Abrupt Shift in Crystal Ball projections for Hand (To Bama)

Submitted by Belisarius on

Thought I'd mention it. I just availed myself of 24/7 and suddenly noticed a bunch of insiders making crystal ball projections of Hand to Alabama. Like...a lot. AT first I thought nothing of it, as three of the insiders were from the same Bama website, but a couple other insiders chimed in on it as well. All of this in the last hour. The reasons for this would be speculation on my part, so I won't bother. Link: http://247sports.com/Player/DaShawn-Hand-16094/PlayerInstitutionPredictions

Eastside Maize

June 11th, 2013 at 7:14 PM ^

I am glad that DaShawn chose his official visit for UTL 2. I've never been to a night game at the Big House but I could feel the energy and emotion through the tv. That atmosphere along with commits in his ear will go a long way.

bostonsix

June 11th, 2013 at 11:29 PM ^

Show up big time for that game, and give Hand a taste of what our D will be like with him, Peppers, and Jackson for UTL3 or 4. Assuming they still call it UTL since we won't be playing The Domers at night anymore.

RP

June 11th, 2013 at 7:15 PM ^

Until Hand himself says something, I wouldn't go crazy over this. The crystal ball has been known to be wrong before. They all predict to one school, the recruit picks another, then they all switch their predictions on the day of the announcement.  One of the big predictors over there changed his Peppers prediction to Rutgers days before the announcement as well (possibly for clicks..) 

michigan fan 1976

June 11th, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^

well if i am not mistaken he just visited alabama and hasnt had a chance to actually let it sink in yet like most recruits he probably told all these guys who made the predicitions that his visit was amazing and bama may have joined the top group with may have being the key words i really dont think a guy who has preached all along that academics and atmospere can honestly pick bama over mich or Vt plus he said that the mich coaches are his favorite and until i hear that come out of his mouth about bama i will just assume he enjoyed his visit and nothing more

RedGreene

June 11th, 2013 at 8:18 PM ^

I couldn't agree more bama is just the most recent visit and sure he's going to be excited but most recruits are excited after almost every visit so yeah I wouldn't get too excited about the crystal ball picks if he commits to bama then I'll get excited until then i won't let's all just take a deep breath and wait until he announces no matter which team he picks  I'll wish him the best of luck

Bigfoot

June 11th, 2013 at 7:50 PM ^

I feel everything points to him dropping VT, which would pit us vs. bama. It sounds like good news, but I have a feeling he dropped VT because his bama visit was that good. Anyway, it seems the info will get out soon enough, people are saying.

uofmdds96

June 11th, 2013 at 8:26 PM ^

What is all of this Hand talk? Can't we get back to sandwiches? Maybe burritos? That may be something we all actually have a background in versus opinion. If I were Da'shawn hand, one day I would wearca Michigan hat, the next day tweet about BGSU, the next a Miami (YTM)..... I would love to watch the blogs and experts erupt!

UMxWolverines

June 11th, 2013 at 8:35 PM ^

Do any of you even take the crystal ball seriously anymore? There have been guys who had 100% predictions for a school go somewhere completely different. I like 247 but the crystal ball bs is worthless. 

uminks

June 11th, 2013 at 8:36 PM ^

Hand has a general interest in the University of Michigan! Hoke and his coaches have a good chance of reeling him in. I'm just excited that we are one of the top schools on his list. I think he will be more of a standout DE star playing for Michigan. I have a feeling Hand will wait until the end of the 2013 season before he makes his final decision.

Perkis-Size Me

June 11th, 2013 at 8:52 PM ^

Hand hasn't given any indication of who's leading or where he wants to go. For all we know, it could be State. Haha, I know, that one's laughable and only in Sparty's dreams, but you get the idea. I think Michigan has just as good a chance at landing him as Alabama does, if not a better one.



He might be leaning towards Alabama, and even if he is, who cares? We've got a great class with or without him.

Perkis-Size Me

June 11th, 2013 at 11:40 PM ^

True, my point is that the class is already pretty damn talented, and I have no doubt we're adding more of it with or without Hand. Something tells me that when signing day rolls around, we won't have just one five star, or even just two depending on if Malik commits and gets a fifth star. Which is looking better and better by the day.

bostonsix

June 12th, 2013 at 12:53 AM ^

Were on the same page brother. But him and McDowell on the same line, Jebus h. Cripes! Not to mention Jackson and Peppers in the backfield, that combination alone has to be huge factor on his mind. My guess is if those dominoes fall in Michigan's favor, then Hand joins this class. If not, then its 50/50 till signing day.

dennisblundon

June 11th, 2013 at 9:02 PM ^

24/7 pumps out info at a ridiculous rate. Noticed this for awhile now. Can't imagine it's all fact based, sure there is a lot of speculation posts with VIP attached to it for credibility.

AZBlue

June 11th, 2013 at 9:58 PM ^

Foster today that VT is out.  Some go beyond that to say he will officially narrow down to 3 schools - with those being FLA, AL, and M.  The "VT is out" stuff seems to be confirmed by the (few) non-VIP posts about hand on the 247 VT site.

maizeonblueaction

June 11th, 2013 at 10:21 PM ^

gives Michigan a better chance in relation to VT. Obviously, Alabama is a real contender, but all that happened is some people picking VT switched to 'Bama, which isn't horrible. VT is the actual "home school" and one he may have a had the longest relationship with, so fewer people thinking he's going there means  the recruitment process is probably more open, then it's just up for grabs.

Tater

June 11th, 2013 at 11:19 PM ^

I am surprised that anyone ever gets a recruit that Bama really wants.  It's the major reason why I think players should be allowed to take money from whoever wants to pay them.  It would level the playing field for teams that don't have six-figure golden handshakes and try to adhere to the rules.

Don

June 11th, 2013 at 11:52 PM ^

Jesus, if you all weren't so young I'd suspect some of you have Alzheimers already. Have you all forgotten Myron Rolle? You know, the 5-star DB from NJ (ESPN's top HS player in the country for 2006) who wanted to go to medical school, which in the eyes of the UM faithful meant that there was no way he could choose anybody else than Michigan?

He went to Florida State, where he actually had a great academic career and is now in medical school after a very brief stint in the NFL.

I've got two degrees from UM so I'm never going to downgrade the institution, but solid people graduate from other universities every year—even MSU and OSU—and go on to do worthwhile things with their lives.

Don

June 12th, 2013 at 12:15 AM ^

But let's not kid ourselves: his primary goal by far is to play in the NFL and make a shit-ton of money while doing so. As long as Saban is coaching in Tuscaloosa, Alabama will be a tremendously attractive destination for anybody with NFL dreams. To think otherwise is delusional.

I still think Michigan is in very good shape with Hand, but this is why I was not doing cartwheels over all the Farrell hoo-ha from earlier today. There's too much time until Hand's decision for anybody to think their school has him nailed.

Hoke & Co. deserve a gigantic amount of credit for getting Michigan as far as they have in Hand's consideration. Being in this situation (not to mention landing all the great recruits we have already) would have been a ridiculous pipe dream barely three years ago.

gopoohgo

June 12th, 2013 at 7:42 AM ^

Can only be good news that the home team is out.

As long as Hand keeps his official for UTL2, I think Michigan is still in a good place.

chatster

June 12th, 2013 at 8:02 AM ^

Events of June 11, 2013

It was the 50th anniversary of Alabama Governor George Wallace standing in the doorway of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama, trying to block the entry of two students of color, Vivian Malone Jones and James Hood. It was Wallace’s reminder to the world that he would fight for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" and stop the desegregation of schools.

Highly touted football recruit Da’Shawn Hand, reportedly hints that the frontrunner for his services is the University of Alabama, despite (a) his previous declaration of love and respect for Bud Foster, defensive coordinator for Virginia Tech University’s football team, the early frontrunner for Hand’s services, and (b) his previous declaration of love and respect for the University of Michigan’s football coaches.

The Times They Are A-Changing. Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over.) 

 

Blue in Yarmouth

June 12th, 2013 at 8:14 AM ^

and I am not an english major either but I am having trouble seeing the irony here. I mean, is it simply that a guy stood in front of the doors of a university and didn't want black people in, and now a black guy wants to get in 50 years later? That doesn't really seem ironic to me unless the word is being very loosely applied (and I mean very losely). Maybe the word doesn't mean what i think it means.....

chatster

June 12th, 2013 at 12:55 PM ^

I’m neither an English major nor a humorist, so I’ll accept the failure of my previous post. This old man’s getting used to the more frequent negging on this Board. (Not that there’s anything right with that.) Sometimes I wonder whether there’s a moderator or poster who just down votes everything I post, as if I were being encouraged to just keep my thoughts to myself.

So, forgive me for possibly confusing irony with sarcasm – and apparently failing at both. I just found it somewhat strange that on the 50th anniversary of a dark day in the struggle for equal opportunity in this country, a story about Da’Shawn Hand’s recruitment would have shone a positive light on the University of Alabama, even though I recognize the progress made by the University of Alabama during the past 50 years.*

I suppose that mixing History and Irony with Ebony and Ivory, the 1982 song from Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney, didn’t work as either irony or sarcasm. And I guess that I also failed by using The Four Tops’ Wake Me Shake Me (When It’s Over) to express my attitude about what may become more twists and turns in the saga of Da’Shawn Hand’s recruitment between now and National Signing Day in February 2014.

* I recall the events of June 11, 1963 at the University of Alabama, as well as the events of September 12, 1970 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama when Clarence Davis scored twice and Sam Cunningham scored three touchdowns and rushed for 135 yards on 12 carries to lead USC to a 42-21 victory over the all-white Alabama football team. I also know that the most-recent U. S. News Racial Diversity Index for Michigan (.41) is not much higher than the racial diversity index for Alabama (.31). Link: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/campus-ethnic-diversity/page+7 

Don

June 12th, 2013 at 8:17 AM ^

Sam's assessment from talking directly to Hand numerous times is that Michigan is Deshawn's favorite staff. He stressed that Hand hasn't said that specifically to Sam, but that's his conclusion from the stuff Deshawn has said. Obviously that gives Michigan a significant advantage if that's an accurate picture of the situation. Sam also is skeptical that VaTech is truly out of the running at this point.

Sam said that when he first started looking at Hand a year or so ago he thought there was no way that Deshawn would come north, but that changed radically after Mattison visited Hand's school. Which is odd since we know that Mattison is only the 144th best recruiter in the country.

Wolverine15

June 12th, 2013 at 8:24 AM ^

We're talking about the #1 player in the country. Of course the staff is gonna have to battle with Alabama and other national powers to secure a commitment. Additionally, I agree with what people said that he's inclined to be excited about his most recent visit.

these wolverines

June 12th, 2013 at 8:33 AM ^

He eliminated the hokies and the gamecocks...top three of Michigan, Bama, Florida...might take trips to LSU and USC ...per rivals mike ...sorry cant link twitter at work.  I think it bodes well for us being in his ear so long and that he loves our staff, but if you were 17 and the best player in the country it would be hard not to take a look at Bama and all there rings and early draft picks.

dahblue

June 12th, 2013 at 1:23 PM ^

This is a long thread and maybe someone already said it (a few times even), but what good is a "prediction" if you get to change it over and over again.  They should just say "reply hazy, try agagin" or "cannot predict now".