Sleazy Signing Day Move
Recruiting, like the meat industry is a dirty-nasty business which is best left without the consumer taking to close a look at how things are done. Still, I hope Michigan/Harbaugh never lowers themselves to this type of crooting non-sense.
On Saturday, December 11, 2021, Jaishawn Barnham, a 4-star linebacker from St. Francis in Baltimore, Maryland gave University of South Carolina coach Shane Beamer his verbal commitment. According to various articles, the family was decked out in South Carolina gear and Barnham talked about how South Carolina was the place for him. Ten minutes after that verbal pledge, Beamer received a telephone call letting him know that it was all a show to let Mike Locksley, the head coach at Maryland, make some headlines by flipping a big recruit on signing day.
Beamer continued to recruit Barnham and sure enough on Wednesday, Barnham flipped to Maryland.
I understand that coaches up and leave at a moment’s notice but it seems especially sleazy to verbally commit to a school just to flip on signing day for some headlines. I really wanted Locksley to succeed at Maryland even though I wasn’t really happy with the grudge he had over Gattis becoming the Offensive Coordinator at Michigan but I hope that Maryland and Rutgers improve so that they are not cakewalks. Crooting is a messy business but I hope that Michigan never dips to that level.
https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-football/article256630436.html
https://www.outkick.com/shane-beamer-was-ready-for-the-recruiting-flip/
https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/terps/bs-sp-maryland-football-2022-…
December 18th, 2021 at 8:10 AM ^
While I chuckle at Beamer’s expense and that of his program, that was a terrible thing for this kid and his family to do.
December 18th, 2021 at 8:26 AM ^
Meat industry?
i got news for you: I can tell you about a LOT of not good things like that in the vegetarian-food industry as well. No one organization—corporate, government, union, activist—has a monopoly on dirty little secrets,
Back to the point, if I were Beamer, I don’t think I would have played nice on this.
December 18th, 2021 at 8:45 AM ^
I had to read this twice due to my reading comprehension being off today. But yeah, what a shit move by a coach and program, that had no one had pointed out what happened, I’d probably had never heard of it. Locksely seems like a real dickhead based off of his treatment of Gattis which in hindsight wound up being the greatest move in his career. Locksely will be locked in a press box calling plays for some shit team down the road while Gattis can set back and chose a high level coaching job assuming he doesn’t get inpatient.
December 18th, 2021 at 12:01 PM ^
Ban that kid from any NIL deal. Except toilet paper and cockroach spray.
December 18th, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
Sleazy? I disagree. Think of it the same way you would an employer. I gave my notice I was leaving a company I’d been with for 8 yrs. Had a deal negotiated with a new firm so I gave customary 2wks notice. 2 days later they came with 10k more in salary & some nice perks. I informed the new job that I was having second thoughts due to the sweetening of the pot by my current firm. They said they would get back to me in the afternoon to see what they could do. Came back with a match in pay plus 5k signing bonus. When I told my current employer that I would indeed be leaving they had the BALLS to get all butt hurt and start trying to lecture & guilt me about “integrity” and “keeping my word”. Rich coming from the lying assholes that admitted they had been underpaying me for the past ?? years. I guess I see it as a business now. Fuck the 7 million dollar a year coach for whining like a little bitch when the “free market” works against them.
December 18th, 2021 at 3:37 PM ^
You lost me at wishing annual conference opponents of ours would improve. That is up there with the dumbest things any Michigan fan could ever desire.
December 18th, 2021 at 6:35 PM ^
Weird
i mean did it really help Maryland?
first I heard of it is today
Really is a low class move though agree