Rashad Weaver Decommits
![sdsds[1]](https://mgoblog.com/sites/mgoblog.com/files/sdsds[1].jpg "sdsds[1]")
FL DE Rashad Weaver has decommitted. He's upset after Harbaugh told him there was only a 50/50 shot they'd have a slot for him on Signing Day and will take one of the other D-I offers he received. Weaver visited Temple recently and will be at USF and Illinois in the near future.
Weaver was one of the players we were assuming would not be in the class. Setting a visit to a non power-5 school is almost always a sign that a player committed to Michigan isn't going to get to Signing Day as a commit, and Weaver set that visit way back in November. He clearly had an idea of his status and moved to do something about it.
Still, you'd hope the past couple weeks inform the staff that in the twitter era you'd better do something a little more explicit than not calling for months if you don't want unpleasant public relations flare-ups on the regular.
January 26th, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^
"If I am a 3 star I immediately accept and then try to parlay to a "real offer" and don't think UM is at all serious. Which is fine for the ones that remain 3 stars. But not for the ones who blow up their senior year."
Or I make the decision that I'm going to damn well be one of the ones who blows up their senior year and lock down my spot at Michigan, if that's the school I really want to be at. There's a lot of ways at looking at all this, and we'll likely never know the full true story. But I have to believe that if you're a 3 star who impresses Harbaugh enough to get an early offer, and Michigan is a place you want to be, you're going to use this recruiting kerfuffle as motivation to work harder, get better, and make damn sure Harbuagh HAS to keep you come NSD.
January 25th, 2016 at 9:53 PM ^
Seems like the summer swarm tour has almost hurt as much as it helped. By that, I mean JH is giving opposing schools piles of ammo to negative recruit against him.
Moving forward I hope this staff is a little more discerning with offers. Kick off recruiting with the blue chip players and work your way down from there.
January 25th, 2016 at 9:59 PM ^
but the recent offers extended to SIX players from the same high school suggests that we're heading down the same path again
January 25th, 2016 at 10:03 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 25th, 2016 at 10:19 PM ^
Common sense tells me no way all six of these players are Michigan material. 2 or 3? OK, I'll buy that.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:05 PM ^
You realize this is what the powerhouse programs do right? They hand out scholarship offers like candy. These offers are varying degrees of committable. I understand this makes a large portion of our fanbase uncomfortable but this is college football in today's era. You want to win national championships and get the best players? Simply saying "This is Michigan" doesn't get that done anymore.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:14 PM ^
That makes sense to me, but doesn't it seem like we are not communicating the strength of the offer to our recruits? I don't really know how this works, but several of our recent recruits clearly believed that their status was more secure than what the staff believed. If it is standard practice to give someone a "non-commitable offer," shouldn't we have informed some of these recent decommits that that was their status?
January 25th, 2016 at 10:18 PM ^
Maybe the staff could be a bit better at communicating things. But we've all known for months that Weaver would not likely end up in this class so I'm sure he's known that as well. I'm sure he's upset because he was clearly viewed by Michigan as a backup plan and he doesn't view himself that way, which is fine, but I don't think this is an issue of Weaver not knowing where he stood.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
there are many variables at work in recruiting. When this happens, the young high school player takes an ego hit. That sometimes results in him taking a victim's position to save face. Think about it, the psychology of it is fairly basic. Just because some recruits are making comments as if they were blindsided or left at the altar, you have to know there is more to the story. Harbaugh and staff act with integirty. It's annoying to hear people questioning that based on speculation or suspicion, rather than facts.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:33 PM ^
there are many variables at work in recruiting. When this happens, the young high school player takes an ego hit. That sometimes results in him taking a victim's position to save face. Think about it, the psychology of it is fairly basic. Just because some recruits are making comments as if they were blindsided or left at the altar, you have to know there is more to the story. Harbaugh and staff act with integirty. It's annoying to hear people questioning that based on speculation or suspicion, rather than facts.
January 26th, 2016 at 5:14 AM ^
I highly doubt our staff is not being clear with these guys. It smells like these are face-saving efforts from teenage guys.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:35 PM ^
"we've all known for months that Weaver would not likely end up in this class so I'm sure he's known that as well."
I guess, but his tweet makes it sound like he didn't really know it. Was he being willfully ignorant? Maybe, but that's pretty similar to the Swenson situation. Did we just happen to have two recruits who had their fingers in their ears saying, "I can't hear you!"? It all strikes me as weird. If it happened once it would be easier to chalk it up to a recruit who didn't get the hint. But the pattern makes me think that our staff is somehow the ones failing to communicate clearly, or has a different idea of the strength of an offer, or something.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:17 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 25th, 2016 at 11:28 PM ^
January 25th, 2016 at 11:33 PM ^
The January 15 visit was scheduled in November.
January 26th, 2016 at 12:34 AM ^
January 25th, 2016 at 11:26 PM ^
Weaver knew all about it. He's just a little pissed and is taking a swing at Harbaugh. It's easy to pile on after Swenson.
January 26th, 2016 at 10:05 AM ^
January 25th, 2016 at 10:17 PM ^
how offering 2 stars and then having them bash us on Twitter after they don't make the grade, with the resulting negative publicity, is helping us. Seems clear to me that "handing out offers like candy" is backfiring on us big time.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:21 PM ^
Backfiring how? Do we sitll have a top 5 recruiting class? Are we still the prohibitive favorite for the #1 recruit in the country? Is there a mass exodus of 4 stars leaving this class because the staff did not accept the commitments of a few lowly rated kids with no other major offers? I fail to see how this is backfiring.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:29 PM ^
Near term, apparently not backfiring. Long term, there could be a price to pay in terms of reputation.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:43 PM ^
There won't be any real effect. I've said it before but you wanna bet this kind of negative recruiting is also used against Saban and Meyer? Most likely, and it doesn't affect their recruiting success in the slightest.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:40 PM ^
January 25th, 2016 at 11:54 PM ^
Recruiting is all about relationships - not just the players but the coaches, the school, the community etc. Why is it that Urban Meyer had to go meet with Thomas Wilcher immediately after the Mike Weber situation? Beacuse if he didnt, no way was a kid from Cass Tech ever going to go to Ohio State again.
This recruiting strategy may never hurt us. Or, conversely, it may keep us from the five star kid down the line who chooses a rival.
Hard to say, but it certainly doesnt seem like the best strategy when they could instead be upfront with the commitable-ness of the offer....
January 26th, 2016 at 12:19 AM ^
To me, it's not about maybe losing a 5 star kid down the road. It's about integrity. You make a commitment to a kid, it's your word, you keep it. Period.
Now none of us truly knows everything that has gone on with Swenson and now Weaver. But there is certainly smoke here on the part of Michigan and where there's smoke...
I expect more out of my school than this.
The basic problem though is that commitments aren't commitments at all. In either direction. They are worth the paper they aren't written on basically. It is a problem that needs to be addressed NCAA wide. Not holding my breath on that. In the meantime, I'd like to see M hold itself to a higher standard.
January 26th, 2016 at 10:25 AM ^
I agree, Michigan should also not be in contact with any recruits that have already committed verbally to other schools before NSD. It would be inappropriate to undermine the bond that they have with their committments.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:43 PM ^
It hasn't hurt LSU, Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, etc... People can say it's because of the championships, but they were still doing this stuff before that, too.
January 26th, 2016 at 4:01 AM ^
They are much better than we have been in making clear what offers are "committable" or not.
Alabama gives out offers like candy. But you don't see low 3-stars committing to Alabama in June on Twitter in front of God and Country just because they recieved an Alabama offer. They are very clear on where they really stand.
We need to do the same thing.
January 26th, 2016 at 10:21 AM ^
This is reasonable.
January 26th, 2016 at 10:15 AM ^
oh please :rolls eyes:
January 25th, 2016 at 10:44 PM ^
and would lead for Gary without having made questionable offers. I believe someone reported that one of our top remaining targets (was it Hudson?) retweeted one of Swenson's tweets. If we lose Hudson, will you agree that the strategy backfired?
January 25th, 2016 at 10:54 PM ^
Sure. But as Hudson hasn't committed anywhere yet, and most of the insiders are still confident we'll land him, I'll continue to say it hasn't backfired.
January 26th, 2016 at 1:21 AM ^
Your moral compass seems entirely utilitarian. Can something be wrong even if it has no immediate negative consequences?
January 25th, 2016 at 11:06 PM ^
weight on one loss - possible loss - at that. It's obvious his overall stategy, one that does not involve being dishonest to recruits, works. Jim is a man of high intergrity and it seems that those who were not satisfied when it became obvious that there was no duplicity involving Swenson's recruitment, will always be dissastisfied. But that is not out of the ordinary. Never has this fan base been completely unitied other than on Saturdays when we all pull together with the common wish of coming out of the game with a victory.
There were people unsatisfied with Bump and his penachant for playing legacy recruits over those who were better football players. That same division extended to Bo, even though he brought us out of a twenty year funk. Never, and it would be unnatural and probably a little unhealthty if we all agree on our head coaches each and every decision.
It has been documented and proven that Eric did not receive an offer here w/obligation to meet same without qualifiers. The easiest one and one that could have avoided the controversy to follow is if he had just complied with the coaches instruction to get his ass to camp and prove to them he was of the quaity they were seeking. Actually, he did well resting on his laurels, with a rapid offer to decide between two other BIG programs.
If Hudson bases his decision based on Swenson's alleged interpretation of the facts instead of deciding what is best for him, then yes, I would be o.k with that. I don't know of any other commits that Harbaugh has accepted that did not allow him to showed hesitation to compete for such a covted offer. Hell, this has been discussed over and over. You will believe what you want., I will believe what I want, and we will both be right based on who we are and we will both be wrong, based on the very same criteri
You should ask yourself what he stood to lose by refusing to camp or even engage in official visits. My takeaway is he doubted his abilities to a degree, but regardless of that, was satisfied in being recogni\zed as a woliverine for the next 4 years. That does not embody the competiveness that Harbaugh wants in his players; therefore, the fit would have been both for both player and coach. And no, the honor of a UM degree should be limited to the select few such as Kovacs and the Glasgows who welcome competition as a venue where they are allowed to show qualities that prior to then went largely unnoticed.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:18 PM ^
Where was it proven that he did not receive an unconditional offer? I'm not being snarky; I didn't see that but I also didn't read every word about that situation.
The pattern of recruits saying that communication from the staff stopped is not a good look. Our recruits deserve better. I'll be the first to say that I am not privy to those conversations (or lack of consversations) and am just going by what seems to be the most likely scenario given what has been reported.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:27 PM ^
Do you have a problem with coveted recruits decommitting? Verbal commitments go 2 ways. Recruits need to do what's best for them, and coaches need to do what's best for their programs.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:31 PM ^
but I hold adult coaches and mentors to a higher standard than 17-year-old kids.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:45 PM ^
Harbaugh has to do what's best for Michigan, not what's best for 1 recruit. He has 85 kids to take care of. They all want to win national championships and Jim owes it to them to give them the best chance at reaching that goal. Now that we're in good shape with some great players that we didn't think we'd be in 6 months ago, Jim has to do what he thinks is best for his team. It's not about holding the coaches to a higher standard.
January 26th, 2016 at 12:07 AM ^
January 26th, 2016 at 2:40 AM ^
A man of integrity does not get himself into situations like this.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:17 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 25th, 2016 at 11:26 PM ^
I agree the staff has done a great job in getting Hudson to consider Michigan and in coaching up Hoke's recruits so as to make Michigan an attractive destination again. All I am saying is that the staff doesn't need to make early offers to 2 stars and doesn't need to stop communicating with commits in order to do that. Just because Harbaugh has done an outstanding job overall does not mean he's God or that there is nothing to criticize.
January 26th, 2016 at 12:08 AM ^
It helps to set the bar high. The very best prospects will understand that Coach Harbaugh isn't fucking around. Here's the thing many have likely forgotten, the elite love to belong to elite programs which only include elite members.
January 26th, 2016 at 1:24 AM ^
That's why accepting commitments from non-elite recruits and then tossing them in the shitcan if you get a better recruit is stupid.
harbaugh should never have accepted Weavers commitment if he didn't plan to honor it. He shouldn't have accepted it if he wasn't sure he would honor it.
January 26th, 2016 at 1:56 AM ^
In fact he can't accept any commitment until NSD. Furthermore, perhaps the sanctimonious members of MGOBLOG should read what a 17 year old kid who withdrew his commitment to Michigan had to say about this issue.
Harbaugh is not garbage or trash like u guys are calling him. It his team and he knows what he is doing.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:43 PM ^
Im not so great with the twitters or the embedding so Im just going to copy and paste the quote. Weaver sounds like a classy kid who is a bit frustrated and has every right to be. That said he is far from bashing Michigan and Harbaugh.
"Harbaugh is not garbage or trash like u guys are calling him. It his team and he knows what he is doing"
This is an exact quote from Rashad's twitter in response to his followers bashing us.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:11 PM ^
Yep, classy comment. And words of advice to our fanbase as well. Just trust that Harbaugh knows what he's doing.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:36 PM ^
Unfortunately few people will read that tweet, or they will simply ignore it, because they already have their answers.
January 25th, 2016 at 10:31 PM ^
Fewer have a problem with the 'candy' approach than the lack of communication with teenagers. Had the "50/50" conversation happened over the summer (when the offer was made) or in November (when things had changed) - no one could be too upset.
It's clear the the staff is not being clear (enough) - we now have multiple kids who feel dropped and misled and in some cases it's happening very late in the cycle. Leaving someone a week or two to find a new schoo is cold, no matter how many hints you think you dropped. Have the honest conversation.
Pretending like it's impossible to do anything different is totally dishonest. Brady Hoke did something else and his recruiting on the DL, in the secondary, at TE, was excellent, as were his recruiting rankings overall.
January 25th, 2016 at 11:15 PM ^
These kids have been rumored to not be a part of the class for weeks on the boards. Why is that? Could it be because the coaches actually told the players this long ago and the "insiders" also knew it.
Ridiculous. Shut the F up and let the man do his job.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Comments