Who was the "Worst Decommitment Ever"?
I realize this is a morose topic a few weeks out from signing day; however, as I prepare for This Month in MGoBlog History for January 2007, I came across the news of Indiana Safey Jerimy Finch decommiting. He was a 4 star and 37th nationally to Rivals and was set to join a young, untested Michigan secondary. On January 15 he decommitted and promptly committed to Indiana, though he would sign with Florida. Brian declared this the "worst decommitment ever". In hindsight, this wasn't that big a deal. Finch was later named the biggest recruiting bust for IU in the last ten years.
This has made me wonder if Brian's statement is still true. Finch was a highly rated player at a position of need. Given what was to come in the next few years, it probably didn't matter much one way or another. Three others come to mind since then that are probably bigger: Dee Hart, Damien Harris, and George Campbell. Hart and Campbell for what they would have meant to to the coach who recruited them. Hart was supposed to finally be the super athlete to thrive in Rodriguez's backfield. Didn't Campbell refer to himself as the "mayor" and was going to put together a magnificent recruiting class. Harris might be the biggest talent of any of these for Michigan to lose. Interestly but probably not coincidentally, all four of these guys decommitted from a coach who was out the door.
Are there any I am forgetting? Any who could have had a bigger impact on the program or had a lot of success at another program?
EDIT: I should have checked out Touch the Banner right away, but here's a great list of decommits and transfers.
January 16th, 2017 at 12:57 AM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 9:29 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 1:17 AM ^
scrolled down to see if anyone mentioned Jai Eugene and here it is. Seconded.
January 16th, 2017 at 12:01 AM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:33 AM ^
The RR halloween costume showed that he was a classless piece of shit.
January 16th, 2017 at 11:22 AM ^
Fuck all Borens.
January 16th, 2017 at 2:10 PM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 12:20 AM ^
Hand was never a commit and McGuffie committed, signed AND PLAYED. Neither was a decommit.
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January 16th, 2017 at 12:44 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 12:15 AM ^
Would be really nice to have Roseboro and Kirkland right about now.
January 16th, 2017 at 7:59 AM ^
Yes on both, but Roseboro was one that instantly came to my mind after seeing his stats recently. Imagine if he had UM coaching...
January 16th, 2017 at 9:20 AM ^
Both played and contributed from day one I believe.
January 16th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
but my answer is Demar Dorsey. It came after the Sean Parker non-commitment / switch of a silent commitment. I was 100% all in for Rich Rod. He needed a safety to shore up the pass defense. Turns out, the problems were much bigger than one player but at the time, not having Demar Dorsey and his "No Fly Zone" really hurt. I was convinced that MIchigan's own athletic department was not letting in Dorsey as an attempt to hurt Rich Rod. I think I even called the athletic department to complain about it which I have never done for any other reason. I was in my early 20's and didn't have as good of coping skills that I do now. So as I said, not a decommit, but definitly the recuriting loss I felt the most.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:40 AM ^
Did Demar ever even make it to a D1 school? You should blame RR for recruiting him, not the athletic department for not letting him in.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:57 AM ^
I don't hold the same viewpoints now as I did then. More information came out and it was clear he couldn't have qualified anywhere.
January 16th, 2017 at 4:43 AM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 7:52 AM ^
Dorsey is a perfect example of someone who needs a viable non-college path to professional leagues. It's fantastic that guys can use their athletic skills to get an education, but denying someone a chance at the pros because they can't get in or get through college is kind of ridiculous.
January 16th, 2017 at 10:04 AM ^
Could he have gone to the CFL?
January 16th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 1:33 AM ^
Sure you're not thinking of LaQuon Treadwell? He was thought to be a silent commit for a long time IIRC.
January 16th, 2017 at 2:08 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 8:03 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 9:52 AM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 12:30 AM ^
Dark times those were.
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January 16th, 2017 at 10:06 AM ^
He turned out to be a dud, but losing a commit to Tulsa certainly stung. Of course, if he hadn't pulled that move, there would have been no Denard!
January 16th, 2017 at 12:34 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^
Fisher was an M commit.
January 16th, 2017 at 6:56 AM ^
I forgot about him. He would certainly be a candidate. A good talent at a position of significant need the next few years. Plus he went on to be a succes, and he was an in-state recruit.
January 16th, 2017 at 1:51 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 11:25 AM ^
It's hard watching ANYONE play for the Bengals.
January 16th, 2017 at 10:14 AM ^
The strange part about Jake Fisher's recruitment was that his decommitment followed the release of Rich Rodriguez. I would have thought linemen would have been more likely to stick around with someone like Brady Hoke, especially from in-state. But the program was in so much disarray at the time with the coaching change happening late after the bowl.
Fisher hurt so much because he was at a huge position of need and from in-state as a lifelong fan. Having him, Taylor Lewan, Michael Schofield, David Molk, and Denard would have been deadly. We would have had 2 All-American tackles bookending our OL for 3 years as both guys were ready to play early, and Schofield had started his career playing at guard.
January 16th, 2017 at 12:37 AM ^
Taylor Hill, Marcus Witherspoon, Davion Rogers, Conelius Jones (actual spelling), Tony Posada, Chris Barnett, Austin White, Chris Rock, DJ Williamson, Christian Pace, Justin Feagin, Boubacar Cissoko, Teric Jones, Terrence Talbott, Cullen Christian, Tamani Carter, Greg Brown.
All off the top of my head. Some never even made it to campus, some quit before camp even started.
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January 16th, 2017 at 12:39 AM ^
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January 16th, 2017 at 1:25 AM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 1:41 AM ^
Those names bring back memories of dark times.
January 16th, 2017 at 2:39 AM ^
but don't forget the immortal Kelly Baraka.
January 16th, 2017 at 2:43 AM ^
January 16th, 2017 at 8:04 AM ^
And probably half of the names on that list were not guys most Michigan fans were supremely excited about. Was anyone eagerly awaiting Tamani Carter's arrival to campus?
January 16th, 2017 at 8:37 AM ^
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