samdrussBLUE

January 21st, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^

One could derive his utility curve for football, factoring in success (wins) and proximity to his home.  Perfectly possible he constructed his utlity curve in such a way that Kentucky gives him more utility since he is close to home, even with sacrficing a few wins on the field

Blue in Yarmouth

January 21st, 2014 at 2:37 PM ^

I thought the same thing. After thinking about it though, I'm more inline with his thinking. I mean, it's not like it's just a choice between UM and OSU. If that were the case and OSU was clearly the only better alternative I would agree with you completely.

The fact is though, Harris could likely go where ever he wants. When you factor that into the equation it does seem hard to believe that someone who is a lifelong fan of something would pick their archrival.

I agree that you wouldn't let your heart be the sole influence on a decision such as this, but it should always play some role in any decision, you just factor other things into it as well with varying degrees of weight, depending on the decision at hand. In this case Harris could choose another school (any other school in the country probably) that would give him a good chance at making the pro's and offer him a good "fit" that isn't his favorite teams rival. 

Anyway, I guess everyone has a differnet degree of fandom and maybe his just isn't like mine (and many others on this site). That doesn't make him a bad person or even a bad fan for that matter. It does imply that he isn't quite as fanatical in his love for UM as many on here, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Jack Daniels

January 21st, 2014 at 11:11 AM ^

Of course, prospects that decommit rarely recommit to the same school, but this isn't a George Campbell situation where we aren't even going to get an official visit.

Firstbase

January 21st, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^

I'd say he's looking for greener grass with another team, with all due respect to his mom.

Of course, Erma Bombeck titled one of her books, "The grass is always greener over the septic tank."

 

meatchoke

January 21st, 2014 at 8:01 PM ^

while I agree that 'tweeting' to a recruit is stupid, this whole twitter thing is basically garbage.

 

As Magnus pointed out in another thread, if it wasn't for the recruiting guys retweeting userid's all over the place, most average Internet idiot wouldn't take the time to google it. But when the link is embedded in a retweet, it's just too easy for the idiots out there to take a gander and want to be a part of these kids' lives - for good and bad.

As Sam Webb pointed out as well, these recruits can't have it both ways either...you want the followers, you want people to react to what you post, etc, then don't get butthurt when these same masses turn against you...It's called the Internet. Its been around awhile, and anonymous posting is basically a 'troll free' card. Putting out a statement that says 'Mom says stop!'....geez, what do you think that'll do?

If anything, this just reinforces I need to stop following recruiting. Stop coming to boards like this, unless its the season. I graduated from U of M nearly 10 years ago now, it's hard to turn the fandom off, but geez...it's getting easier.

 

ish

January 21st, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^

most decommits say that the school they just decommitted from is still #1 and they just want to look around.  and that typically ends up being false.

club2230

January 21st, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^

Whether or not a recruit is on our commit list, our coaches most definitely have to re-recruit all of the current commits due to the new offensive coordinator and last year's record.  

I'm hoping the de-commits of Harris and Campbell are along the lines of them committing to a program in which they thought was better than what showed on the field thus giving us a realistic chance at getting them back with a strong season.

This next season is probably one of the most important seasons in a long time with regards to long term recruiting success.  

 

MGoVoldemort

January 21st, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^

He and his family have handled the situation with class. They obviously were very comfortable with Borges, and his departure has given them reason for pause. They didn't react suddenly when Borges was let go, they discussed it inside the family and felt this was best for them to re-open his recruitment. Damien is a Michigan fan, and more than anything else, needs to reassess his options, while getting to know Coach Nussmeier better. I think it's logical to think he'll be back, especially when considering the way the family is handling the situation.

mGrowOld

January 21st, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^

I'm not surprised by this news at all.  All his communication post-Borges firing seemed to indicate this was coming.  And as disapointing as his decommittment is I would still trade it 100 times over to get Nuss.

A great OC's impact on the team trumps a great running back each and every time.

Quailman

January 21st, 2014 at 11:54 AM ^

That's unfair to say. You don't know how big of a UM fan he is . Personal and coaching relationships are important and impactful. He has every right to take the time to build another relationship and see if UM is still a fit without it being inferred that he is or isn't a UM fan. 

jmblue

January 21st, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

It's easy to say that when you don't actually have 50 schools offering you a free ride.

He is saying that - in spite of the fact that we just fired the guy instrumental in his recruitment - Michigan is his #1 school out of however many are offering him.  We should not read any more into it than that.

 

TIMMMAAY

January 21st, 2014 at 2:55 PM ^

If you let your personal biases affect your business decisions, you aren't going to be in business very long without lots of luck. I both expected, and respect this decision from Harris. I don't pretend to understand it, as I'm not him, or in his circle (don't see how so many internet geniuses seem to have it all figured out). 

Respect his right to choose what's best for his future, even if we think he's making a mistake. It is not the job of the fanbase to play the role of advisor to random high school kids. I don't know what else to say.