'14 OT Denzel Ward No Longer Committed
Title pretty much says it all. Better that these things happen sooner than later, I suppose.
LINK? http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/michigan/forums/_/the-den#!/topic/1359484652-266-681 (Insider)
EDIT
Sam Webb reporting that it was Michigan's call.
@Grahambino007 Hearing it was #Michigan's choice and the door wasn't left open for a Dawson-like return.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:57 PM ^
With my kids in football, soccer, baseball, and basketball, I see this all the time. (parents et al with an inflated sense of their kid's ability.) Recently, my wife was upset that our son wasn't seeing the court, and I had to tell her, "the coaches will put the best players on the floor. . . if he deserves to play, he'll play." I've talked to enough guys who have played college ball to understand there are a lot more guys on the practice squad than there ever are on the field, and that only truly elite, driven, gifted players are going to see the field in D-1.
The last thing I would say to anyone, including Ward, is "good riddance." However, I am glad that Hoke and Beilein both stress "team first," and don't tolerate prima donnas. It has often been debated here at mgoblog what the "cost" of winning is. (see: posts regarding Harbaugh.) I am firmly in the camp of doing things the right way, not cheating, and not showing favoritism. The implication is that we don't want anyone like Terrell Pryor who expects special favors. I'm thrilled to have coaches who say, "If you earn playing time, you'll get playing time."
January 29th, 2013 at 1:56 PM ^
We barely knew ya.
January 29th, 2013 at 1:57 PM ^
Sam Webb just tweeted that he is "hearing it was Michigan's choice and did not leave the door open for a Dawson-like return"
As mentioned, better now than this time next year. I can't imagine the staff will have a hard time finding a quality OL to fill the spot (perhaps with lower cieling, but quality nonetheless).
January 29th, 2013 at 1:57 PM ^
This makes sense..seemed like this was trending negatively for the good guys.. oh well
January 29th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
I always thought "He's 6'10", isn't that too tall to play football??". I hope I am right.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:09 PM ^
...but he's 6'9", so it's kind of irrelevant.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
THANKS FRIEND, LOVE YOUR BLOG
January 29th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
When he committed, I concluded that 6'9 was OK since he has decent knee bend.
Now that he decomitted, I'm certain that his height will prevent him from being a good lineman....unless he somehow recommits.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:01 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:17 PM ^
I'd rather take a less highly touted kid who wants to be at Michigan.
Edit: Can't believe I got downvoted for this. What is this blog coming to.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:23 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:40 PM ^
There's a difference between debate and wanting to make a comment you don't like disappear.........
January 29th, 2013 at 2:47 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 3:21 PM ^
I, like most people, fail to see how others can disagree with me.
/s
January 29th, 2013 at 2:45 PM ^
Unless you are totally off the wall, there are people who agree with you, as well as poor misguided souls who disagree.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^
We've shown we can recruit OLmen and if he's moving to FL, and to a Gator pipeline...it may not be worth the trouble.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:03 PM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up at Auburn with Diamond.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:07 PM ^
You could see this coming miles away, even when he committed. It was done too hastily in the first place.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:08 PM ^
Am I the only one that wonders how he ended up at IMG Academy in Florida? This seems SECish to me.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^
The whole thing seems odd to me. And sounds very expensive.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
I was curious as to how much a year cost at the IMG academy.
It's $43,800K/yr for the 'performance' program and boarding. $31, 085 without boarding. Lots of add-ons that can bump up your tuition as well.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:51 PM ^
My guess is that he's paying very little or nothing at all to attend this school. That's how private high schools work. Athletes get "academic scholarships" to come play, regardless of their academic abilities.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:08 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:10 PM ^
With only 18 scholarships for next year, we must be careful on who we recruit. Wasting time, money and effort on players who potentially could decommit down the road would be a huge setback for the recruiting class. Good call by the coaches IMO to take the safe route.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^
That number of 18 scholarships will surely increase to 20+. We don't really have to be any more careful with whom we recruit than in any other year.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
I would rather have him than not, but to me this isn't much of a loss. Sounds like the main attraction with him was his size and potential. For me that always translates as a big unknown -- some chance that he could become great and some chance that he won't pan out at all. (We've all seen many cases of that, haven't we?) In other words, much less certainty than our other OL recruits the past two years, even if that position has a high level of uncertainty.
Having said that, with all of the line talent stockpiled, I do think it makes sense to go after a high-risk/high-return kid because we can afford a miss. Still, the bottom line on a recruit like this is there's a good chance he won't pan out.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:19 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
this is not surprising in the least
January 29th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
Writing was on the wall for this one. Good luck to him.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:11 PM ^
I never get worried about kids committing/decommitting until the year they actual can formally commit. He may well return to the fold, or go somewhere else. Everyone involved will survive.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:12 PM ^
Everyone on twitter thought he wasnt going to last very long as soon as he moved to FL. I'm salty because we get these guys early like Ward, Conley before anyone knows their abilities. The kids jump to commit then decommit after other options come available. Just stop commiting early then decommiting. I read he is still considering Michigan, does he know Michigan closed the door?
-Salty.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:15 PM ^
It's not that easy. Sometimes kids feel like they need to commit early so they can reserve a spot. And they might be right. Michigan takes advantage of the same thing (Reon Dawson, Dan Samuelson, etc.), so it's not like it hurts us any more than other teams.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:31 PM ^
Ahhh I gotcha, but also don't you think that if Michigan is offering you other schools won't come calling? I mean its one thing to be a Michigan fan are you life like Morris and then commit so early. But, if you are like Ward and a huge D1 school offers, isnt it better to wait a bit before jumping on board? Its hard to believe that a prospect is only going to get a Michigan offer and others wont take notice. Just sayin.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:39 PM ^
Perhaps, but if you're a 16- or 17-year-old kid who just took up football, and suddenly you get an offer from Michigan...might you not think "Hey, this is as good as it gets. I can be a star and get on TV and wear a Michigan helmet!" As that excitement fades away, kids start to realize that perhaps they're more desired than they originally thought.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:44 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:51 PM ^
FAHK I would give my soul to wear that helmet and play in a game. Too bad I gave it up for a pack of smokes back in '99
January 29th, 2013 at 3:54 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:42 PM ^
Let me frame it another way:
I'm an amateur blogger. If Grantland offered me a gig writing for them, I would probably jump on it. Lots of traffic, other good writers, FAME, FORTUNE!!!!
Then a month later, ESPN offers me a gig. Or Sports Illustrated. Now suddenly I'm re-evaluating whether I want to be writing for Grantland anymore.
January 29th, 2013 at 3:01 PM ^
I think Grantland is the better bet here. I'm pretty sure ESPN or Sports Illustrated have never had a Wire or Chapelle Show sketch bracket poll...
January 29th, 2013 at 5:14 PM ^
I mean, I read Grantland more than ESPN.com or SI.com, but they're still the name brands of sports journalism.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:17 PM ^
No sad face here. I wish Ward good luck, but I trust the coaching staff to make correct decisions. If they pulled the offer, it was for a good reason.
Brady Hoke is proving that he can recruit well, and he has the full support of the Michigan Machine to give him leverage with the region's coaches. The cupboard will be well-stocked, and the "loss" of Denzel Ward isn't going to make much of a difference.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:16 PM ^
shucks
January 29th, 2013 at 2:18 PM ^
but at least this is happening now. I kind of feel bad for the kid in a way. I mean, if it was really UM's decision to pull the offer for him taking visits, to think he could have just taken his time to determine where he really wanted to go before making his decision and this wouldn't be an issue.
I'm pretty far removed from 17 years of age, but I do remember that making difficult life decisions at that time wasn't one of my strengths. In fact, every decision I made at that time was based soley on one thing...instant gratification, that's all that mattered.
I know there is a purpose for the policy the coaches have adopted, but I will still feel bad for kids who make a hasty decision that isn't completely thought out and end up losing an opportunity to either a) visit other schools or b) miss out on attending a school you would have chosen because you wanted to make sure you made the right choice and visited another campus and your offer got pulled.
I don't know, maybe I'm just to sympathetic when it comes to teenagers because I remember what a mess I was during those years. Anyway, good luck to the kid.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:21 PM ^
You never like to see these things happen, and we don't know the circumstances behind it happening. Michigan will move on. Best of luck to him.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:22 PM ^
as opposed to next January. He's a offensive lineman. We're Michigan. I've never known us to have trouble recruiting offensive linemen when we actively try. And we'll be fine again.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:27 PM ^
Seems odd if they don't let him recommit as he hasn't even finished his Junior year. Give him time and maybe he would come back but oh well.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:42 PM ^
January 29th, 2013 at 2:43 PM ^
I concluded he wouldn't be part of the class. Cool first name, though.
January 29th, 2013 at 2:44 PM ^