2019 OT Devontae Dobbs Discusses Recruiting Decision
Intro
As you probably know, 2019 OT Devontae Dobbs committed to MSU recently. Here's the story from ESPN where he describes his reasons, which is really a series of quotations about the major schools recruiting him (link).
Summary
- USC--too 'rah, rah' and disingenuous
- Ohio State--he felt like they lied to him
- Michigan--didn't maintain contact, uppity, and bizarrely, too 'robotic' (??)
- Michigan State--didn't pressure him, he felt comfortable, etc.
Some Thoughts
I remember reading what happened during the time Dobbs may be sore about. Basically, the Drevno saga was dragging on, and Michigan did not have coverage for some of their recruits, resulting in a period where Dobbs wasn't contacted. But this whole 'like robots' bit is weird. I have no idea where that came from, nor does Dobbs really offer much of an explanation.
One bright spot for me is that at least some recruits seem to be catching on about Ohio State's lack of honesty. I won't forget, for example, how Mike Weber's primary recruiter bailed the day after he committed to the Buckeyes.
Pure Rumor
I've read some things about Belleville that I caution are completely unsubstantiated. Anyway, some folks I've read online indicated that there might be some funny business at the school that would lead to NCAA sanctions for a school recruiting their kids. We'll see how Michigan recruits the school in the future.
Sounds like a big baby.
He's a his school kid. From the link, it doesn't sound like he offered his opinions up unsolicited. And like 99% of kids his age who are asked a question "why not?," he probably doesn't really have the maturity or awareness yet to answer a different way. "I just felt most comfortable with MSU." Big baby is a bit much, IMO. He sounds like a high school kid. I think that's the worst we can accuse him of here.
Yes, even for shoulders as massive as Mr. Dobbs's, that chip had to be awfully heavy. Let him go to East Landfill and let Darth Dantonio deal with him.
This recruitment was a lot like my chipping game in golf. Sometimes I catch all the right breaks and it goes in. Doesn't mean I'm going on tour but I get to feel good about myself for a little while. Enjoy it grouchy man. You'll get yours unless you retire after the beatdown comes.
He picked MSU. I would hardly expect him to say good things about Michigan, considering the animosity toward us from East Lansing.
Best of luck to him in life, hope we crush them on the field every year and he goes 0-4 against us.
Rival or not, any time a kid specifically says he feels "comfortable" at MSU over the others makes one raise an eyebrow.
Well, he's got pictures of basset hounds all over his instagram page, soooooo.....
Basically, keep him on campus and never let him visit Holt.
Logically, the only reason a kid could prefer MSU to Michigan is that he likes the environment and culture there more, and I am highly suspect of any kid that prefers the MSU environment and culture. I don't think it's any mistake that most of MSU's highly ranked recruits (ie. the ones that had or could have had Michigan offers) have flamed out. MSU has had much more success with the under the radar guys than the blue chippers.
I don't wish him luck And I question his character. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT???
They don't call Ed Warriner "Mr. Personality" for nothing.
A lot of guys he tried to recruit to OSU said similar things.
Everyone perceives a school differently. Some guys love the whole rah rah mentality that USC apparently offers and that's part of why they're going there (Cali girls help too). Some guys love Harbaugh's quirkiness, others are turned off by it and want a more business-like approach that Saban or Meyer offer.
With OSU, I honestly don't think it matters if a few kids come out of the process and feel like they're lied to. Will it turn a couple of kids away? Yeah, sure. But by and large, Meyer is going to get whoever he wants and he will still build rosters capable of winning it all every year. At worst, a kid will look at Meyer and see someone who he has to put up with for three to four years, but who will also win him conference titles, possibly national titles, and get him into the first round of the NFL.
Truly amazing how many problems are cured or just go away when you're winning.
Meyer has a track record of routinely turning guys like Dobbs into first/second round NFL picks. So does Saban. Players who come to Bama/OSU and don't pan out and get passed up on the depth chart usually don't end up complaining that they were lied to by the coach, the figure out they weren't good enough to make the cut.
Dobbs sounds like a MSU player. Chip on the shoulder, angry at the OSU/Michigans of the world.
100% agree with this post — different people respond to different styles. That's why there's nothing to be gained from lamenting a lost recruit. Your coaches are going to recruit in a way that's true to your institution and your program. Some kids will respond, others won't. You frankly don't want the ones who don't. They are de facto a poor fit for you.
The interview made it sound like he liked MSU before he visited (or really talked to UM). When UM made comments about "the best players in Michigan play for Michigan" and such, he took it as a slight against the school he liked and therefore took it personally. If that is the case, then he probably wasn't coming to UM regardless of what the coaches said.
I'm okay losing him to MSU. OSU would have been worse. Either way Chris Hinton will be throwing him to the ground soon...
Maybe! Maybe not! Let's play :) I for one don't mind when Mork grabs a 4* or 5* because I think he's a pretty solid coach. Give him talent... good things (sometimes) happen.
So long kid, did not select Michigan, do not care to know his reasons. Turns out our Oline class looks pretty damn good without him.
Looking forward to actual football games, gonna be a fun season.
Those quotes sound like they came verbatim from the Spartan playbook. He will fit in well there.
This is in reference to his current HS teammate and fellow MSU commit Julian Barnett:
“It feels good, but hopefully I don’t have to room with him. I’ve been with him for four years and we love each other, but we don’t always get along. We are like yin and yang. He said I’m too messy for him, but he complains too much and is a primadona.”
Yep, they will fit in at MSU just fine.
Dobbs already has the little brother juices flowing. Called a HS teammate a pre-Madonna, had to be an anti-Michigan slur on his part.
Hopefully they stay in contact, it's a long season ahead, things change.
He said OSU told him he had a good shot at playing time as a freshman... He said that he felt like that was a lie! He doesn't lack humility
Best of luck to him......he made the decision that he felt was right.....I'm not going to judge him on the reasons why.
As has been said in the past....I'll pay attention to the kids that are here and not worry about the kids that aren't.
I don't really understand why this has turned into such a big deal (not necessarily here). If Michigan did back off it is one of two things: 1. They really were not that interested after evaluating him further. 2. He simply fell through the cracks during the Drevno saga. Either way, he went where he is most comfortable and why people are getting so bent out of shape about what he said confuses me.
Hey may have fallen through the cracks, or your staff may have made an active choice not to pursue him. In either case if I were a Michigan fan I wouldn't be stressing this in the slightest... he clearly was not a high priority, gotta trust the coaches on that kind of thing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Doesn't mean I think he won't be good... naturally I have high hopes for him. But if your staff (not a bunch of morons) didn't prioritize him then maybe he just wasn't deemed the right guy FOR MICHIGAN. Nothing wrong with that.
One final caveat: I do think Harbaugh might be a moron. His staff are probably not though.
Ok, I have to respond to this.
My boss is a moron; however, there is more than sufficient evidence that Jim Harbaugh is a brilliant coach, talent identifier and player developer. He is respected by his peers as one of the top men in his field and has seen a high level of success on collegiate and pro levels. He is definitely quirky and socially awkward, but he isn’t a moron in any sense of the word.
You made some solid comments in this thread until that one.
That was the Stockholm Syndrome
This reminds me alot of McDowell.... character wasn't his strong point and neither was intelligence.
"comfort" was the catchphrase Dantoni sold him...
So what he says about M here to me is meaningless.
Piggybacking the OSU lying liars, in addition to M. Jordan, like four linemen are graduating after this year, so if the kid came in and worked, it's definitely not out of the question that he could start, or at least play a ton.
Well since Michigan has a 2020 Belleville commit your unsubstantiated rumor sounds bullshit sour grapes.
the rumor I heard is that drevno didn’t like him (personally not football player wise) and just stopped recruiting him long before he was actually fired
I heard that on one of the days when he found out UM was coming to recruit him (& his teammate) he skipped school. Then he shits on Michigan.
Very immature...
So let me get this straight. You provide one example, Mike Weber, and say that recruits are finally catching on to Ohio’s lies? OK...
As mentioned my others, they’ve had linemen start as freshmen and are losing a bunch after this year. Ohio only said he’d play a lot as a freshman, which is highly possible considering the new redshirt rule.
Your contention that recruits are catching onto them lying has no basis in fact.
Mike Weber's situation is actually a "basis in fact" for saying that Ohio State lies to recruits while recruiting them. It was confirmed by the timing of his recruiter leaving, which is entirely and independently verifiable.
You completely miss the point. I’m not disputing Weber. My point is that it takes more than one example to create a pattern.
You’ve cited Weber. That’s one. You can’t use only one example to contend that “recruits are catching on to Ohio.” It’s simply not true.
The Oline turmoil and staff shake up had to have an impact on relationships and recruiting, there's no way around it. I'm sure JH knew this but nevertheless it was a critical shake up for the future of the program.
Sounds like a great talking point for Michigan to show MSU how Terminator robotic Michigan is when the team plays MSU and rips them apart in East landfill this year
Sounds like a great talking point for Michigan to show MSU how Terminator robotic Michigan is when the team plays MSU and rips them apart in East landfill this year
I am gonna say a couple things people may or may not like.
I know from experience w this staff that if the staff does not really want you but would like to save face they offer and never really contact you again. I know of 2 personal kids that play OL right now at two different BIG universities and are both starting that have said the exact same thing. One family told me to my face at the UA Game in Florida and the other is my best buddies kid who was a 4* OL and it happened to him w Drevno etc: (Broke my heart)
just saying in case some wonder what’s going on. USC is the phonies school I know of as I live here in Cali and my son was recruited by them as well.
Sounds plausible, but is another explanation that Michigan's interest wanes if the kid doesn't continue to develop or show effort?
He was a big MSU fan as a child. I think his entire family are big MSU fans. Not a surprise, just thought due to MSU's problems he may have went somewhere else.
More posts and more coverage about a Spartan commit, what about the kids that want to play for Michigan, don't they deserve some coverage?
Sounds like McDowell 2.0. Good luck Sparty
Brian Maurer, former OSU QB commit, feels like OSU lied to him as well.
I don't think OSU is lying to recruits, misunderstanding happen, but I like that it is becoming a meme.