coach and I don't have my own blog , but a bench press has been the measure of upper body strength for over a hundred years. You have a point with the longer arms, i'm only 6 foot , but I'd think with him being a D1 4-5 star offensive line prospect he'ld be alot more physically powerful
January 27th, 2012 at 4:51 PM ^
I'm not sure what "chemically enhanced" means other than 'roids...unless you mean something like HGH, which is essentially the same thing. Still, you were chemically enhanced and I'm assuming/hoping he's not, so we're kind of comparing apples and oranges.
I know the Nautilus machines don't lift the weight for the lifter, but they help. If they weren't advantageous, people wouldn't use them. And if you didn't have it, the implication was that you wouldn't have been able to bench 300 lbs.
Yes, the bench press has been the measure of upper body strength for a long time. The world used to be flat, too.
One time I ran faster than Denard Robinson. Except I was in a car. And the car was going downhill.
January 27th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^
If a RB or WR was a D1 prospect and had a listed 40 time at 6.5 seconds you'ld think thats pretty slow for a WR or RB in D1 football. if someone said hey i ran a 4.5 in high school but I took performance enhancing drugs. A 4.5 is not blazing speed and a 6.5 is still slow just like a 270 bench is kind of weak. You're comparing apples to oranges anyways because 1 is a division 1 college athlete and 1 was an average high school kid!
I'm sorry you don't believe a bench press is a good measure for physical upper body strength. maybe sports science will change how they measure it because some dude on a blog says so.
you should have said one time i moved faster than Denard Robinson.
Like i said there are a lot chemicals people took as performance enhancers 15 years ago that where ok back then but by todays standards are not. There are constantly folks looking for new anabolic agents and not all anabolic chemicals are HGH or steroids. insulin for one is proven to be anabolic and is neither a steriod or a human growth hormone. DHEA is another now banned substance that you could buy from GNC when I was in high school. There are several others but i'm honestly done with arguement.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:43 AM ^
Not Aqua, but the general thoughts from the same folks that said Garnett to Stanford (aka the "insiders") is YES. This definitely helps. And with Kozan too, just not as much.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^
The biggest reason I wanted Garnett was that he is both athletic and intelligent, which is an often overlooked ability (SEC). Although we didn't get him I wish him luck at Stanford. He could have done much worse.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^
January 27th, 2012 at 9:39 AM ^
Pretty much how Webb called it on the radio yesterday morning . He said that under the presumed criteria that Michigan would be the school of choice. If he ends up at Stanford than distance was more of a factor than he was letting on.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:39 AM ^
West Coast guy stayed on west coast, which is understandable. Thanks for following up Aquaman, you are a great and classy source of recruiting information!
Now, how about those guys that are still interested in Michigan????
January 27th, 2012 at 9:41 AM ^
As much as I would have liked to get Garnett to Ann Arbor, it seems like we're pretty solid at the guard positions for a few years. I've always been high on Chris Barnett, and he has earned solid reviews from his freshman season. I also think Kyle Kalis projects to guard, and he's obviously an elite-level recruit. Garnett would give us options and flexibility, but he probably won't make or break the class.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:43 AM ^
I think you mean Chris Bryant. Good to hear he played well in practice this year, I hadn't heard much about him.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:59 AM ^
Duh. Stupid me. I meant Chris Bryant.
January 27th, 2012 at 11:11 AM ^
Besides aren't they buds (Diamond and Bryant), I thought they both played on the same line at Simeon HS in IL? Then they will enjoy playing the next few years alongside each other.
January 27th, 2012 at 1:27 PM ^
Yeah, they were linemates at Simeon.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:44 AM ^
You provide solid information Magnus, so I am not even going to bust your balls about you confusing our former fat TE for our current offensive guard.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:00 AM ^
Whoopsy daisy.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:00 AM ^
Whoopsy daisy.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^
Chris Bryant...for those confused.
And this is right, this whole class wasn't going to play together anyway...some guys from previous years, just like guys from the next class will play.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:49 AM ^
Great insight Mangus.
Edit: I obviously changed what I wrote because by the time I hit submit, I was the third jackass to correct him on Bryant.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:46 AM ^
you mean Chris Bryant not Barnett. I agree with you 100% we really need OTs and a center more than another guard.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:01 AM ^
Nope. I meant Chris Barnett. He's coming back to play offensive guard. Haven't you heard?
January 27th, 2012 at 9:48 AM ^
I agree. Garnett is a really good prospect, but college football teams aren't made or broken by a single recruit at offensive guard. If we had put all of our eggs into one QB basket and missed, that could have been trouble, but there are more important positions on the field than OG and positions where the correlation between star rating and college performance is much higher.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:41 AM ^
Can't fault the kid for wanting to stay near home. Best of luck to Josh. I hope he murders Pac-12 D-linemen for the next four years.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:42 AM ^
I wish him the best at Stanford. I would much rather have him commit there than have him come to Michigan and transfer there anyway because he's homesick. Time to move on to the next guy.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:52 AM ^
I wish I didn't follow him on Twitter, and thats my own fault for picking up on a vibe he was committing to Michigan. I don't blame him on wanting to stay closer to home. If that is his only reason that is a good enough reason for me. I can't say I will be rooting for the guy because to be honest, hes not at Michigan. I won't root against him, but I have never been interested in how a recruit does after he doesn't pick Michigan unless he goes to a rival and I want him to break his leg (Terrel Pryor).
January 27th, 2012 at 10:39 AM ^
For following any recruit on twitter
January 27th, 2012 at 9:45 AM ^
This eighteen-year old's life-changing decisions are adversely affecting the fortunes of the team I follow in an indirect way! How DARE he??!!
Honestly it's pretty idiotic to be upset with the kid over this choice. It'd be one thing if it were Columbus or -gasp- East Lansing, but he's going to a pretty good football team right now with an exceptional community of learning and support. And all along we knew how interested he was in an elite education, so congratulations.
If there's any school on the West Coast that we shouldn't feel bad about losing a good kid to, Stanford is certainly it. Good luck, Josh.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:44 AM ^
Really wanted this kid. Yeah, he projected at Guard, which we are probably ok at, but still this was an elite recruit, smart and personable. Wish him the best.
NEXT.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:44 AM ^
I am glad you proceeded with your interview (even if informal) and posted this even thought JG chose to go to Stanford. The fact that he also made himself available to you also shows his level of maturity. To me, this kid did everything the proper way, and in the end made a selfless decision so his family could see him play more often. If my son is fortunate enough to have the opportunity Josh had, I hope he handles it with half the grace Josh has.
Now, moving on...
January 27th, 2012 at 9:48 AM ^
If Stanford is able to land Kyle Murphy and Aziz Shittu, Shaw put together a really nice class in his first go-round at the helm.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:48 AM ^
But this need to rehab his image seems to be getting overly excessive. He's a recruit who loved another school more than us. Not the first, not the last. A lot of them are nice guys, and a lot of them choose schools a lot more objectionable than Stanford. But the fact of the matter is in a week no one on these boards is ever going to care about Garnett or what he does again, because he doesn't play for Michigan, and likely will never play against Michigan. I'm not sure he needs a pat on the back from the base he just rejected. Bye.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:56 AM ^
January 27th, 2012 at 10:11 AM ^
This a a fan blog board. It hardly reflects on anything other than to other super intense fan boards. No one is writing any columns in west coast newspapers saying "wow, isn't Michigan handling this kid going elsewhere classy?" Likewise, no one is wishing him ill will. He reject the school, the football team, and all those affliated with it, because another place was a better fit and choice for him (duh, other than dirty schools, is there any other reason a guy picks a school? Does he pick one that's not what he thinks is the best fit for him?). That is his right. But this need to over and over again make him feel good because he didn't come here isn't only going kinda overboard, but it's also completely fake. The amount of people who will actually be "rooting for him" are about on the level of those who actually, truly hope "he blows an ACL" or whatever. Practically none. Maybe guys like Aquaman who have actually talked to him, but the rest of us won't give him a second thought after signing day.
Just like he won't ever give Michigan a second thought. As it should be. People can say false platitudes, and neg posts because it makes them feel better about themselves, but they're just putting up disingenuous false faces for the public. Because come September, no one is going to be posting "how is Garnett doing threads?" (That would only happen if he committed to Arizona). I'm just not sure what makes this guy any different than the literally hundreds of guys we offer every year who choose to go someplace else, because it's a better fit for them. Good for each of them. But don't expect every fan base to say "Good luck", then "oh, it's ok he told our other recruits something different", then "oh, he had his reasons" and then "oh, good luck" again.
People are going overboard, and sounding like they got dumped by their girlfriend, and are trying way too hard to show it doesn't hurt. Great, good luck, Stanford's a great school and program. But if you don't want to come to Michigan, you're off my radar, and we'll worry about who wants to play for Michigan. Don't expect a parting gift.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:14 AM ^
There's no point in "wishing him well". It's silly to wish him harm, but we don't need to be a bunch of gracious grand-standers.
He chose not to go here. He's irrelevant, to me, unless we play him in the future or my Lions draft him. Out of sight, out of mind.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:04 AM ^
lol@those negging you.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:49 AM ^
I salute you, mr. garnett. Cherish your time at Stanford, it'll go faster than you think.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^
wrong choice. Thats the kinda kids we need. Good, solid, mature individuals. Ones that are half way there, and we can bring them full circle, and mold them into amazing people. We'll be fine, and im happy our class is as kickass as it is. I follow the kid on twitter and while im still very commited he made the wrong choice solely on football reasons (they have no qb and arent going to be near as prosperous as they have been).. the kid is out of luck! (cheesy neg me whatever haha).. All in all a good dude, and when he said earlier his sister would pick up the hat for him (no hats this time) i kinda knew he would stay close to home.
Moving on.. making room... still kicking ass!
January 27th, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^
And then chooses Stanford? Okay, buddy, whatever you say.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:23 AM ^
Nice and short, good sarcasm worked in.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:31 AM ^
That's quality posting right there.
January 27th, 2012 at 1:47 PM ^
Damn, more fuel for DB's misguided mascot obsession.
January 27th, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^
The problem is he chose the right school for him for the right reasons. We can't help our proximitiy to the kid's parents. That sort of class and decision making makes me want the kid even more. Oh well...Kalis will still cause blood to flow from ohio linbackers. Best of luck to young Mr. Garnett. Maybe our med school will get him someday.
Go Blue
January 27th, 2012 at 9:53 AM ^
Good Luck!!! You have a great school to help you in life after football. I never get that upset when a kid looks to his future. Best to your family.