Question on S. Pittman
I read that there was a rumor he'd tried to commit to Michigan, and the coaches weren't responsive. Then he committed to MSU.
What I want to know is:
*Are these rumors substantive?
*If so, did the coaching staff see something they didn't like? Or, was there a good reason to pass on a 4* rivals ranks as the #8 WDE?
Tim mentioned in the recruiting update that the coaches may have wanted him to get his grades up before accepting his commitment.
Look at Tim's weekly update on the front page. That may help answer your question (not trying to sound like a dick, just there was / is a ton of speculation out there about the situation).
Rumors being recycled and eventually passed off as fact.
Bill Greene, OSU recruiting reporter, reported that Pittman was ready to commit to Michigan and Michigan told him to hold off. This was before Pittman commited to MSU...I didn't see the Bill Greene report myself.
As far as not taking him, there are rumors that he needs to get his grades in line (Sam implied this in a round-about way the other day). Michigan also already has two weakside DEs in the fold for 2012.
It is very strange that there were rumors of Michigan coaches telling him to hold off because of grades and how there are rumors of him enrolling early.
If I'm reading Sam Webb correctly - and assuming that Sam knows the situation - the kid has grade problems. I'm willing to bet that I am reading what Sam said correctly and that Sam has knowledge of Pittman's grades.
As an aside, I don't mean to bash Pittman and I hope for his sake that he gets his grades in order...and takes his talents to the SEC.
I don't understand the logic, you hope he goes to the SEC why? I for one am sick of the SEC and all the hype. Keep good talent in the Big Ten, even if they don't go to U of M. The better the Big Ten the better Michigan is, you have to beat the best to be the best.
What we do know is that in an ESPN article yesterday, Pittman wouldn't confirm that he was solid with MSU, saying that "anything can happen", "things might change" and "the process isn't over", and also that people close to him have been causing him questioning his decision to commit to MSU given his other opportunities.
I think he just panicked when the Michigan spot wasn't available, and ran to MSU to make sure that he could secure a roster spot somewhere.
I'd be surprised is this kid actually suits up in Green and White next fall.
I felt the same way when i saw the news he committed. I am not sold that he ends up a Spartan when it's all said and done. But he won't be at Michigan either, we have moved on
I'd be willing to bet $10.00 that he ends up at OSU when all is said and done. I've been told (by someone getting info from Bucknuts and the other main OSU site) that OSU is telling kids that they might want to secure a spot with another school but then re-think their OSU offer after the NCAA/coaching situation shakes out.
That does not compute with me. Can you honestly see their coaching staff pushing Ohio kids to "secure a spot somewhere else" just to be safe and we wil come calling in a few months to get you back? No way.
of all time.
Almost as stupid as covering up NCAA violations.
Maybe they are just steering him away from UM because they know they can get him back from MSU when the sanctions play out because they don't see them as a real threat. With the way kids are leaving (Kalis) and signing with us when expected to go to them (Strobel) is it that dumb?
THey got Strobel who may get us Kalis. That's the guy they wanted and that's who they got
They want Pittman like they want Burbridge. I think however the days of marginal qualification at Michigan are at an end. There are great recruits available at those two spots and the coaching staff wants commitments from people they know will be on campus come fall 2012.
If this isn't a year that the Midwest is rolling out talented defensive ends, maybe the coaching staff would have taken him. IF he does have grade problems, and with our class being at 16 with 4 defensive ends already, the coaches probably are thinking we have a good shot with Wormley (giving us 5 DEs) and a chance with Washington joining later the coaches didn't want to lock up a scholarship spot for someone who might not qualify. If he improves his grades down the road and Washington doesn't commit than maybe the coaches turn on the burner again. But who really knows (Hoke and probably Brian Boitano)?
We'll probably never know exactly what happened. Sounds like a great player, so hopefully that doesn't come back and bite us in a few years.
Comments used to appear with the most recent on top. Now the most recent appear at the bottom of threads. Is this something I changed by mistake and if so how do i change it back?
I've always liked to read the comments in order so it doesn't bother me that much to have the recent one at the bottom.
It seems like you can't change it with the new system.
But it was the way I liked it yesterday but it changed today. Not sure why it changed. I like the new comments at the top so I don't have to scroll through the entire thread as new people post.
That fills me in considerably. So it's likely grade-related, and not necessarily a done deal.
How do people feel about Pittman as a player?
On another note, not sure why four people decided to neg the thread, as it's just a couple questions from someone who wanted to understand something better, but okay. Free country and all that.
Probably because some people pointed out Tim does mention the subject in his recruiting update. Still a guy can miss some things, and nonetheless, the OP might have wanted some more clarification on the matter than what Tim provided. The whole situation is quite odd.
Some people just want to watch the world burn.
solid
in case you did not simply make a typing error, your use of "substantive" seems incorrect. I think you meant to write "substantiated." If people neg you for that error though, the neg is lame.
My correction may come off as condescending, but it's not meant to be. I would want to know my errors so as to correct them in the future if they're not merely based on making typos.
back to your topic: I'm hearing Pittman is an elite athlete. I gotta believe Hoke and Co. turned him away with good reason.
I really hope no one negged the OP for using "substantive" instead of "substantiated" but I also don't really see why his word choice seems incorrect. A substantive rumor is one that has some substance to it and isn't just based on nothing. It doesn't mean quite the same thing as substantiated but I'm not sure that was what the OP was asking.
a substantive rumor has substance, but I think that is distinct from whether the rumor has a basis in (is grounded on) something.
The substance of the rumor here is whether Pittman has/had grade issues and whether Hoke declined his commitment for related reasons. Whether the rumor has a basis in something (i.e. is there some evidence to support the rumor) speaks to whether the rumor is substantiated though.
That's just my reading--correct or possibly incorrect--on the subtle distinction of the words. I do see that (after my previous posted comment) googling the word "substantive" results in the word "meaningless" as an antonym to the word "substantive," which supports your reading/position. I appreciate your comment as it makes me rethink a bit my understanding of both words.
then I am glad to see coach Hoke and the university staying committed to high standards. Academics, character, playing skill. This is what it is to be a Michigan Man.
From what I hear Pittman heard that Hoke smiles, something he's not too keen on. There's also speculation that he also wanted the opportunity to break the law often while attending college and did not want to be penalized for it.
Enter Dantonio.
If it is true that Pittman wanted us and we told him to hold off, we made a big mistake unless 1) he doesn't qualify or 2) we sign Washington.
I think you could argue that Adolphus is our most important recruit now.
We? You got a mouse in your pocket?
is first off - every recruit who has verbally commited to Michigan so far. Things can fall apart pretty quickly in this climate - not to mention that every recruit so far is a great recruiter for those uncommited.
I guess I just don't understand what you mean by important...even within the scope of the non commited offers there are dire needs and great talents.
To answer your question, I'm pretty sure Brady Hoke's Rivals subscription had expired that day and they forgot to renew it so when Pittman tried to commit, Brady was unable to look up the Rivals' guys evals and film on him and everything fell apart.
there's at least a chance he was worried about the Wormley / Strobel / et al crew that UM has landed or appears about to land. What, if any competition is MSU's recruiting class providing him at DE right now?
what's this we crap you got a mouse in your pocket ?