OT-ish: 2018 LB Kolin Demens commits to UCLA

Submitted by Magnus on

Detroit (MI) Country Day linebacker Kolin Demens committed to UCLA this weekend. Michigan had offered him a while ago, but the staff wasn't pushing for him. I don't think he's really a fit for what they're doing defensively. He's the younger brother of former Michigan middle linebacker Kenny Demens.

Kolin is a 3-star, the #26 inside linebacker, and #535 overall in the 247 Composite for 2018.

https://247sports.com/Player/Kolin-Demens-88445

WolvinLA2

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:28 PM ^

Look, there's plenty bad about CA, but as someone who has lived both places, it's hard to say CA isn't a great place to live and anyone who says otherwise is just basing it on certain preferences. We have decent weather all year long with mountains and beaches.

Yes, we have negatives. Just like Michigan has lots of days of crummy weather and mosquitos. Typically there's a reason the more expensive places are more expensive though.

WolvinLA2

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:01 PM ^

California is clearly not for you, just like Michigan is not for everyone. But in 11 years in LA, I've never been affected by a riot, a flood, a mud slide or a fire. But every single year Michigan has months of snow, rain, construction and bug bites. And it's funny you mention floods, because at least half of the people I know in MI have had their basement flooded.

This is not a dig on Michigan - you can ask my CA friends, my MI love is borderline obnoxious to them. But I think the CA hate is stupid. Every state has its downsides. Most states don't have much in terms of upside. California definitely does.

xtramelanin

October 23rd, 2017 at 5:28 AM ^

and traffic season is going to get you today, tomorrow, the next day, etc.  

as intimated, i am grateful for my time out west.  the experiences and friendships, not to mention finding my mgobride, are important parts of my life.   but i actually enjoy the snow, rain, fall (peak season right now), the various hunting and fishing trips i can take by....walking out my back door.  i like weather and i missed it when i lived out there.  i like people, but not crowds, so good luck with that in most of cal., or at least within 100 miles of the coast.   oh yeah, when water becomes the last great commodity, we've got it here.  

WolvinLA2

October 23rd, 2017 at 10:40 AM ^

Yes - there's traffic in LA.  But you seem to be comparing LA to rural MI, and that's not a very good comparison. It's not like traffic isn't also bad in other major cities.  I hear many of my friends in SF, Chicago, even Detroit complaining about traffic plenty.  And most people in Michigan aren't fishing and hunting in their backyard like you are, so again it's not a great apples to apples comparison. You could live in the Sierras and hunt and fish in your backyard too.  

Your argument just seems to hinge completely on your own preferences.  Those are fine for why YOU chose to move back, but aren't exactly unbiased reasons for the sake of discussion.  Not everybody has the "I like fall, not beaches" opinion.  

HAIL-YEA

October 23rd, 2017 at 3:22 PM ^

love cali dude, but traffics at its worst in Detroit and the burbs is nowhere near what people in cali go through. Detroit traffic at its worst is a mild annoyance, yes the roads and people suck but at least you can get to where you want to go. All that said, I mean come on you don't need to defend California, everyone here can talk shit all we want, you still live there and we live here.. you win. 

ST3

October 23rd, 2017 at 11:10 AM ^

I've lived in LA for 20+ years. The last major earthquake was the Northridge quake in '94, three years before I moved out here. As far as natural disasters go, I'll take that over tornado season any day. So we have to strap our bookshelves to the studs in the wall. We've learned how to build out here to deal with a little earth shaking, so as long as your house wasn't built before the 70's a minor tremor is no big deal.

Riot season? The last riot was the Rodney King riot in 1992, 25 years ago. Riots can spring up anywhere - Ferguson, Charlottesville, Baltimore, Oakland. The Detroit riots of the 60's killed the inner city. The truth is, Los Angeles is one of the most culturally diverse regions of the world. Want some good Vietnamese food? Try Little Saigon. Want some Ethiopian food? We got that too. You get to learn about other cultures by living with people from other cultures. Sure, there are enclaves, but my 12 year old has been exposed to more ethnicities than I ever was growing up in the sheltered hamlet of East Lansing.

Flood season? Don't live in a flood plain. We don't have basements because of the lack of tornados. I don't know anyone who has lost anything of value to a flood out here. My parents' basement regularly flooded back in Michigan.

Mud slide season? Don't live on a hill side.

Fire season? Again, don't live on a hill side and keep the brush clear from your house.

Traffic season? Live near your job. It takes me 15 minutes to get to work. My brother in Ann Arbor drives 45 minutes to his job. My uncle in Michigan drives an hour. It's all about choices.

I could bash on Michigan, but you and I both know that you are staring at the next five months of cold, snowy, slushy, cloudy, overcast days where you go weeks at a time without seeing the sun. There are no leaves in the trees to look at while you are walking around in soggy, wet socks from the grey slush. Enjoy your winter!

Cali Citrus Man

October 23rd, 2017 at 11:54 AM ^

Look, LA is good for a lot of people.  I live in CA and actively plan my way through there to get to SD.  It's the city in America I dislike the most.  Much prefer NorCal...but some people like it.  The other guy likes it up north.

xtramelanin

October 23rd, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^

i have lived through dozens of eartquakes, 3 of which were pretty significant to me.  my oldest brother had to rebuild his house, and it was no 70's house.  the whittier narrows, norcal world series (10/17/89?) and northridge quakes were major.  

most of the coast is in a flood plain, and some of that is the 'don't live in the hills' part you alude to.  paid flood insurance for years.

i lost about half my unit to the king riots and it was weeks before i got them back.  miles and miles of various parts of LA were on lock-down for weeks.  it was a scary time.   you have also forgotten the berkley riots earlier this year, and recent riots in places like anaheim (x2) and sacramento.

maybe you have not been in a real fire if you think merely trimming the brush around your house (which is prohibited in some places due to enviromental concerns) is all it takes.  i have had the plane dropping water on me/my house while my sister watched in michigan from the live TV feed.  2 other times i evacuated when i lived in the state forest in an old cabin.  had to take the horses out too.  scary, fast, business.  mgobrewmom i think was evacuated within the last year due to fires.

mudslides killed people this winter/spring, the oroway (sp?) dam just about blew out, and you had more mudslides in norcal this year.   cal is 'hilly', so again, tough to avoid those. 

traffic in LA and much of cal is a constant, never ending problem.  and to think that everyone can afford to live near their work is unrealistic.  

southern michigan is cloudy, i'll grant you that, but for NW lower and the UP, not so.  and yes, some of us actually like snow.  lots of it.  love all the other seasons too, but winter is no orphan.

enjoy LA (not meant sarcastically), i know i did for a time in my life but as you say, preferences are important.  

 

 

xtramelanin

October 23rd, 2017 at 7:01 PM ^

actually the flood (lots of that this year), fire (burning right now as a matter of fact.  how's napa?)  and mud slide (dozens this year) seasons pretty much happen when you'd expect them to, so that probably qualifies as a 'season'.  traffic season is every single day in cal.   and yeah, you only had a few riots and a few worthwhile quakes and those don't really coincide with any weather event.   so gosh, dozens and dozens of occurrences if we're being literal.  is that enough or do we need more? 

and to be clear:  i'm not knocking your choice of living there, i'm just pointing out the signifcant quality of life issues that anyone would need to have peace with.  some do, some don't. 

Inman

October 22nd, 2017 at 7:19 PM ^

that has a Michigan offer and doesn't accept is going to regret it as long as Harbaugh is here. I know it doesn't look like it now, but I truly believe it. I know there are other reasons for picking a school other than winning, but Harbaugh is gonna do some special things here and if recruits aren't aboard... their loss.

M-Dog

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:19 PM ^

Side question for Magnus . . .  how do you think last year's Michigan defense would have done against this year's Penn State offense?

In other words, would the Don Brown scheme have worked against Penn State with more experienced players . . . or does he need to modify his blitzing single-coverage scheme against a team like Penn State no matter who his players are?

 

 

Magnus

October 22nd, 2017 at 8:56 PM ^

I think it would have been better, but not great. They still would have been able to take advantage of our safeties' coverage and Barkley's physical advantages. I do think Michigan would have fared better against the power read stuff with Glasgow, Charlton, Wormley, etc. on the defensive line and rotating in this year's starters, but the RPO stuff would have still been there. This is also a situation where a very good defense is paired with a bad offense, kind of like in 2013 when the O kept letting down the D. When you can't move the ball and can't score, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense. I think it would still be a comfortable win for PSU, by a couple touchdowns.