Wonderful DetNews article on Da' Shawn Hand visit

Submitted by APBlue on

Sam Webb has a really good article on DetNews about Da' Shawn Hand's visit this weekend.  

Link? 

Link: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130314/OPINION03/303140389/Visit-from-highly-rated-recruit-Da-Shawn-Hand-has-U-M-abuzz?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

We've heard it before, but it's worth hearing again: this sounds like a really good kid.  He's very focused on his studies.  There are some quotes towards the bottom of the article about Alabama's Dean of Engineering, as well as the other competitors for his services (Florida, South Carolina and Virginia Tech).  

There's a lot of good stuff in the article, but my favorite quote (on questions he asks himself about each potential school):

Said Hand: "Can I live there for five years (and) do I get along with the people there? (Other factors will be) coaching staff, academics, teammates, the environment, my family, and food. I'm an eater. I like seafood, but you can't eat everybody's seafood . I've learned that. The place has to have good food. If you don't have good food, then I don't know why you're a college."

 

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gwkrlghl

March 14th, 2013 at 11:55 AM ^

I've been to Tech to visit friends and got to eat in their dining halls. They're definitely a lot, a lot better than ours. How much that matters to Hand is the question

but given he's mentioning seafood, I don't think it's dining hall food he's worried about. In that respect, A2 has waaayyyy better restaurants than Blacksburg does. No question

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chickenbroccolibake

March 14th, 2013 at 12:02 PM ^

I agree, Michigan's dining halls are probably below average when it comes to schools.  However, don't forget that football players get training table, which is significantly better than the dining hall.

Not sure how UM's training table compares to other schools...unfortunately, I was never allowed to partake.

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jdon

March 14th, 2013 at 12:41 PM ^

I worked Training table many a time and their options far our classed what most of us could get at a decent restaurant in Ann Arbor.  

The most impressive thing wasn't the prime rib or countless strip steaks, lobster, etc... what impressed me what the choice they had and the consistent amount of options...

 

Cool Story Bro:  I watched Lloyd give a huge speech before the Tennessee Bowl game and I remember it being very pumped up about our choices.  I clearly remember Carr stating over and over again that we would have a great game plan for the bowl game.  I also remember putting 500 down on us and knowing that it was lost within 20 minutes of the begining of the game.

 

 

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jdon

March 14th, 2013 at 11:12 AM ^

'A lot of people say the workload is crazy, but the dean for engineering is a football guy, so that helps out so much'

 
 
Interesting comment... I read it to mean that since he plays football they will 'excuse' some things and he won't have such an extensive workload.     Which inclines me to wonder out loud:  why do I follow the charade of college sports so intently when we all know it is just the minor leagues and the colleges are just exploiting the kids.  (in this case the exploitation is in the less demanding workload which will ultimately hurt his fundamental knowledge of the material).
 
Or maybe I am just looking into it with to jaded of an eye?
 

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MelchDaddy

March 14th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^

No, I agree.  That is certainly one way to interpret that statement.  With everything you hear about student athletes these days coupled with the thought of majoring in engineering while playing football, it's hard not to be jaded.  That's a crazy workload.  That being said, Adam Finley, our old punter, recieved his degree in Biomedical Engineering so it can be done.

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Perkis-Size Me

March 14th, 2013 at 11:22 AM ^

If it comes down between Michigan and Alabama, and the deciding factor is the engineering schools, I'd take Michigan 100 days out of 100. That should be a no contest.

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French West Indian

March 14th, 2013 at 6:23 PM ^

Yeah it should be no contest but...North Campus?  Oh man,it's so dreary up there.

I spent a little bit of time in the engin program and I honestly can't a fathom a big-time football player enduring that.  The bland location, awful homework load and the near complete lack of women.  Unless the kids got the dispostion of a monk I'm guessing he'll change his major (or pick a different school).

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Caveman Bob

March 14th, 2013 at 12:28 PM ^

What I found most interesting is this statement:

Said Hand: "Can I live there for five years (and) do I get along with the people there?"

He's the top recruit in the country and he's planning on spending five years in college? Most elite kids are not planning on redshirting and are hoping to be in the NFL by the end of Year 3. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but I love this kid's character.

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LSAClassOf2000

March 14th, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^

"The key to connecting with Da'Shawn is being able to teach him," Harris said. "He's one of those kids that if he feels like he can learn from you, then you have his attention. As long as you keep his attention, he'll continue to bond with you. What will happen with some coaches, is they say 'Oh, you're great now', and he'll kind of shut it off and say, 'no, I'm not." - Woodbridge High assistant coach John Harris

I would think that this is another area where Michigan shines because it seems like this is precisely the approach that our staff takes, and indeed, the notion of continually learning and improving is what the culture of the staff seems to be built around. What I really like about how Hand is approaching this is his effort to make sure that he feels he can fit culturally into a particular school's environment as well, and this is very important if you want to maximize your potential both academically as well as on the field, I would say. 

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