Conley Taking Visits
Per Bill Greene.
Gareon Conley will visit Cincinnati tomorrow. Says he's solid to Michigan but parents want him to take a few Trips Oregon coming in Monday
Sounds like he was having a hell of a night too.
Massillon moving at will on Fitch early. Up 7-0 early. Billy Price being doubled. Gareom Conley needs doubled. Not able to check him
Gareom Conley scores again. Massillon up 21-7. Could be 35-7. Fitch D getting ripped. Conley is a stud Michigan fans.
And Gareon Conley just caught another TD bomb. Not a typo. Massillon pimp handing Fitch. 28-7. And they've left points out there.
Now we have to sit back and see what happens with that commitment. Disappointing because I think Conley is a real player.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:11 PM ^
Hello McQuay!
October 5th, 2012 at 11:14 PM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 11:23 PM ^
Staff probably knew he was iffy, which is why they stayed on McQuay.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:49 PM ^
What is wrong with you, and how does this comment have even one upvote? Jesus Christ.
October 6th, 2012 at 9:24 AM ^
Gotta love MGoBoard, where the best recruit is always the one we don't have.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:15 PM ^
My god this is Michigan fergodsakes!
October 5th, 2012 at 11:22 PM ^
Dennis Norfleet agrees with you.
October 6th, 2012 at 8:24 AM ^
Caleb Stacey does not. (Granted, I realize there must have been more going on there than was originally apparent since IIRC he's out of football now.)
October 6th, 2012 at 2:29 PM ^
plans on transferring and playing somewhere else.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:15 PM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 11:18 PM ^
Doubt it. Of all the commits, he seems to want to be at Michigan the least. Every other recruit seems to have a close bond.
October 6th, 2012 at 11:08 AM ^
Maybe they can all bond over some burgers at the Under Armour game.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:23 PM ^
October 6th, 2012 at 12:05 AM ^
Pretty sure Hoke makes it clear. Visit before you commit and know you want to be at Michigan. Onward and upward. But oh man would i hate Oregon if they take another one. They are snakey when it comes to recruiting. Get in on guys late. Brown, Fisher, and now going after Conley.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:18 PM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 11:21 PM ^
Personally, I don't like this staff's stance on commitments. Seems very old-fashioned an unrealistic in the current climent of recruiting. If a kid wants to take some other visits, so what? Just means you're going to have to work a little harder to convince the kid.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:24 PM ^
It's not old-fashioned. They tell kids NOT to commit unless they are certain. It's actually a really respectable approach. They're not like a bunch of programs that pressure guys until they make an emotional decision and commit. I love it. Plus, it's worked so far.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:37 PM ^
Decommitments are fairly rare in general, so I don't know if I would say that the policy is working. I don't think its caused anyone from decommiting that wasn't going to do it anyways. I mean, these are teenage kids. Sometimes you make a decision in your junior year, and have second thoughts. What's so bad about wanting to see what else is out there?? Isn't it just as healthy and respectable to tell the kid, "Sure, have a look. And if you see anything better, then good luck. But we think we have something good here at Michigan and would love it if you were a part of it." So if Conley wants to look around, we intentionally poison the waters with a commit due to some sort of forced policy? The whole thing just seems psycho over-posessive girlfriend to me. But, you know...viva la Hoke.
October 5th, 2012 at 11:58 PM ^
What is the point of looking around? To find something better? Exactly! Looking around means he is not committed to Michigan. Also meaning that Michigan should not be committed to him. The staff makes sure the prospects know the drill before they commit.
Commit after commit has stated that they appreciate the approach taken by Michigan coaches. Not appying pressure but making sure the kid is ready. Would you rather sit in a room with coach Saban giving a sales pitch making promises he can't keep, or sit in a room with Hoke telling you to be sure before you make a commitment? Being to Michigan or another school.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:22 AM ^
You know who says that? Guys who committed to Michigan. We don't tend to get lots of feedback on Michigan's recruiting from guys who didn't commit to Michigan.
You know who probably doesn't appreciate Hoke's method of recruiting? The top 50ish guy who actually wants to take his time, has options, take all 5 official visits, and make the most informed decision. That's assuming the rules of "You can commit whenever but there may not be a spot" even apply to that player. I'm sure there's a legion of 3* dudes out there who would love to come play WR.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^
October 6th, 2012 at 10:27 AM ^
For a lot these kids, the point of looking around is getting to go to places and see things that you wouldn't normally get to see. So if a kid makes an impulse decision to commit, and then 6 months later realizes he's going to miss out on one of big perks of recruiting, its not that crazy. Maybe he just wants to see the crazy Oregon facilities, or fly out to LA, or visiti Texa for the first time in his life. And we're going to deny him of that because of some insecure policy??
October 6th, 2012 at 10:31 AM ^
Insecure or not, these decisions, decommits, etc. impact the lives of 10 coaches, 100 football players, and numerous other staff members, let alone fans. Coaches have to do what's best for their program. If Hoke believes this is best for Michigan, then that's the way he needs to do it.
October 6th, 2012 at 11:04 AM ^
It's not like Michigan is the only one with this policy. Oregon, the same school who is trying to swoop in, also have a no visit policy if you commit. I don't blame schools for recruiting to the bell either. It's not like Hoke didn't go all out to sway Dunn last year.
October 6th, 2012 at 11:10 AM ^
I used to like Burger King burgers, until I tried one from In-and-Out. Then I thought that was awesome. But then I had a Five Guys burger and that even better. So I agree, looking around will only lead you away from the things you originally liked. But it can lead to some delicious things.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:06 AM ^
It's not like Hoke is pulling the offer if he says he considers Conley or anyone else not committed. It just means that the staff is able to fill that spot, if necessary, with someone else who less likely to possibly leave Michigan in the lurch. Seems perfectly reasonable to me. Call him uncommitted and go back to courting him like someone you are trying to get to commit. I don't see how that poisons the well.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:11 AM ^
You're being willfully blind if you think Michigan's policy is putting less pressure on recruits.
On one hand the coaches tell recruits to only commit if they're sure, and on the other they say that their spot may not be available if they continue to wait. if you were a 3ish star guy like Conley was and your best other offers were low BCS/MAC level, you jump on that offer like a Great White on a seal.
Now that Conley's been blowing up, he's getting offers from other high level BCS teams and realizing he has other options. it would be nice if he stuck with Michigan, but its not exactly shocking that he may be rethinking the biggest (well, probably the biggest) decision of his life so far.
I don't even understand why people are so excited about the opportunity to get McQuay instead of Conley. Conley has shown far more interest in Michigan than McQuay ever has.
October 6th, 2012 at 9:09 AM ^
October 6th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^
It definitely puts more pressure on recruits ... if they actually want to go to Michigan. What it stops is the M Decommit All-Stars (Pearlie Graves, Dequinta Jones, Kevin Newsome, Anthony Fera, Shavodrick Beaver ... I'm sure there are more that I've forgotten) who "committed" so that they had a BCS slot, then looked around until the found someplace they really wanted. Michigan was their safety school. Do you really want Michigan to be the safety school for, IDK, Texas Tech, Tulsa, and Arkansas?
October 5th, 2012 at 11:26 PM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 11:42 PM ^
A) That's just foolish to think because someone visits another school he would leave. Lots of recruits visit lots of schools and don't switch commitments all willy nilly. Decommitments weren't much of an issue prior to this policy, and they haven't been much of an issue since.
B) It just seems cowardly to force these kids into a position where you don't have to compete with other schools once they are committed. It seems much more healty and trustworthy to let them explore their options.
The whole thing just seems stupid to me. So Conley wants to look at other options. Big deal. But as a fan base now, because of this policy, we have people that are all FUCK OFF CONLEY, GOOD RIDDANCE! I mean, Christ...that's the essence of the very first comment on the post, and lots of people have voted it up. How is that healthy???
October 5th, 2012 at 11:48 PM ^
October 6th, 2012 at 12:11 AM ^
"Bye, bye Conley, Hello McQuay!" What part of that does't imply fuck off Conley to you? People voted it up, and some knucklehead echoed the same sentiments below that post.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:15 AM ^
October 6th, 2012 at 9:54 AM ^
The kids have a right to do anythign they want to do, and they should... but we don't have to hold a commitment spot for someone who isn't 'commited'. what is so hard to understand about that?
love,
jdon
October 6th, 2012 at 3:22 AM ^
"force these kids into a position where you don't have to compete with other schools once they are committed. "
Look up the word committed.
If you are looking around, then you aren't committed.
/thread
October 6th, 2012 at 1:41 AM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 11:30 PM ^
October 5th, 2012 at 11:57 PM ^
Your analogy needs work. The recruits are not married to us until they sign their letter of intent, until that time they are free to do as they please without penalty. If you can't trust someone to "look around", then why do we even want them in our program to begin with?
I actually like Kiffin's policy, his recruits can take as many visits as they like as long as they make USC their last visit.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:04 AM ^
October 6th, 2012 at 12:28 AM ^
Ok, I reread your post, and it was a little confusing how you referred to the school as your wife when I think you meant fiancee. Regardless, I still think the policy is outdated. I do understand both sides of the coin, sure we have a policy that "forbids" commits from visiting other schools, but the only thing we are doing is guaranteeing a decommit like P. Brown (would he have stayed with UM if we didn't automatically pull his commitment? I guess we will never know...), or postponing a possible commit like L. Treadwell or D. Green (obviously I don't know if they would have commited already, but who knows if they would have commited if they knew they could still visit other schools).
Additionally, even with our current policy, we still have to continue recruiting players until NSD even when the class is full of commits, so that argument holds little weight.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:05 AM ^
The trust thing is the part that bothers me. If you really boil it down, that's why they don't want them to visit. Just like the game on the field, recruiting is a competition. Not letting someone go on a visit after they've committed just screams insecurity to me. If you're secure in what you have to offer, and what your vision for the team is, then who cares?
October 6th, 2012 at 12:08 AM ^
So you would let your girlfriend/wife sleep around? I think not. Unless you're into that kind of thing.
It's not insecurity. It's a recruiting strategy that has kept some pretty damn good recruits.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:42 AM ^
It would be more like trusting the GF to go out with her parents and not cheat on you if another guy buys her a drink. If your relationship isn't strong enough for that, then maybe you weren't meant to be in the first place.
Switching metaphors - its essentially the same process as getting recruited for a job senior year. This is essentially the only time in the process where you/the recruit will have any control whatsoever, so you should take your time and take all of your visits/interviews. If you are a quality candidate in high demand and happen to get multiple offers, take your time to consider which company you want to work for.
Good companies don't tend to pressure their top candidates with deadlines or forbid them from interviewing with other companies. I don't even know what my reaction would have been had a company told me that 5 people had been offered for 1 spot and I could take all the time I wanted but the position could be gone if I took too long.
October 6th, 2012 at 12:54 AM ^
I like most of your points, but I'm not sure how the last point adds anything to the argument...
October 6th, 2012 at 1:09 AM ^
Trying to put myself/you in the shoes of a highly ranked HS Recruit. You got options, you interview well, you got a degree from a good school, had a good internship, etc. In the corporate world you're the equivalant of a Rivals 100 recruit.
Companies don't tend to threaten to pull offers, offer multiple people a job for which they only have 1 opening and so on because that's a great way to piss off the people you're recruiting. Then the underclassmen will hear through the grapevine that the Walt Disney Co. acted like dicks to their recruits, and suddenly they won't get the same caliber of applicants.
October 6th, 2012 at 1:21 AM ^
Almost every school offers more scholarships than spots on the roster.
October 6th, 2012 at 1:34 AM ^
yes, every school does. Ole miss even signs 37 per class.
Michigan has a policy around commits and visits. Not every school does that.
October 6th, 2012 at 1:00 AM ^
And guess which program has told certain kids that they have all the time in the world to decide? Michigan. From what it sounds like, Treadwell can take as much time as he wants, the coaches will hols a spot for them. They did that with Pipkins last summer. They even turned a top 100 kid away (Day) because they told Ondre' that there was a spot for him. It's certain kids they think are program changers that they hold spots for. Conley is a nice prospect, but is he a game changer? I don't know. I bet you, whether right or wrong, the coaches have an opinion.
October 6th, 2012 at 1:25 AM ^
I'm actually completely with that aspect.
I just don't know how some of these kids know what the right decision is if they don't get to take visits other places. if all you've seen is Michigan, how do you know that Michigan is actually what's truly best for you? Again, if my best offers are NW and MAC and I know I need to make this decision now or not have a spot, guess what? And if USC and Florida come calling later on, well, why is it wrong to go visit? Policy seems unfair to the recruits while the coaches come out looking good.