2018 4* LB Antwuan Johnson decommits
2018 4* LB Antwuan Johnson decommits from #Michigan: http://247sports.com/player/antwuan-johnson-77697 …
So i know everyone brushed off the last two decommits as inevitable, what about this one?
*forgot about Solomon so I guess this is actually 3 previous decommits (Solomon, Irvin, Taylor)
September 9th, 2016 at 9:01 AM ^
This stinks.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:12 AM ^
...the FREEP had it as a headline story before the kid actually took the decision to decommit.
I really hate that rag.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:40 AM ^
Yeah, damn a newspaper for being right.
September 9th, 2016 at 12:35 PM ^
For being selectively right and too often wrong, dickwad
September 9th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^
must have been a huge turnoff
September 9th, 2016 at 9:02 AM ^
2018? Yawn
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September 9th, 2016 at 10:49 AM ^
I feel the same. With Harbaugh, future class recruiting news is kinda like off-season weight changes. Its fine until proven otherwise.
September 9th, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
Wonder if it's because we are taking a cue from the ILB 247 rates immediately higher:
Bumper Pool
Allen, TX (Lovejoy)
Ht 6-2 Wt 215
September 9th, 2016 at 12:59 PM ^
OSU has 2 2018 commits, Alabama 2 as well.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:02 AM ^
He's a 2018 recruit, and we've only played one game this season. I say we all relax and enjoy what's actually in front of us. It's a bummer, but not the end of the world.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:03 AM ^
He'll probably regret that decision when we stomp the shit out of OSU this year.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:26 AM ^
You of all people shouldn't be talking about stomping the shit out of OSU this year until we stomp the shit out of OSU this year :)
September 9th, 2016 at 10:00 AM ^
and MSU.
/I'll be over here standing in this corner.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:03 AM ^
I have no doubt that we will end up with several linebackers at his level or better than him by the end of this cycle.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:17 AM ^
I would feel much differently if this kid was a top 3-4 type LB prospect in the country and was on the verge of irreplaceable. I am not saying I would not want him in the 2018 class, but I would guess there are recruits out there similar to his talent level.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:54 AM ^
and doesn't want to compete for a starting spot!
September 9th, 2016 at 9:03 AM ^
you'll rest easier at night. Why is anyone surprised? Last years class was a whirlwind to end the class and it's going to be the norm for this staff. If a kid hasn't heard from the staff in awhile they'll back out. It's recruiting.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:56 AM ^
Well said. He changed his mind...and we move on. So be it.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:03 AM ^
Not worried. Harbaugh.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:41 AM ^
said Jaim. 2018 is also a long way off in recruiting world.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:03 AM ^
My guess would be the fact the kid is 2 years away from attending a school and realized he jumped at the first major offer he got fearing he wouldn't get any better.
They should not allow commitments before kids are seniors or atleast the summer between Junior and Senior year.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:11 AM ^
But he's not gonna get a better offer...
September 9th, 2016 at 9:50 AM ^
Well duh. We know that. Not every 16-17 year old is smart enough to grasp the greatness of Michigan. We are the luck ones.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:38 AM ^
To be fair, they don't actually allow commitments until February of their senior year.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:53 AM ^
Yes signed commitments. I am saying no verbals before they are close enough to be offered by the majority of the schools who will offer them.
It is one of the hardest choices these young kids will make and "fans" pile on these kids who make a call at 16 and in 2 years they see more schools or programs change coaches and they decommit verbally.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:01 AM ^
There's a problem there. You can't regulate what a prospect agrees to verbally. You can't sit there and not allow a kid to tell Michigan he is going to go to Michigan. It's simply not possible.
The only thing they COULD do, is MAYBE stop the recruiting services from going public with the information. But the NCAA truly has no jurisdiction over the matter. They don't regulate when a prospect is allowed to receive a scholarship offer or when he is allowed to commit.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:19 AM ^
Therein lies the entire problem with trying to regulate over-early recruiting. People always seem to want the NCAA to ban early verbal scholarship offers and early verbal commitments, which, hey, good luck with enforcing any of that.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:22 AM ^
of commitment information any more. The kids announce them on Twitter and/or at a ceremony at their HS. The news gets picked up by sites like this one and the local MSM.
You're right overall. There isn't anything the NCAA can do that wouldn't cause other problems. Recruits changing their minds about non-binding verbal commitments isn't an issue they need to address.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:28 AM ^
They are calling the University and saying I am committing to your program. This would no longer be accepted. They can simply claim a leader. Recruiting has gotten out of hand and is really pushing creep status. I couldn't imagine having a job where my main task was to call underage kids and grill them for info, so i could break where they may go in 2-3 years.
September 9th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
The only mention of it in the NCAA rulebook is in quotes, "commitment".
It's the non-binding acceptance of a non-binding offer. Hell, there are a few cases that didn't even include an offer. The term commitment is used because it's convenient, not because it's accurate. Then fans get upset because they want it taken literally.
Are you actually suggesting that when a coach offers a kid a scholarship, the kid can't say yes?
September 9th, 2016 at 9:03 AM ^
beat ucf? something like that?
September 9th, 2016 at 9:05 AM ^
Not exactly the best age for making major life decisions, you know?
September 9th, 2016 at 9:27 AM ^
Playing devil's advocate....everyone keeps saying stuff like this, but isn't this happening at a higher rate than ever before? Are we simply taking more early commits than previous years? I'm legitimately asking what the difference is now.
EDIT: I think Albatross is on the right track in his comment below.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:45 AM ^
In-state recruits and out-of-state recruits. The in-state ones tend to stick, because Michigan has been their dream school forever. The out-of-state ones get excited for Michigan, but then get excited at another one they see later. We in the past have lost players like George Coleman and Damien Harris. I'm sure we've also flipped kids who were early commits elsewhere.
As players continue to "commit" earlier, they will continue to "de-commit" more often. It's disappointing, but I'm personally not worried. Last year was Harbaugh's first full recruiting cycle at Michigan, and he did great. This year he's doing similarly well. 2018 looks to be a very small class, so it will not be difficult to replace any given recruit, because we'll have fewer spaces available than recruits who would like to attend.
September 9th, 2016 at 10:07 AM ^
Except, of course, when he initially committed to Michigan...
September 9th, 2016 at 10:28 AM ^
when I was 9 years old.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:06 AM ^
Not tremendously surprising. Early commits are written in pencil at best.
Win on the field, close strong with '17 recruits, '18 will take care of itself.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:09 AM ^
Big pencils. Not No.2 pencils like the big kids use.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:15 AM ^
Those giant ones that make your hand hurt? Guess I better start drinking whole milk.
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September 9th, 2016 at 10:06 AM ^
I tell my fiancé she needs to quit drinking that candy ass 2% every time we go grocery shopping. Then I tell her she needs some whole milk. Get some Vitamin D (TWSS)
September 9th, 2016 at 9:28 AM ^
Not to let your recruits use the extra few bucks on a gift card to buy those pencils. #NCAAcares
September 9th, 2016 at 9:14 AM ^
Early commits tended to be the most solid. But to keep early commits means to still have to constantly recruit them even though they are committed.
That doesn't seem to be the style of this staff, seems like they don't spend as much time ensuring committs stick.We have heard from commits that a lack of communication was a major factor in their decommits. If that is still going to be the staff's style going forward, not sure why they would even bother offering and accepting junior commits.
If we are looking for areas of improvement for this staff that would be one of them.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:23 AM ^
Lack of communication is to recruits the staff doesn't want to keep for the most part.
If somebody like DPJ had committed two years ago, the staff would still be contacting him regularly.
September 9th, 2016 at 9:53 AM ^
I think that's his point, if you don't want the kid...why take his commitment?
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September 9th, 2016 at 10:12 AM ^
Because the staff never formally "accepts" his commitment until Signing Day. If a player holds an offer, "commitable," or not, and then proclaims he is committed to said school, the recruiting sites proclaim him as such. The staff can urge the kid to hold off on his commitment, but that's it really. There's nothing to stop the kid from committing anyway.
IIRC, Sam (or one of our other recruitniks) mentioned this exact thing happening last class. A player committed and stayed committed for months when he never had a commitable offer.
September 9th, 2016 at 11:28 AM ^
... vs. a "non-commitable offer"?
wtf is a "non-commitable offer"? why are there "offers" & then "commitable offers"?
an offer is an offer is an offer. Or should be.
Now get off my linguistic lawn before you split more blades of thin, thin grass.
September 9th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^
an offer is given to a kid that is non-committable but helps raise awareness of the kid for others to offer - I think the 3-star WR in Texas that committed to TCU (Kennedy Snell or something?) would be an example of this
same for the QB that is a grandkid of Joe Gibbs or something
or "here is an offer, but you are not at the top of our priority list at the moment, but we are interested"
if everyone we offered accepted we would have a class size of over 200
September 9th, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
The non-commitable offer is for Division I caliber players that other teams haven't recognized. So just in case there was a talented player that Michigan State didn't know about, we want to make sure they are made aware of him.
Okay i get it.