January 22nd, 2016 at 10:46 AM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:20 AM ^
He said this morning that Richardson's parting of ways with Michigan was a "good old fashioned" decommitment and that Richardson apparently wants to be closer to home. The implication - I thought - was that Michigan still wanted him.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:27 PM ^
Spath said this:
On Thursday, Kiante Enis and Antwaine Richardson also decommitted from Michigan because they no longer held a committable offer. And both Enis and Richardson were Harbaugh-offered recruits.
I wonder if Spath has different info than Sam Webb, or if he was just misunderstanding Richrdson's actual situation?
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:30 AM ^
Not turning a blind eye because this a good cautionary tale for both sides but I just want to move on.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
There are always two sides to every story. While Harbaugh may not always get it right, I have the feeling that he is not the kind of person that would intentionally do something to hurt a recruit. That is simply not whom Harbaugh would seem to be. Even with Harbaugh's occasional insanity, I know of no instance where his actions didn't show concern for a recruit or a player. Can things happen that are not ideal? Of course.
Recruiting is a tough business. For starters, even in the best of circumstances, you are dealing with a commit that may say goodbye to a program for a myriad of reasons that leave you high and dry. You need to look no further than what Beilein went through with his last bout of recruiting. All offers come with contingencies attached, even for a top recruit.
Michael Spath's article, I thought, was a fair depiction of what took place.
January 22nd, 2016 at 2:05 PM ^
I don't want to be "that guy" that starts yet another Swenson thread, but our buddy over at the Chicago Tribune has written his response to the new details regarding this situation:
Mr. Teddy Greenstein: Link? Link: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-harbaugh-michigan-recruiting-20160122-column.html
"9. I hope Harbaugh remains at Michigan for another 20 years because college football is way more interesting with him around. I also hope he realizes that the way he’s acting is unseemly. A great school deserves better."
January 22nd, 2016 at 2:54 PM ^
We hired Harbaugh to be Harbaugh. This is exactly who he is and hopefully it's embraced by the entire fan base.
He loves nothing more than his family, the football team, the university and steak. Probably in that order.
January 22nd, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^
These hack reporters like Teddy Greenstein and Nick Baumgardner are out looking for clicks. These guys did no research before publishing there bullshit. There is no other side according to them. It just shows you that they don’t like Harbaugh and will write anything they feel like to belittle Jim.
I don’t get how these guys do not get called out for this terrible reporting. I guess you can say just about anything you want.
January 22nd, 2016 at 10:57 AM ^
Hypnotic for some reason...
January 22nd, 2016 at 10:58 AM ^
Reasons...
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:07 AM ^
I think you two are being boobs about this whole thing...
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
Hard to blame someone for wanting to keep abreast of things.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^
Okay, I'll confess my ignorance ... who is that?
January 22nd, 2016 at 1:53 PM ^
Looks like Victoria Principal of "Dallas" fame to me.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
But it'll do!!!!
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
Completely agree. For instance, the weather in Ann Arbor today is a bit nipply.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:21 AM ^
I'm in favor of all things boobs...
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:25 AM ^
Yeah...big boobs IMO.
January 23rd, 2016 at 10:18 AM ^
I am just enjoying her high pad level.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:39 PM ^
Cause bewbs
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:01 AM ^
Look at it....focus.....now move to the center and down......see!!!
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:26 AM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
Yeah, it is definitely the turtleneck that is making me want to snuggle up with her.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:27 PM ^
We'll find you a Steve Jobs type and I'll take the girl. And by "snuggle" I mean the horizontal mambo.
January 22nd, 2016 at 10:48 AM ^
harbaugh drops the mic
January 22nd, 2016 at 10:49 AM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
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January 22nd, 2016 at 11:08 AM ^
the right way at Northwestern. Not everyone has the stomach for big boy college football.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
"So if you’re Harbaugh and Co., and the young man has rejected your desire for him to come camp and then you watch him this fall and he’s not performing the way you want in a offensive lineman you’re trying to build a program around, do you honor a scholarship that you didn’t offer in the first place?"
Let's remember that it's Swenson who decomitted.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:22 PM ^
The real story is he was not blindsided by this. Arguing if he "decomitted" is splitting hairs and taking away from the relevant facts.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:37 PM ^
They LOSE the right way. That's my point. Pat on the back to old Pat, but they lose.
Harbaugh coaches to win, not for congratulatory handshakes and Midwest mediocrity. I'm not advocating Saban or Meyer level sleaze, but having expectations of your incoming recruits to not coast their senior year of HS and keep competing is not outlandish.
Perhaps if Hoke had such standards, D. Green would not have come in 20 pounds over weight.
January 22nd, 2016 at 4:26 PM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:40 PM ^
He reopened his recruitment saying UM had pulled his offer and cancelled an official visit he had scheduled. That sounds like the break came from UM, not from him.
January 22nd, 2016 at 1:05 PM ^
they still took the official action. Among other things, it tends to signal that there's a little more to it than a simple yoinking of his scholly.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^
Dear lord what have you done to earn that massive negative point total?
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:33 PM ^
enable criminals and murderers in my football program, cheat on my wife with coeds, run away from my job with "health" problems when it is clear that my program is falling apart and another coach in my conference is eating m lunch. I hold disingenuous bible study groups, write of PR based "promises" to my family, and in general have no moral or ethical foundation.
But I win a lot.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^
Sorry, Northwestern doesn't have to deal with this because 80% of the kids aren't coming anyway. In Michigan's case, they have a legit chance every time that they make an offer so these situations are going to arise. The flip side is that there are a lot of kids who benefited big time from getting the Michigan offer even if it was not commitable. In many cases they got the Harbaugh bump in rankings and when Michigan offers, they end up on the radar for every major program in country.
I don't believe that there is one of you who would complain about losing a Rashad Weaver (great kid, no knock on him) if it was necessary to free up space for a Rashan Gary. The reality is that the elite kids hold off committing until NSD or just before. How do you manage that if you are on the final list of possibilities for 1 or more of these kids? As long as that is the case, there are going to be kids disappointed at the last minute despite your best intentions.
If you don't want the elite talent it isn't a problem. If do, I don't see how you solve it.
January 22nd, 2016 at 2:31 PM ^
and he's been rather pro-Harbaugh so far, but when I read his article in the Tribune this morning, I had the same thought as the OP. There's 2 sides to every story and Harbaugh can't state his side. By the time he can, there will be no point in discussing it. So, Greenstein comes across as a pure mudslinger with imunity.
January 22nd, 2016 at 10:51 AM ^
Doesn't sound like a kid that wants to put in the effort to be great. Wouldn't camp at Michigan, slacked his senior year. You think Harbaugh wants a guy like that around? While the process might be shady to some, Swenson has nobody to blame but himself for not being at Michigan. Things just don't get handed to you.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
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January 22nd, 2016 at 11:19 AM ^
Things just don't get handed to you.
This is why I think this settles out as a net positive once the dust settles.
The message Harbaugh seems to be sending is the expectations for competitive improvement are ever-present ... and just because a recruit commits does not mean they can relax.
That will drive some recruits away from Michigan. But that will also draw the hyper-competitive recruits to Michigan. And by all accounts, it's the latter type that Harbaugh wants. In time, the hyper-competitive and naturally talented will come. And that will be awesome.
January 22nd, 2016 at 11:42 AM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:11 PM ^
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:27 PM ^
... you have to be true to who you are. If you give someone a chance, several chances, and they don't show they have what it takes to be a part of the vision you are building towards, you have to stick to your principles. Losing those, because of a mean Chicago Tribune columnist and the FREEP, means your spine is not made of steal.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:33 PM ^
The negative press has already peaked and no one will remember this in a month. None of the SEC's shenanigans ever matter and in Big Ten country, this wouldn't even be a story in Columbus.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^
Absolutely wrong. Sam, Brian etc. talked on the latest podcast that Swenson's senior film is simply not good. Tim Drevno, you know, the ace OL coach, doesn't think he can play for Michigan. Spanellis has excellent film and excellent size and mulitple SEC offers. He is likely to move up in starz rankings as well.
January 22nd, 2016 at 12:44 PM ^
Should he stop doing them? He got negative press over Falcon too. How much of a hit did our recruiting take from that. If you put a premium on avoiding controversy and negative press, our team has the wrong coach.
I think the point is not choosing Spanellis over Swenson, but whether Swenson belongs on the team even if his spot remained open.