Over the years, I have seen a lot of good players choose MSU over Michigan, but I don't think even one of them cared in the least about actually getting a decent education. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the University of Michigan's outstanding academics is actually detrimental to recruiting star athletes. Most of them don't go to college to get a degree...they simply want the easiest path to the NFL or NBA. I don't know if Dobbs is one of them, but it's the only explanation I can think of as to why someone with his skills would willingly jump into the dumpster fire that is burning in East Lansing!
Drevno very much did botch his recruiting, but also Magnus is saying that the staff just straight up wasn't very interested in him as a prospect
MSU campus is also more friendly to Black students which is something that is being easily overlooked. Even if you dont want to have a conversation about campus climate, MSU would seem to be more inclusive with around 1000 more Black students.
evidence? else this is some crazy BS.
I have known plenty of black people that have went to school in Ann Arbor. While they wouldn’t trade their degree for anything in the world. They have often said that the racial climate on campus can be a little frosty and not so inclusive. Now for athletes that could be a tad different. Michigan recruits plenty of black players and this has never been brought up before.
East Lansing is probably even worse considering how rural much of the area is.
You know, it's funny how similar sports fandom can appear to politics. You can't think of a single reason a kid might want to go to a school other than your own? It has to boil down to laziness, corruption, or poor moral character? "The people who don't see it my way must be bad people."
This is, frankly, astonishing and more than a little disappointing.
Kids make visits. They interact with coaches and potential future teammates. They look for the best fit on and off the field. Believe it or not (I understand it's counter to the narrative here) one can get a perfectly good education in East Lansing; world class in some disciplines and eminently serviceable in countless others. Every kid is different... perhaps for some of them EL just feels like a better match. Certainly, that's the way I view it when I prospect doesn't choose MSU.
I don't love the University of Michigan. Rivalry, and all that. But I don't walk around thinking Wolverines are terrible people. My brother is a wolverine. Some of my best friends are too. I have to imagine they don't think I'm a terrible person because I'm a Spartan... if so, they do an admirable job of hiding their contempt when we interact, presumably for my benefit.
Some people need to take a step back and gain some perspective now and then, I think...
This is a good post.
I believe I’m guilty of lumping everyone associated with Michigan State into the Nassar/Engler situation. That is unfair of me and wrong. I get worked up thinking about kids getting abused and nobody sticking up for them. That does not make my blanket hatred for everything green justified. You are 100% correct, there are kids who connect with other schools better than they do Michigan for whatever reasons they needn’t make clear to anyone. So I guess this is me saying, you right, my bad.
I stand behind my previous claim that he’s gonna get 4 years of the best DLine in the country giving him the business.
I understand the reaction to the abuse scandal. Trust me, we’re a combination of outraged and heartsick over it. MSU is like a family... this predator went after our kids, our sisters.
Worse, the people responsible for keeping watch failed... and continue to do and say all the wrong things. It couldn’t be a worse disaster, not least of all because it doesn’t look like it’s getting handled the way we’d hope.
But, I’ll say (at risk of catching hell here) that the conflation of the Nassar tragedy with football and basketball has been IMO opportunistic (media) and overblown; I don’t think there’s anything to the notion that guys like Dantonio or Izzo (not actual real life villains; both with daughters at MSU over the last decade) would or COULD influence criminal investigations in any meaningful way. Certain outlets set out to re-publicize cases that already went through police and prosecutors, and piggyback on the Nassar attention. But their job is to tell stories and get clicks; can’t blame a turtle for snapping.
Is there a culture problem? Yes, for sure we’ve seen an instinct for institutional ass covering, and it causes me no end of rage. Is it a Baylor or Penn State kind of situation within football and basketball at MSU? I haven’t seen anything credible to support that insinuation. Then again, I’m on the outside looking in, and as susceptible to my biases as you all are to yours.
Would I send my kid to MSU? No! He’s going to Stanford, damn it. Freshman class of 2032. Anyone know if an obsession with garbage trucks is considered a solid extracurricular? He doesn’t seem interested in coding...
Good Luck, stay healthy and hopefully you can be part of real, lasting change there.
Or flip to Southern Cal at the last minute.
Hope he goes 0-4 against Michigan.
I hope he goes 0-44 in all of his other games.
Yup, this^^^^. Here’s to that rape enabling, dog fucking, faygo throwing population, getting nothing but disappointment and pain until they clean up their act.
When you break down the tape, it makes some sense why the staff thinks there are some more interesting options. He has some strong attributes no doubt, but also there are some pretty big holes in his game, which is strange given his ranking. He could go either way, which is interesting for a 5 star guy. I also still don’t think the state is producing serious talent, given the recent production from in state players. It’s nice to see recruiting concentrate on other states for the recent commits. It’s a smart choice, imo.
If anything I feel badly for Mr. Dobbs. He appears to be a bit immature-even for a 17 year old. I'm sure MSU claims to have its culture under control but this is a kid that would seem to be at higher than average risk for a variety of reasons. And in these regards, he would have benefited greatly by coming to a place like Michigan. I hope this works out for him.
Top 9 in state recruits. 5 and 4 Stars
1. OT Logan Brown 5 Star 10th overall (Wisconsin)
2. OT Devontae Dobbs 5 Star 13th overall (MSU)
3. DB Julian Barnett 4 Star 54th overall (MSU)
4. DT Mazi Smith 4 Star (UofM)
5. OT Anthony Bradford 4 Star (LSU)
6. QB Dwan Mathis 4 Star (Ohio State)
7. OLB Lance Dixon 4 Star (PSU Crystal Ball)
8. ATH Marvin Grant 4 Star (Notre Dame)
9. ATH Jaren Mangham 4 Star (MSU Crystal Ball)
Michigan is fucking up on in state recruiting this year. Remember 2017 class where UM locked shit down in in state recruiting? If they would've done the same for 2019 we'd have one of the top highest per avg recruiting class in the country right now. AND our OLine would be stocked with highly rated kids. OT alone we'd have two 5 stars and a 4 star. Couldve fixed our Oline of the future with this in state class.
Think Rumler, Dobbs, Brown, and Trente. UGH
This just makes me saltier than anything this year. Ive been looking forward to this in state class for a couple years and UM is just blowing it. I know SOME of our other recruiting is good but we could have a great class right now
Too bad about Brown and Dobbs but our class does look pretty good as is. I'd be more pissed about this if it had happened last year.
Define great? Also define some of our other recruiting? Because right now we have the 5th ranked recruiting class nationally. I’d say more than just SOME of our other recruiting is good
who cares? except for maybe one of those OTs, UM has done pretty well at those other positions. i will trust the coaches and their evals here.
If this really has you that upset I suggest redefining the priorities in your life.
Agree. I don’t live in Michigan so this could be the reason why I don’t understand why anyone cares where the players come from. If they are good players, I don’t give a shit if they are from Mars.
Good pickup for Sparty--most likely will be very good. So yeah. Too bad for us, but I guess he wasn't that hot on Michigan anyway.
Article in the Freep said he was the highest ranked recruit to go to State since Malik McDowell and then Charles Rogers before him. Some great role models there.
Yea leave out Gholston out of pure convenience. (Ya know, the guy in the NFL making millions). I’m tired of half truths on this site.
Fuck Tom Gholston. Better?
4 stars, .90
I mean, if you're arguing that Gholston is some kind of success story among 5 star recruits...the dude is a defensive end with 10 career sacks over 5 seasons, with zero sacks and 36 total tackles last season, and likely won't have a starting job next year.
48% of 5 star players go undrafted.
Only 17.4% of 5 star players are 1st round picks.
Retention rate (making an active roster more than 1/2 of seasons played) is about 75% for drafted 5 star players.
So Gholston has arguably done better than about 87% of 5 star recruits. Hard to call that a bust.
Gholston is a bust. What are you are talking about? He has 10 sacks in five years.
Ask anyone with a brain, lasting in the NFL at least 5 years is very rare. You really need that explained? He’s on $30MM on a 5 year deal.
ya know, sometimes it’s ok to not talk so disgustingly negative about other teams. Like it’s ok that this is true, it doesn’t take anything away from Michigan and doesn’t make someone a troll.
This is not a loyalty comment, but as one of the bigger NFL fans on this board, I can tell you that Gholston's contract last year was very heavily criticized. Those opinions were backed up when he had 0 sacks in 14 games. Many people were utterly shocked that he was not cut in March when they had the chance to avoid paying him.
In terms of it being very rare to have a player make it five years in the NFL, it actually isn't for players drafted in the 4th round or higher. In Gholston's 2013 draft class, 87 of the 132 drafted players in those 4 rounds are currently still in the league, or roughly 2/3rds of them. Not saying that he doesn't have anything to be proud of, but acting as though him still being around and getting a second contract is such a rare achievment is a stretch.
Good, just stick to posting with the other Sparty trash on RCMB.
Conclusion: go back to RCMB and never come back. Problem fixed.
I didn't leave out Gholston, the Free Press did. And my understanding is Gholston was a 4 star and McDowell and Rogers were both 5 stars, at least according to the Freep. Gholston is a success, no doubt. Getting to your second contract in the NFL generally means you are set for life unless you are stupid. Kudos to him. Michigan has its share of 5 star failures too, although McDowell and Rogers are examples of kids with with the talent to be stars who didn't have the brains or maturity to succeed in football or life. Rogers didn't get the help he needed to overcome addiction and McDowell never acquired the maturity to manage his life.
Agreed for sure.Mcdowell was so talented but such an emotional disaster. When MSU’s senior leaders graduated and Malik was looked upon as a vet, all hell broke loose up there.
No one is making you stay here, Sparty troll.
If (when) we get Keegan, we will have a pretty impressive OL class.
Agreed. When you have Rumler, Carpenter and Barnhart in the fold you should be pretty pleased with the possibilities. Those three are "get it done-you will not beat me" type players that make for a great O-line. I wouldn't mind if they added that kid from KC-love his attitude...the same as the other three, here...great strength and balance required to play LT.
I think its fairly apparent that Michigan never prioritized Dobbs. Further I think they may have jumped back into the fight so as not to alienate talent-rich Bellevilles coaching staff. Im not insinuating that would be the main reason but that it may have factored into their thinking.
I trust the coaching staff. They are looking for talent, character, and guys who will work hard and continue to improve. Some recruits just do not check all of those boxes .
I agree with some of the sentiment here. If you choose to attend MSU at this point there has to be some question about your decision making especially if you happen to be female.
I don't live in Michigan anymore so I don't see many Spartys, but when I do I always whisper to my fiancee "Hope he doesn't assault us!" It's just kind of a thing now unfortunately.
If I had a daughter I couldn't see myself being ok with her attending a school that blatently protects sexual predators living on campus and laughs in the face of title IX protections. It's really kind of disgusting.
Imagine writing this then realize we have a higher rate of sexual assault than any other Big Ten University?
Exactly! This Michigan arrogance that is portrayed, believe it or not turns people away.
The city of AA is a great place with a lot of understanding people, I don’t think the University of Michigan itself is that type of place. A lot of spoiled brats running around.
Do you have a source for this or just pulled out of your ass?
Imagine spending all your time on your rival's main message board pretending to be a fan of said rival.
When you say “we” you are talking about Sparty right?? Since that is the team you root for?? Then you are 100% correct!
These holier than thou posts always crack me up.
Have you ever bought a financial product from HSBC? Or better yet, who do you bank with?
Do you wear Nike products?
Have you ever had water from Nestle?
Are you a soccer fan? Have you heard of FIFA?
Do you think you’ve ever purchased or used a product made by Dow Chemical?
Have you ever purchased gas from Shell in your lifetime?
All of the companies I’ve mentioned have and/or are currently committing major human rights violations. And that’s only a drop in the bucket of companies we all probably support. But if some highly ranked athlete chooses to attend MSU, he has low morals or some decision making problem.
Give me a break.
Over a 100 sour grape posts about a high school boy none of you have ever seen. Isn't Jimbo recruiting kids? Focus on the kids the want to play for Michigan.
Where have I heard this exact statement before?? Hmmm