Signing day surprise commits?

Submitted by Bluestreak on

We have another 4 spots left in this year's class.

While most of us know the prime suspects for the remaining 4 spots (Garnett, Diamond, Kozan, Reeves, Wright, Grant) are there any others people know of, who might be dark horses in the commitment race?

Indonacious

January 16th, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^

Would they be surprises if we knew about their propensity to commit beforehand? Or are we talking about more long shot sorts, of which I don't think Hoke's staff will emphasize greatly in the closing streches?

JDVan

January 16th, 2012 at 1:48 AM ^

Considering the Wright ship has sailed and we will probably be lucky to have 2 of the OL with no dark horses at the moment we'll be close but unlikely to fill all 28 schollies

Don

January 16th, 2012 at 1:52 AM ^

any signing day surprise decommits. If our class as it stands now stays put, and we add just one or two of the more prominent names on your list, it will be a fantastic class, all things considering.

And no, I'm not anticipating any decommits, but you never know about recruiting.

I'd hate to be Penn State's recruiting coordinator—that guy is going to have a nerve-wracking final few weeks.

UMICH 15

January 16th, 2012 at 7:03 AM ^

Right around the time we picked up Pee Wee, there was some cryptic rumor about another top DT interested in us.  There were also threads that Shittu was interested in us.  I understand he is more likely to stay on the West Coast, but what about another strong DT?

LIZARD4141

January 16th, 2012 at 8:13 AM ^

Great question, but any answer you get is just a educated guess. There will probably be one surprise. Hoke and company probably have a couple of kids that are flying under the radar in mind. I don't want to be negative, but there's a chance we dont get Garnett, Reeves, Diamond, Kozan, Grant, or Wright. More than likely we'll get at least two or three of the recruits that you mentioned.

jethro34

January 16th, 2012 at 8:26 AM ^

I think when people freak out about only having 1 DT, they forget the likelihood that Wormley and/or Godin may be playing a more interior technique than standard DE.

lunchboxthegoat

January 16th, 2012 at 10:10 AM ^

I have no inside information but I feel Hoke and Co are more interested in locking down a class early (see: most of this class and the start of 2013) and hanging onto them rather than flipping kids at the last minute. You get kids with a real connection to the program and a lot of heart for the program (a la Martin and RVB). 

Magnum P.I.

January 16th, 2012 at 10:27 AM ^

Kyle Prater announced he's transferring from USC to be closer to his Chicago-area home. Maybe we can get a 6'5" former five-star WR for a late Christmas present.

jcorqian

January 16th, 2012 at 10:33 AM ^

He's transferring because he's buried in the depth chart behind Robert Woods and Marquise Lee, both of whom are pretty dominant receivers.  Each had over 1000 yards this year.  He also has to contend with George Farmer (5 star freshman recruit I believe).

Pretty unbelievable how talented their receiving corps is at the moment.  It's possible that Prater is just a bust as well.

Magnum P.I.

January 16th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^

Where does the idea that "we didn't have a spot" for Arnett come from? I'd think, given our WR situation, we'd take him in a heartbeat if he wanted to come here. Sometimes guys just pick other schools. Hard to believe with sparty, but in rare instances (moments of weakness? delusion?) it happens.

93Grad

January 16th, 2012 at 6:03 PM ^

Arnett wanted to start school THIS semester, meaning that the team he transferred to would have needed to have an open scholarship this year.  In other words, if we played this season with 85 players on scholarship we would not have an open spot until the fall semester.  Assuming this is true, MSU must have been playing with an open scholly this year. 

So, the rumor was that we told Arnett we did not have a scholarship open for him until the Fall which meant he would have to stay at TENN this spring or pay his own way to UM for the semester.

Again, I could be wrong, but this was my understanding based on what I heard/read on the interwebs. 

BradP

January 16th, 2012 at 11:39 AM ^

Prater will be going to ND.

With that said, I have no problem with a player like Arnett who had family troubles bring him back close to home getting a scholarship spot on the team.

But Prater was a big-time recruit who committed to USC, then backed down to a soft commit, reaffirmed he was 100%, then reopened his recruiting at the AAA game, and finally signed the LOI really late in the cycle.  Then he spends one year redshirting with some injuries, spends one season riding the bench and decides he wants to transfer.

I'm not sure Prater would be able to acclimate himself to THE TEAM atmosphere that Hoke seems to be emphasizing, too much self-importance.

bluesalt

January 16th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^

During all of that, Pete Carroll left for the NFL and Lane Kiffin came in.  And USC was in the really drawn-out portion of rreceiving their Reggie Bush penalties.  I don't think you can blame a kid for waivering about making the most important decision of his life to that point considering all that was going on with USC at that point.

Should he have stayed?  Who knows.  That team looks great out there now, but Kiffin also has a reputation for burying people.  I'd cut the kid some slack for decisions he made as an 18 year-old that he now regrets, for whatever reasons, as a 20 year-old.

bluesalt

January 16th, 2012 at 2:49 PM ^

But when he reopened his recruiting, it was right around the time Carroll was leaving.

My larger point is that with the amount of crap a 5-star recruit hears when he's 17 and 18, and especially so when he is committing to a program going through sanctions and coaching changes, how can you not expect him to waiver?  And maybe he really did make a bad decision on where to go?

It's also possible, if not likely, he wasn't as good as people thought, but that doesn't mean he's a bad kid, nor someone who couldn't help out most major college football programs.  I just don't like people bashing teenagers who have the entire world telling them what to do for changing their minds and/or making the wrong decision about something like where they go to school.  I remember it being a tough decision as a non-athlete, making the decision with just my family.  I can't imagine the pressure these kids must feel.

EDIT: As I just read more about Prater, I learned that he is not allowed to transfer to ND, or any Pac-12 schools, as conditions of his releaase (which is a different pet peeve, but whatever.)  That would mean that he is not going to ND, and thus Michigan could be a real option.

BradP

January 16th, 2012 at 3:14 PM ^

Perhaps.  I don't really mean to rip on the kid.  I hope he finds the right place for him to find success.  But if he can't stand to see other players get time in front of him (which seems to be the reason commonly offered for his transfer), I don't know if he quite fits with a team that seems very tightly knit.

Everything I have read says he's going to end up at Wisconsin or Northwestern.  I'll be shocked if he ends up at Michigan.

 

 

 

Tater

January 16th, 2012 at 10:33 AM ^

For most teams, there are "surprises" both ways.  Sometimes, the decommits are encouraged by the coaching staff, sometimes they get a "better offer" from somewhere else, and sometimes they just change their minds.

I expect at least one on both sides this time around.  I just hope that it all works out and this class turns out to be as good as it looks right now.  

BradP

January 16th, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^

This question doesn't deserve its own thread, but if we are going to talk about upcoming recruiting changes, I got a question about Jeremy Clark.

Clark shot up to 6'4" his junior/senior seasons, displayed some big play ability on offense and special teams, and Scout lists him with a 4.47 40.  I know that 4.47 probably gets about 4 or 5 FAKES out of 5, but this kid sounds more and more like a receiver project at this point.

Have any of you recruiting gurus heard any talk of Clark getting a chance on the offensive side of the ball?

mGrowOld

January 16th, 2012 at 12:24 PM ^

I will be signing and that will be a BIG surprise to everyone.  Trust me, not even Hoke himself expects a slightly out of shape 52 year old alumni to send in his LOI but I can't be stopped and that should complete the class with a flourish!