Swenson decommit: more info ...

Submitted by Blue Crab on

OK, don't shoot the messenger ... just 1-side of the story and just reporting ... doesn't look great tho

“Coach Drevno just said they’re trying to put the best recruiting class they can together,” Molinari said. “They’ve gained a ton of interest from a lot of recruits they never thought they’d have interest from. It wasn’t just a coach Drevno thing. They sat down and thought there wasn’t going to be one for Erik at this point — not a full scholarship, a preferred walk-on.”

From freep (snyder): 

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverine…

victors2000

January 20th, 2016 at 11:40 PM ^

a scholarship to a player it's perfectly reasonable that they should take it back? We should honor it and let the chips fall where they may; he may have been productive in the end, or maybe he would have transferred later. How could one player mean so much that he's worth dragging our integrity through the mud? I don't think Coach Bo would have done this; he may have worked his ass and broke him but I don't think he would have flatout turned his back on him. The class is already looking to be one for the ages, why do something that makes us look just like those programs we think we're different from?

ijohnb

January 21st, 2016 at 9:23 AM ^

I don't believe that one recruit and one spot would be worth the "backlash" that has resulted, and because I believe that Harbaugh, Hackett, et.al. are smart people who would understand the local media and know that said backlash would inevitably come and would not be worth the hastle of this one spot (with a still highly rated recruit), I tend to believe there are other factors in this decision that the school cannot address by rule.  It simply would not be worth the hastle for this one spot in such a big class to simply pull the plug at the time that they did and I am not buying the narrative in this article.  It has nothing to do with Harbaugh or not "wanting" to believe it, it just does not add up.  It does not fit, so I am not buying it.

MLaw06

January 20th, 2016 at 9:35 PM ^

In sum, this is one side of the story, but even in this side, it is apparent that the coaching staff told him to take all 5 official visits a month ago.  That's pretty much the story right there...

Staff was giving him hints, then Drevno had to make it crystal clear that there is no spot. 

Result sucks and I wish it worked out, but honestly, this is what happens when you're between a rock and a hard place.  We all want them to pursue the best class and win games and not hold onto guys that they don't think will perform (e.g., Derrick Green), but the fan base is in love with because of stars. 

I don't think this story is black and white, clearly, there is some lack of communication and they were not seeing eye to eye as to what the real status was.  Hopefully, they'll learn the lesson that they need to be more upfront (if not already) and this issue was compounded because of the transitional nature of this recruiting class.

Yooper

January 20th, 2016 at 10:40 PM ^

The burden is on Michigan to be explicit about its intentions as soon as possible. Whether this version is true who knows? If they didn't want to honor the commitment they should have said so earlier rather than "send signals"
I must say that the kid is acting with uncommon class and grace. I will be rooting for his success.

MLaw06

January 21st, 2016 at 1:49 AM ^

And that is why I said we only heard one side of the story.  Apparently, the degree of explicitness was sufficient in the case of Rashad Weaver and Kiante Enis since they started planning visits right away.  We don't know if Drevno felt that he was being explicit to Swenson nor do we know what was actually said.  

Any miscommunication, in particular verbal miscommunication, is often attributable to both the speaker and the hearer.  Speakers believe they are saying what they intended to say and hearers believe they are hearing what they hoped to hear.

Without the other half of the story, it's near impossible to gauge with any forensic certainty what the actual statements were and what they were intended to mean. 

Yeoman

January 21st, 2016 at 10:34 AM ^

...that might be explained by the different circumstances of their commitments.

Swenson was the first recruit in the class; he helped recruit the class. Wouldn't you expect to have to be more blunt with him if you decided to tell him to get lost?

Z_Wolverista

January 21st, 2016 at 12:20 PM ^

that give hints.

Partially to cover their own behinds, partially to allow the other party to save face. Call it discretion.

Often, the bigger the stakes, the more between-the-lines the communication.

Sucks, but it's kinda how the world works.

Don't get me wrong -- I don't like this development, and it does sound like an egregious lack of integrity on our part, especially if they wanted to pull the scholarship.

Just speaking to the "hints" part.

Jinxed

January 20th, 2016 at 11:25 PM ^

"and not hold onto guys that they don't think will perform (e.g., Derrick Green)"

 

Speak for yourself, if Derrick Green wanted to stay I would absolutely want the coaching staff to hold on to him. A promise is a promise and if my alma mater promised a kid 4 years of education, I want them to keep it. 

MLaw06

January 21st, 2016 at 1:53 AM ^

Of course Derrick Green could have stayed.  The point is that every decision has a cost.  If Derrick stayed another year, that's one less recruit in this class - i.e., Gary, Bush, or whoever you want to picture. 

The coaches are making decisions that they think are best for the program.  In addition, there are direct and indirect results from every decision, including both positive and negative impacts on prospects. [Note - by saying that coaches make a decision, I don't mean they push guys out, they can simply be honest by saying, "I think you are 5th string and you won't see much playing time next year" and if the guy leaves then I don't see what is wrong with that.]

Those of you who think that there are clear-cut win-win situations with respect to every decision are likely mistaken.  There are side effects to even the best-intended decisions.

snowcrash

January 21st, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^

If we offer a guy who we later decide we don't want, it's fine to spell out that he isn't likely to play much and encourage him to visit other schools. But if the guy wants to stick around, ultimately we should just bite the bullet and keep the offer. That's a potential loss for us, but we don't need to have a ruthless win-at-all-costs mentality to be successful.

Raoul

January 20th, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^

How about the Chicago Tribune? Downers South OT Erik Swenson has offer pulled from Michigan.

Regardless of what happened with Michigan, it looks like Swenson will have plenty of options (but of course will have to make a quick decision):

Swenson, the No. 6 senior prospect in the state in 247Sports' composite recruiting rankings, said Northwestern, Illinois, Minnesota, Vanderbilt, Colorado, Washington State and Central Michigan had already offered him scholarships by mid-afternoon Wednesday. He had yet to return calls to UCLA, Penn State and Arkansas, among others.

fergodsake

January 21st, 2016 at 12:10 AM ^

"I fully intended to play there. I was nothing but loyal and was committed over two years. I helped them recruit several guys that are still there. I just felt used."

Man, poor kid. I love Harbaugh, but I don't know how to feel about how he and the staff handled this. I feel awful for Swenson. This just sucks.

Z_Wolverista

January 21st, 2016 at 12:39 PM ^

on the same line.

Was gonna post it if it hadn't been...

...heart sank when I read it.

This is bad.

Not only does this kinda ish come back to bite you, energetically (karma), it makes us hypocrites.

Through all the losses, bad seasons, even the scandals (granted, was not following then), this is the first time I really feel a sense of shame.

I do hope there's more information, miscommunication, another side of the story, but this. This is pretty damning. 

Are we really turning into the worst of our opponents?

Seems pretty clear, but I still don't want to believe it. If true, this move casts a phyrric shadow on all wins in the next 4 years;

Victory at this price leaves a bad taste in the mouth. 

 

 

 

tsunami42080

January 21st, 2016 at 9:13 AM ^

Rather middling offer list for a 4 star prospect. Tells me his star really has fallen. Nonetheless...reading that article and his quotes, coupled with UM not able to provide their side, and I see this becoming a huge black eye for UM. Wouldn't be surprised if this gets picked up as a national story, then it gets really bad. 

 

Again, we don't get UM's side, but based on his quotes, and he certainly seems like a thoughtful, mature young man, I don't feel right about this at all. "Coach Harbough didn't want to talk to me", "I feel used".

Yeoman

January 21st, 2016 at 10:09 AM ^

How many schools still have o-line openings this late in the day? I wouldn't expect he would see the same offer list he'd have if his recruitment had been open all year.

To be honest, I was surprised the list was already that strong, in such a short time, especially if the other calls turn out to be offers (what else would they be?). UCLA, Arkansas, Penn St. sound like 4-star destinations to me--plus NW and Vandy for some extra academic choices. How many schools are clearly better and still have an opening?

MGoGrendel

January 20th, 2016 at 9:22 PM ^

I'm with you - I call bull shit on the Freep.

The more I think about this, the more this sounds like a hit piece.  'The coaching staff didn't realize that that many good players would want to come here' is a crock because:

1. It's Michigan

2. HARBAUGH.  He's a top notch coach

3. We just came off a pretty good season and a bowl win over the SEC runner-up.

4. Harbaugh and his staff expect excellence, even out of their recruits.

We have some of the top talent in the country considering us.  Obvious things are obvious - Harbaugh knew we would have a lot of good players wanting to come here.

Yeoman

January 20th, 2016 at 9:31 PM ^

I have no idea why they would run a dishonest hit piece on Michigan. They don't care about Michigan one way or the other--their only interest is that it's a local kid. I don't have any doubt that they're quoting him accurately.