Reon Dawson clears the air.

Submitted by drewro02 on

I know this was discussed again yesterday as Mike McCray gave some comments on what Dawson said on signing day, but here are some direct quotes from Reon himself. At some point he has felt like he has let Michigan fans down by saying what he said, so sometimes it's important to realize they are just kids, and maybe he just mis-spoke.

(Free) http://recruiting.scout.com/2/1265370.html

"It was just a comment about being from the state of Ohio, not anything about Ohio State at all," Dawson stated. "Ohio State never even offered me a scholarship at all, so how could I be loyal to the school? What I meant was I'm proud of my state, and my family being from here, and I don't even know why I said that really. I was just happy to be headed to college and my family was so proud, that I never meant any reference to Ohio State."

"I feel terrible that some Michigan fans are mad at me, and I'm so grateful to the school for the opportunity they're giving me," he added. "I'm going to be a Michigan Man for life, and that's the next chapter of my life. I signed with Michigan because I loved everything about it and I switched from Illinois because of Coach (Brady) Hoke and his coaching staff."

"I can't wait to be apart of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and I'm looking forward to beating them four straight years," he continued. "I talked to Mike McCray today about this, and he knows what I meant. We have been teammates here at Trotwood, and he was a big part of me going to Michigan, so he knows I'm a respectful person that never looks to say anything hurtful to anyone. I feel really bad how this came out, and I just want the Michigan fans to know I love being apart of Wolverine Nation and I'm going to do everything I can to make them proud of me."

Welcome aboard Reon, and Go Blue!

WolvinLA2

February 8th, 2013 at 4:47 PM ^

It's really too bad he even has to do this, because obviously he's taken a lot of flack from fans, which sucks. 

If I were him, I would have said, "Hey all you adults giving me shit - cut me some slack I'm 17 years old.  Chill out."  But it sounds like he's more respectful than I am. 

willywill9

February 8th, 2013 at 4:51 PM ^

I agree, people need to cool it.  If he really felt that way about Ohio State, why would he come here?  And if he did that, he'd either grow out of it, or eventually realize he's not a cultural fit and probably leave.  I don't take issue with what he "said."  He just learned a valuable lesson though, about how he's got a larger megaphone these days.

mgoDave

February 8th, 2013 at 5:32 PM ^

Before this year i naively thought that our fanbase was above the juvenille responses that we mocked so vigerously when they were coming from ohio fans and were directed at Kalis. 

Unfortunately I have been embarassed by some of the crazies in our fanbase and by sportsfans in general this year.  Between the backlash from this and even worse what was directed at Dawson after his decomitment I really have come to hate twitter.

He should absolutely not have needed to respond or apologize for saying that he liked ohio.  Obviously even if he meant OSU he still likes Michigan better considering he committed here.  My god people need to get some perspective on life and stop this crazyness.   

Budaseal

February 8th, 2013 at 6:46 PM ^

I don't think he received an offer from OSU.  He might love OSU more than Michigan even though he decided to play at Michigan.  Michigan was probably his biggest offer.  He might not even like Michigan, but if your next best offer is Illinois, you suck it up and head to Ann Arbor, right?

If he were a big-time recruit, I'd have much less of a problem with this.  But here's a guy Michigan saved from the jaws of mediocrity or worse, and he repays the offer by going off about how he he'll be a fan of our biggest rival until he dies.  (I'm assuming the reports of his initial comments are accurate) 

He's 17 or 18, not 7 or 8.  Most of us had filled out college applications at that point in our lives, and we were clever enough not to write an essay about how much we wanted to attend State.  Point is, you don't have to be all grownz up to know (before you blurt it out, not after) that professing one's undying love for Ohio State is not the way to endear yourself to Michigan fans. 

I don't care about loyalty or Michigan Man-ness or whatever... just makes me question his smartz. 

BUT bottom line:  if he can cover and tackle, I DON'T CARE how clever or loyal he is.  Go get 'em, Reon!

mgoDave

February 8th, 2013 at 7:39 PM ^

he didn't recieve an offer from OSU but that wasn't really the point.  I am not condoning what he said or that it is the right thing to do.  I am not even saying that everyone from Michigan should like the kid or even not be upset by his comments.  My only problem has been the increasing trend for fans to publicly insult, berate, or otherwise make comments on twitter that aren't necessary or warrented. 

I still care about michigan-manness (i like that term) but even if someone doesn't live up to my expectations, or hopes it is not my place to scold him.  He has coaches and parents and if something is severe enough even cops.

SFBlue

February 8th, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^

In any event, actions speak louder than words, and regardless of what he said, he signed a letter of intent to play with Michigan... GO BLUE!

snoopblue

February 8th, 2013 at 4:50 PM ^

Idiot fans are just complaining and tweeting him just continue to keep this story alive. Stupid ass media probably KNEW what shit storm the kid was in for when he said it OR when they decided to twist his words.

Don

February 8th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^

Reon unfortunately put his foot in his mouth—as 17-year olds are wont to do—and now it's open season on him. It's a rude lesson he's in the process of learning, but it's a valuable one nonetheless: the world is full of assholes who never sign their real names.

Budaseal

February 8th, 2013 at 6:52 PM ^

Why patronize him?  Compare him to the other 17-18 yr old recruits in the past.  How many said, after signing with Michigan -- "don't worry, Ohio State, I still love ya" or something to that effect?  I can't recall one.  So he suffers in comparison even to those in his own cohort.

I agree he shouldn't be crucified but let's stop letting 17 yr old kids off the hook for saying stupid sh*t.  It's way too easy. 

And I agree that no one should ever tweet negatively at a college athlete on Twitter -- it's sad and pathetic.

Hello_Heisman

February 8th, 2013 at 7:06 PM ^

I was all about watching Beavis and Butthead after school. I'll tell you another thing that was great about being in high school/college in the 90's - back then, ESPN didn't suck and the 11:00 pm and 2:00 am SportsCenters were Must See TV. Olbermann and Patrick? Kilborn and Haber? Yes please. Those guys were the best mix of sports and comedy. Also led to one of my all-time favorite This Is SportsCenter commercials (apologies for the low video quality - one of the few downsides of the 90's).

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kVEyEbroac4

BrownJuggernaut

February 8th, 2013 at 5:04 PM ^

My initial reaction to hearing what he said wasn't "I can't believe he said that" so much as "fuck, this kid is going to get so much shit for it." Isn't that sad? I was less worried about a player talking about Ohio State than I was about the reaction he was going to get for saying it.

MosherJordan

February 8th, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^

Agreed. With Meyer recruiting more out of SEC country and being a spread guy, we have to get used to more grew up an Ohio fan but didn't get an offer from Ohio, so choose Michigan because we're still a major power in their back yard. Are we supposed to let ND have these guys because we can't stand a Michigan player having positive residual feelings about the school birthplace made it highly likely they would grow up liking. It's a little embarrressing how some Michigan fans reacted to this. People need to keep this all in perspective.

BrownJuggernaut

February 8th, 2013 at 6:32 PM ^

We've always dipped into Ohio. I'm pretty sure that we've had kids who have grown up Ohio State fans and had strong feelings towards Ohio before that have committed to Michigan and we will in the future. It's not our job to rip the kid for this feelings, but to help him change his feelings, and grow that love for Michigan.

YoOoBoMoLloRoHo

February 8th, 2013 at 5:06 PM ^

make a kid a Michigan Man. While I'm not crazy about that phrase, it implies a level of maturity and discipline that the program cements into guys over time and not on NSD.

He'll learn and grow to a point that the comment seems really silly to him in a year. Hoke will mold him as a person.

Bigger question about his ultimate cover skills ...

Laser Wolf

February 8th, 2013 at 5:07 PM ^

Some people are just the worst. The kid grew up in Ohio. He was hard-coded to be a Buckeyes fan. We gladly took in a number of lifelong Ohio fans after Tressel left. It's all about how they play once they don the winged helmet. Anyone griping about Reon Dawson needs to gain a little perspective.

GoBluePhil

February 8th, 2013 at 5:08 PM ^

remember this young man committed to your school. Support him all you can. If you are making threats or sending texts or tweets to him that are not supportive, you are no better than all the idiots you talk about from OSU. Leave the kid alone.



Mr. Dawson, welcome to the University of Michigan. Thanks for choosing us.

TruBluMich

February 8th, 2013 at 5:14 PM ^

This is a great response.  He is well on his way to becoming a Michigan Man.  Rule #1 we never say we Love that school, and if we do, other Michigan Men are going to let you know about it, regardless of your intent.  It's not like anyone took it serious, they were just giving him a hard time for making a comment that wasn't very well thought out.  Im pretty sure not one person was mad at him or even took it serious.  Everyones has said something that was worded wrong or misunderstood, and if it was around your friends, you deffinetly heard about it.

STW P. Brabbs

February 8th, 2013 at 5:15 PM ^

First of all, let me express my agreement with the notion that Dawson is 17 years old and it doesn't really matter too much what he says about Ohio State.  If he's still talking about being a Buckeye fan in a year or two, I'll be a bit concerned.  Kids will be kids, indoctrination runs deep in the Worst State Ever, etc., etc.  No big deal. 

But is no one else going to say anything about the fact that his explanation is completely full of shit?  Did I miss an intermediary clarification that the quote attributed to him was inaccurate?  Dawson talks about being a Buckeye fan until he dies, and specifically references playing Ohio State, so there's no chance in hell that what he really meant was that he loves the State of Ohio.  

I like the sentiments about Coach Hoke and becoming a Michigan Man.  But it's another example of being 17 and not knowing when to stop talking that he tries to completely explain away his comments as a misinterpretation. 

Blue boy johnson

February 8th, 2013 at 6:12 PM ^

I'm reasonable and I believe him when he says he doesn't love the Buckeyes football team. Even if his words in the interview convict him, BFD, he just came out and said he was misunderstood/misspoke; people say shit in interviews they don't really mean. I see it all the time.

People are way to legalistic when listening to the blurts of a HS kid. Let's play gotcha with a 17 year old. Real impressive