Exit Amauri Pesek-Hickson
It appears that Michigan has chosen to part ways with previously incoming athlete recruit Amauri Pesek-Hickson, who spoke to to Rivals' Josh Helmholdt ($).
After the players that declared for the NFL draft date passed, Harbaugh called me and told me that “we might have to go to plan B”. I asked why, and he told me that the spots they have open for the 2019 class they want to fill with DT and DE grad transfers and he wants me to reclassify and come in as a 2020 prospect.
Those of you with a Rivals account can take the link to get more specifics about what Michigan told Pesek-Hickson before they changed their story to the above. Those without can ask a friend with a Rivals account (please don't post paywalled info here; I've done enough already).
UPDATE: Nick Baumgardner of the Detroit Free Press has more details after speaking to APH's father:
At the time of his pledge, Michigan put a plan in place for Pesek-Hickson – who has scored a 30 on the ACT – to bring his grade-point average up during his fall semester at Blue Valley North to make sure there was no doubt about whether or not he’d be eligible to get into U-M academically.
Pesek-Hickson was under the impression from Michigan that prep school would only be an option if his academic situation wasn’t good enough, his father said.
APH was a Ronnie Bell-like prospect, a three-star athlete from Kansas (745th on the 247 composite) and basketball player who only played football for one year, and whom Michigan was looking at as an athletic defensive prospect. Though he played safety in his one high school season, at already 6'2"/215 we expected him to grow into an outside linebacker in the way of Devin Gil.
He did not sign a letter of intent on early signing day with the rest of his class, but it was believed at the time to be only a formality. At the time safety commit Quinten Johnson told MLive that he was holding off to sign with his high school teammates but there was no indication why Pesek-Hickson had also not signed; early reporting on him suggests academics were highly unlikely to be an issue.
It appears that Michigan was in fact slow-playing him while figuring out their numbers, and did not indicate as much to Pesek-Hickson. It's certainly not a good look for Harbaugh and his staff; I'd say this is much worse than the Swenson debacle, which occurred over months and came down to a failure to communicate. In this case Pesek-Hickson seems to have been misled about whether he had a spot in this class and was given two days before Signing Day to find other options. While APH doesn't have to make a decision on Signing Day, his options at this point are probably limited as most schools that might have had interest already have scholarship commitments to the players they recruited instead.
Michigan's need for outside linebackers in the 2020 class is now even greater, and the staff's credibility with borderline recruits remains an issue of concern.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
I don’t mind any coach being criticized but do it with 100% of the facts rather then condemn with only one side of the story
February 4th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
Just wanna throw in an "I don't care" to offset the outrage to come.
Moving on.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:15 PM ^
This is the type of shit people on this same blog used to blast schools in the SEC for doing. Kids getting screwed as a result of oversigning.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
How is this much different from asking him to grayshirt?
It's not like he was told "We no longer want you." He was told they wanted him for next year. It sucks, but it is his decision to move on.
I would wonder about how this was affected by the walk-ons who were put on scholarship recently.
Oh well... Good luck to the young man.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
With a greyshirt, you enroll in school, pay your own way, and then hopefully get added on scholarship later. Going to prep school is similar but the problem is not every can afford tuition. And to go from thinking you have a scholarship and school to not having any of that two days before signing day is extremely shitty not matter you slice it.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
They were told after the NFL draft entry date which is January 14th. Stop saying they found out two days before signing day, they found out three weeks ago. You found out two days before signing day.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
Haven't the vast majority of players signed by now? Heck, I think Michigan's entire class signed on the so-called "early signing day." So there's not much difference between sometime in January and now. He is behind the 8-ball looking at options either way and no matter who you believe.
February 4th, 2019 at 2:01 PM ^
I am in no way saying that this situation is fine because they told them three weeks ago. This looks bad on many levels. I just don’t like people framing the narrative with wrong information, when the reality is we have no idea what was told to the family at any point during his recruitment and likely never will.
What if Harbaugh told him when he commited, “we accept your commitment, but we need you to wait until the last signing period because we may not have scholarship available”? Doesn’t seem so bad if that was the case.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:49 PM ^
It's still pretty shitty. If Michigan doesn't know if they'll have a spot for him then don't accept his commitment/don't offer a scholarship in the first place. I get that guys jump around and you have to over-offer, but this was a 3* guy without another major G5 offer, let alone a P5 offer like Michigan's, in the works. They probably could have done what I assume they do to a lot of guys and say "hey, we'll offer if we have room".
February 4th, 2019 at 7:20 PM ^
If they told him that was the situation right away and the family decided to not look at other options for a backup, I am sorry that’s on the kid and his family and not on the coaches.
February 5th, 2019 at 1:28 PM ^
Stop with the tuition is expensive argument. College is going to be more expensive than prep school. Hey I get it that it can feel like a gut punch but look at the situation honestly. He was a marginal recruit who sprang up late. He was also a marginal scholar. He knocked it out of the park on his ACT but if it wasn't for football I don't think anyone would call him a great candidate to get into Michigan.
Enroll in a community college and begin knocking out generals. With the gray shirt, he would be coming in at the front of the class where there are more scholarship numbers than at the end of the process.
He still has an amazing opportunity for his education as well as his football career. It may take a little bit more work but it's still there.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:23 PM ^
i think if there were any misleading during the recruitment, that would be the issue.
telling the recruit "we need you to meet the following benchmarks before you can sign" and then telling the recruit who met those benchmarks "actually we can't sign you this year so you need to go to prep school" does seem problematic.
also, i dunno, prep schools i assume aren't cheap and do prep schools also give out athletic scholarships?
February 4th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
Ask Chris Webber.
February 5th, 2019 at 12:50 AM ^
WTF? A 30 ACT score and he has to bring up his GPA. Come on, man!
February 4th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
It wasn't impacted at all. They get a scholarship for a semester and that is it.
It doesn't matter if it is different than a greyshirt it matters because the staff lied to the kid. If you tell someone you want them as a greyshirt and if things break right a full scholarship year one that is great and they can decide if they are willing to take that financial risk or a different school. To tell a kid they have a scholarship than pull it two days before signing day is fucking a kid over to save your own ass. Its a bad look and it should be highlighted as such.
When a school makes a scholarship offer a recruit should be able to sign that day. The offer should include outs for the kids for things like coaches getting fired or leaving and ncaa trouble while the school can back out if the kid doesn't meet grades or has a documented legal issue. Signing day isn't necessary and just offers opportunities for kids to get screwed by getting lied to.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:33 PM ^
And Harbaugh informing him they need to go to Plan B shows why he got screwed. If Plan A was the scenario you outlined — might not have a scholarship, but go the greyshirt/prep route and you’ll get one when one opens — there would be no need to go to a Plan B. Because Plan B would be congrats, we wound up having a spot open in the class you’re getting a full ride.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
Two things, was it made clear to Amauri that there was a plan b for his entire recruiting cycle? How likely did the coaches make it seem? Did they outline it for him. Its nice to say its a plan b but if you are talking to a 17 year and saying we have an offer for you that is what they are going to believe and base their decision. At best they misled the kid, at worst they just outright lied. Either way its shitty. There is literally an article on in-state michigan kids and most of them said Michigan came across as incredibly fake in recruiting, based off this story it sounds like that might be the right descriptor for anyone who is lower on the board.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:27 PM ^
The walk-ons recently put on scholarship are only using scholarships for this semester, because they had so many players leave early. Two of them are seniors who probably won't be around in fall, and the third is a PWO they like a lot but probably won't give a scholarship next fall unless he's on the two-deep.
Asking him to grayshirt is about the same thing, IMO (though it's not up there with LSU who told a kid he was grayshirting AFTER he was moved into his dorm). If you cause a guy you're not going to take to end his recruiting process, that's shitty. What's he supposed to do if he reclassifies, take a year abroad?
February 4th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
Reading the Freep article it sounds like the kid and his family knew the offer had a lot of strings. Maybe the coaches weren't exactly clear on all the possible contingencies, but it was known the offer was conditional. The revoked scholarship offer also appears to have been communicated to APH almost two weeks ago, not two days before signing day.
Also sounds like the kid has interviews at Kansas and K-State already. If he ends up in the Big 12 somewhere then his time as a Michigan commit worked out pretty well. Better than Missouri State.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:44 PM ^
I agree. The outrage seems a little hasty here. He didn't sign along with everyone else, so obviously he knew something at that time. I would love it if everything was clear, but this seems a far cry from the rampant oversigning and pulling scholarships from upperclassmen that goes on elsewhere.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:28 PM ^
This is my take, as well. Considering that he didn't sign early, and was told shortly after NFL declaration day, I'd be stunned and amazed if he didn't know this could be coming. Maybe he didn't believe it? Maybe he didn't truly understand what it meant? But Harbuagh went through this with Swenson, and I'd be surprised if he didn't learn a lesson.
Harbaugh has his faults, and there may be something he needs to explain/improve out of this. But I'll hold off on assigning all shit-blame on him. (The nation did that with the Swenson kerfuffle, and Harbuagh was eventually proven right, although with lessons to be learned...)
February 4th, 2019 at 3:44 PM ^
I think he knew that this would be a possibility. There would have been no reason for him not to sign in the December period. He jumped at the opportunity to visit and commit when UM offered. UM, I'm sure was holding him off until other pieces fell into place. Maybe the final word was given somewhat late but I think they kind of knew it was a possible outcome.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:29 PM ^
Here's how this will play out:
1. Fake outrage for 2-3 days.
2. Everyone forgets.
It's college football and it's a business at this point in time. Is it a shitty move? Yes. Will anything change after some upset people comment on it? No.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:36 PM ^
Exactly. Sucks, but that's the way of things. Next year is kind of a make or break year for Harbaugh and if he needs to go after grad transfers for thin areas of the roster, I don't blame him.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:49 PM ^
And that is how it should be-minus #1.
This is a 2-way street...kids de-commit much more often than they are "processed". The way the rules are set up, this is part of the business.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:53 PM ^
It astounds me how many people believe the University of Michigan football machine and a high schooler from a KC suburb have equal bargaining power and the ability to pivot from a change in circumstances. It's a shitty thing Harbaugh did and just because some recruits also change their mind doesn't change a thing.
February 4th, 2019 at 7:30 PM ^
There is plenty I do not know-including nothing about what really happened here. But I have recruited enough to know that these kids are all over this recruiting deal and it is very unlikely that this young man was not very aware of what was in play here...that you can be sure of. He may not be happy about it but one could confidently bet that he knew about these options-for a while.
February 4th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
Not every element of law school education applies here. I get where you're coming from though. I would just offer that bargaining power is a complex concept in this scenario.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
I read all this and it makes me believe Michigan staff feels 2019 will be the year and they are going all out to make it so.
I wish the guy well and hope the staff starts pursuing a Dax Hill quality 2020 LB. Like this dude Justin Flowe we offered back in May.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
When he didn't sign during the early signing period, it was clearly because the staff was telling him to hold off which signifies they are going over their options. That sounds like communication to me. He and his family cant have been this naive to be told to hold off but still think he is 100% a take for Michigan. Once you are told not to sign during the early period, it is obvious that you need to open your recruitment back up.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:52 PM ^
There are a lot of things I don't like about recruiting, but for Michigan's case I wish they would just do away with slow playing recruits. Don't accept someone into the class unless they clear from an academic standpoint on their end, and there is room in the class on Michigan's end. To me there should be no gray area if you are actually in the class or not.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:02 PM ^
In an ideal world, this would be so. But people, coaches and kids, change their minds and unfortunately some kid is liable to feel hurt, as part of the fallout.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:11 PM ^
Yeah I get it, its not a perfect system by any means. I obviously don't know the details of this situation beyond what is posted, but to leave a kid who thinks hes signing to Michigan on Wednesday with a couple days to scramble to his plan B is pretty shitty and not a good look for Harbaugh or Michigan.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
This happens everywhere in the country.
Why would Harbaugh be the only one that's targeted?
February 4th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
Because we cover Harbaugh's football team for a living, and Michigan fans and MGoBlog readers specifically won't put up with a small potatoes nerd blogger like me if I go full Graham Couch.
I am in no position to affect how other people cover other teams. The best I can do is make my bias toward Michigan plain and present the best information about Michigan I have access to in the most responsible manner possible. In this case the Freep and Rivals got all the information and presented the facts they possess fairly, and I'm totally pig-tailing off of them, providing some bit of historical context and pointing you toward their coverage.
I totally agree that Michigan being surrounded by real journalists ultimately creates a double-standard contra teams whose press rooms are filled with abject homers who feign impartiality and soften coverage for access. I don't want to say "That's no my problem," because that's a coward's answer. I will say I feel mostly powerless to do anything about it. Brian has a larger platform to criticize, and guys like Adam and Ace spend time in press conference rooms that I don't. Criticism from me would be cheap and ineffective, so I reserve it for when it's so bad that a crowd needs to amplify the message.
What I won't do is act like a Graham Couch. That kind of person is the reason shit like Larry Nassar can happen at Michigan State and not at Michigan, and it's certainly nowhere in my job description that I need to act like those hacks in order to compensate for them. That's the sort of thinking that leads people to get their information from propaganda instead of journalists. It's easy to get readers by confirming their biases; it's also irresponsible and destructive and immoral bordering on traitorous to your audience. I'd rather go back to 9-5 trade journalism in a shitty office than become someone like that.
February 4th, 2019 at 12:57 PM ^
Seth, I don’t quite understand this. Do you think he had a chance to sign in December or not? If yes, and he wanted to go to Michigan, then he can only blame himself for not signing and then watching the roster to fill up. If no, then he actually had two months to decide where else to go, not two days.
What am I missing?
February 4th, 2019 at 1:05 PM ^
per freep article, michigan staff asked him to meet certain benchmarks for academics before he could sign.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
I believe, based on the information I linked, that Amauri did not have a chance to sign in December but got strung along believing that he only had to get his grades past a certain benchmark to sign in February. That's not 2 months to decide because he did not know that his offer was also contingent on Michigan wanting to play the transfer portal for D-linemen.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:17 PM ^
Kid got processed. It happens. The folks here that say is was a crappy thing for Harbaugh to do are the same folks that bitch when UM signs a low 3 star and it hurts recruiting.
Recruiting is ugly and always will be. JH has to think about what is best for his team, not hurting the feelings of a high school kid that may or may not have been able to cut it.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
false dichotomy.
folks can bitch about his methods of processing AND signing low stars.
February 4th, 2019 at 4:15 PM ^
This is bullshit. Regardless of NCAA ineptness and coach malfeasance at the highest level, it is possible to be excellent and maintain integrity and decency. I don't want to win at that cost.
February 4th, 2019 at 5:55 PM ^
Maybe if all these damn kids just pulled themselves up by their bootstraps they wouldn't be in this situation.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:25 PM ^
I have read a few stories on this, and it is unclear to me whether the kid knew that his options were prep school or find a new place on January 14 or yesterday. Seth's article makes the latter date seem definitive.
It would be nice to know exactly what Harbaugh told APH and APH's family when the offer was initially extended, on the early signing day, January 14th, and yesterday. I agree it's not a good look and Harbaugh will probably get raked for it, but there's a difference between knowing nearly 4 weeks before NSD and 2 days in my opinion.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
I’m very disappointed if everything is as has been outlined here. You’re either a man of your word or you’re not. If Harbaugh/staff didn’t advise the young man that his scholarship was conditional, that’s an issue.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:34 PM ^
The initial offer was the mistake, not the parting of ways. The coaches should have just waited to see how scholarships played out for offering a kid that had almost no other D 1 offers and would have likely jumped at a Michigan offer at a later date.
And if the kid signed with someone else in December before the staff figured things out, so be it. Pesek is a very replaceable recruit, playing a position with depth. It made no sense to offer him when they did, and it makes even less sense now.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
If you’re never in, how do you exit?
February 4th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
We all wanted the juniors to stay and not delcare for the draft. Then that happens and we are in a scholarship crunch. It sucks for APH. If the NCAA moves away from an overall scholarship cap and to a strict yearly signing limit it would go a long way to help avoid these situations. This idea has been discussed on this blog for awhile.
Also I get that it sucks to be told to go to prep school and come later when you thought you were about to start classes in a few months, but Brad Hawkins did it. If you really want to be at Michigan, you still can be. At this point you have to weigh a semester of prep school against going to Missouri State.
February 4th, 2019 at 2:20 PM ^
The overall scholarship limit has obvious unintended consequences. A yearly signing limit would be an easy fix, I don't get why they won't make the change.
February 4th, 2019 at 2:39 PM ^
I think kids would still get "processed". Maybe not current players but incoming players would still be under the same heading as this issue here.
February 4th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
Hmmm... while Harbaugh's recruiting numbers management is a big issue worth scrutiny, I think a lot of people are missing some key points: (1) This is a 3-star 1-year football player who was told right after NFL decision day (3 weeks ago) that he no longer had a spot in the 2019 class, or that the non-committable (therefore tentative) spot he had been offered wouldn't translate into a 2019 committable spot, and (2) our remaining DT/DE players are so bad that the staff is actively holding back 2019 scholarships in the hopes of landing a grad transfer. Sure, the first point is pretty marginal in terms of ethical/good guy recruiting, but as noted elsewhere, we'll never know the full story. The second point seems like a big deal to me. Coaching change on DL, DL attrition from contributing players, remaining/new staff trolling the transfer wires, hoping for a cast-off... That's definitely not a good look.
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