Was Hill trolling Saban?

Submitted by evenyoubrutus on December 19th, 2018 at 8:35 AM

I know this may be a bit of a snowflake thread, but it really seems like Hill was trolling Saban. According to Sam Webb, he flipped BACK to Michigan two days after he flipped to Bama. The question is, why the silence? My understanding (based on rumors) is that Saban led him to believe that Harbaugh was leaving for the NFL. The Don Brown stuff happened AFTER Hill silently recommitted. If this is the case, he is now my favorite recruit in a long, long time.

JPC

December 19th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^

I thought of that as well. After Alabama snatched the OL from us last year, I hope this was Harbaugh’s “fuck you” to Saban. 

Other Andrew

December 19th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^

Sounds like the prior rumors you reference were based on as much hard intel as this posting. (Not insulting OP, just that it is natural for us fans to try to infuse drama and intrigue where there likely is none.)

MEZman

December 19th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^

He was obviously trying to force him to take the Packers job. How could he ever show his face again at Bama after losing Dax to UM on signing day? 

northernmich

December 19th, 2018 at 8:38 AM ^

My guess is he didn’t want the attention and freak out of Bama fans if decommitted after two days. I’m sure a lot of people were gonna hate on him. 

ldevon1

December 19th, 2018 at 8:39 AM ^

No, after listening to Sam, it sounds like Alabama told the family Harbaugh was leaving, and then they got reassured by Harbaugh and some of the things they were concerned about, (a program winning at any cost) bit Saban in his ass. So I guess maybe you could call that a troll job. 

outsidethebox

December 19th, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^

You know, I think your take has merit. And one of the reasons it has merit is because it is Daxton Friggin Hill. There is no more awesome way for such a thing to happen than coming from a least expected source. I mean Daxton Hill-this bright, uber-talented, thoughtful, quiet kid would never do such a thing...ah, but guess again!!! He's a quiet assassin...and one helluva talent!!!

umbig11

December 19th, 2018 at 9:19 AM ^

Dax called the Michigan staff the day after he committed to Alabama. He told them he made a mistake. The staff supported him and accepted his verbal back to Michigan. Michigan asked him to sign during the early period and he did. They kept it quiet until signing day to keep the public backlash down.

UMfan21

December 19th, 2018 at 9:23 AM ^

Makes sense to me.  I remember a few years ago with the first Signing of the Stars, there was a story that some commits were silent because coaches wanted to time the public announcements to create momentum.building to signing day.

 

Not saying it happens in every case, but there is precedent that our coaches sometimes control the timing for public pwrception.

MGlobules

December 19th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^

Call me naive, but I wouldn't think Saban would stoop that low--especially with an assertion that's so easily verified or refuted. A little bit of noise needs to be made about it if it's true. 

Now, what I DO feel I understand is that if you're sitting in his office with your family you might feel a lot of pressure to commit.

b618

December 20th, 2018 at 1:36 AM ^

What would this great day be without a BPONER slinking in to outgas?

You folks out there with low morale and defeatist attitudes, you can turn yourselves into indomitable Wolverines.  All it takes is getting some morale.  If a setback gets you down, don't crumple -- get past it by remembering that winners are only ever temporarily losing while on their way to winning.

maize-blue

December 19th, 2018 at 8:43 AM ^

My guess is that they wanted silence so that Bama couldn't put on a full court press and use any means necessary to get him back.

Alumnus93

December 19th, 2018 at 8:45 AM ^

Wait.  Please explain the Don Brown timing thing. I don't get what you're inferring here .

So are you saying Dax silently recommitted to Michifan, before the Brown to Temple news came out?

BlueMetal

December 19th, 2018 at 11:44 AM ^

From my understanding he's saying the Don Brown stuff was irrelevant because it didn't come out that he interviewed for the Temple job until after Dax had recommited to Michigan, if the above timeline is correct .

 

Rumors of harbaugh looking at NFL, then Dax decommitted, harbaugh denies rumors, Dax recommits, don Brown stuff comes out. 

CarlosSpicyweiner21

December 19th, 2018 at 8:51 AM ^

I think the whole Hill thing was about Don Brown interviewing for the Temple job. I am guessing most Defensive players are drawn to him. So Dax panicked and flipped to try and lock up a spot. My guess is even Bama knew it was kind of contingent and thus their hard pursuit of the kid they flipped from OSU.

GoBlue11

December 19th, 2018 at 8:55 AM ^

Just read that Dax contacted Michigan shortly after flipping to Bama to apologize. He told Michigan that he got caught up in the emotion of recruiting and still wanted to be at Michigan. Michigan handled it very professionally and they worked out how this will play out to minimize the damage.

 

Go Blue!