Taylor Decker 4 star OT 6'8" 300lbs

Submitted by rpel84 on

I'm pretty upset that Michigan snubbed this kid.  He really could have helped us.  A mean huge left tackle that blocks people to hurt them!  He is an animal.  A kid out of the mold of Jake Long or Taylor Lewan.  See his videos on youtube.  He says that he wanted to go to UM, but we didnt pursue him.  He is in Ohio, and is now commited to ND.  The kid is solid, and we screwed it up.  This is a great class so far and he would have made it a lot better.  Wish they would have focused on him a little more and he would have been a Wolverine.

aaamichfan

May 24th, 2011 at 11:53 AM ^

Appears to be one of his coaches.

http://mgoblog.com/content/wednesday-recruitin-awaits-dee-cision#comment-675149

 

If he really did want a Michigan offer, it sounds like he was a victim of the coaching change. Still though, he received an offer only a couple of days after Hoke was hired. I don't know what more the OP wanted him to do. A guy who is 6'8 300 doesn't sound like the type of kid RichRod would have recruited at tackle.

Tim

May 24th, 2011 at 11:40 AM ^

Unless you have some inside information that the recruiting sites don't, he never strongly considered Michigan. The Wolverines offered him, but he was all Notre Dame from the moment he got the Irish offer.

Bluestreak

May 24th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^

If he proves that he's the real deal and is willing to listen, I'm sure Michigan coaches might come around to him.

See- Brionte Dunn, Aziz Shittu, Zeke Pike et all

pdgoblue25

May 24th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^

Jake Long and Taylor Lewan?  I seem to remember Dann O'neill being the next Jake Long as well.

At this moment, the absolute last thing that I'm going to complain about when it comes to this staff is recruiting, we have been cleaning up.

CRex

May 24th, 2011 at 12:41 PM ^

To expand onto that, big does mean good either.  Weis had a monster O-Line for a lot of his tenture (all 300+) and they struggled at pass protection and opening run lanes.  For every Lewan or Long you have a half dozen big, slow guys who have balance issues on the quick moves.  Graham and his stubby little forearms humiliated Weis's monsters for four quarters solid.  Woodley, Crable, and Martin used to spend half the game against ND in the backfield.  

 

SoCalWolverine

May 24th, 2011 at 3:37 PM ^

I think you may have been misinformed. He was one of the first OL guys we offered wasn't he?

 

And if he really wanted to come to Michigan, there's still plenty of time to flop from ND. So where is the complaint at?

Six Zero

May 24th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^

Kid's just too darn small.  He'd never make it out of camp alive with the likes of our towering monsters.

You know, Kelvin Grady, Jeremy Gallon, Vincent Smith, etc.

psychomatt

May 24th, 2011 at 12:09 PM ^

He has an unofficial/verbal offer from UM, which is exactly what he has from ND (official written offers cannot go out until this fall). Hoke and Co. spent their first 30 days at UM scrambling to salvage the 2011 class. Against that backdrop, Decker pulled the trigger on his ND offer in early March because he felt snubbed by UM? I find that very hard to believe, but if true it reeks of whiny prima donna syndrome. Jimmy Clausen U sounds like the perfect fit for him.

Cigarro Cubano

May 24th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^

going to be all critical with the coaching staff because of your complaining rpel84 ?. 

Not every recruit or potential recruit will have his way.  There are not enough schollies to go around.  We are not in the SEC who is clearly known for oversigning kids.

 

 

 

WestSider

May 24th, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^

of Hoke/Mattison/etc. screwing up anything, yet. And this post certainly does not qualify given that he was offered and still chose to go to the dark side.

Bluestreak

May 24th, 2011 at 12:13 PM ^

I appreciate that you want to give kids visibility to Michigan. 

I do think we need coaches like you - however, rather than raining down on a public board about the lack of communication, I would suggest you approach the coaching staff and discuss the situation with them. I am sure they will be receptive, from what I know of them.

Also - too bad he pulled the trigger this early. I am sure, he may turn out to be a good recruit. My only wish was that he waited before making his decision in haste, if he really had a strong interest in Michigan.

 

Just my 2 cents, FWIW

rpel84

May 25th, 2011 at 11:34 AM ^

Apparently we are no longer allowed to express our oppinions on this website.  Also appears that this blog has not grown up or become any more mature.  At least you are sensible.  There is hope for the fanatical Michigan fanbase in guys like me and you.  LOL

dieseljr32

May 24th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^

I don't understand why you're so upset that he committed to Notre Dame? You should be honored you were able to coach a player at a level where he can play at a BCS school.  You whining about him not committing to Michigan is most likely embarrassing to Mr. Decker.

detrocks

May 24th, 2011 at 1:17 PM ^

The guy committed to ND on March 4.   This thread may have made sense on say, March 5, but it seems a wee bit dated at this point.

thisisme08

May 24th, 2011 at 2:36 PM ^

I'm pretty upset that Taco Bell snubbed this kid.  He really could have helped us.  A mean huge left burrito that blocks people to hurt them!  He is an animal.  A kid out of the mold of Chalupa or Cheesy Double Beef.  See his videos on youtube.  He says that he wanted to go to Taco Bell, but we didnt pursue him.  He is in Ohio, and is now commited to Micky D's.  The kid is solid, and we screwed it up.  This is a great class so far and he would have made it a lot better.  Wish they would have focused on him a little more and he would have been a Chalupa.

readyourguard

May 24th, 2011 at 3:31 PM ^

Let me see if I have my math right.....

6 OL Desired - 2 OL committed = 4 OL spots available.

Hmmmmmmmmm.  If only there were Offensive Linemen out there with a scholarship offer IN HAND who could commit to our program before binding letters of intent are signed.

I........wonder.......where.........we.......could........find.........those?

highestman

May 24th, 2011 at 4:10 PM ^

"We didn't pursue him".  Well we offered him, perhaps he's a premodona who wanted Hoke to show up at his front door on his knees every week.  The coaching staff didn't feel the need to "pursue" him more than they did, I'll trust whatever reasons they had to do that.  A lot of guys have had huge size/potential and never do anything.  We didn't miss out on Jake Long 2.0 here, theres a lot more that goes into creating a good player than his measurments on Rivals.

ryebreadboy

May 24th, 2011 at 5:11 PM ^

I don't understand your complaint.  The recruiting season has only just begun.  If he wants to go to Michigan, call the coaches and tell them your kid is still interested in going to UM despite his commitment.  Hell, drive him up to Ann Arbor for a visit yourself.  He has a scholarship offer in hand, and he committed to ND very early on (as other posters have indicated).  If he indicates a willingness to flip to Michigan, I'm sure the coaches will be willing to recruit him.  You need to communicate with them.  Like I said, call Hoke and tell him you two are driving up for a visit next weekend.  That'd get the ball rolling.  Michigan isn't going to go hard after someone who is already committed unless they indicate that they're receptive to the pitch.  And as far as I know, no one on here communicates with Hoke on a regular  basis, so you're wasting your effort.  Kid sounds good, I wouldn't mind seeing him go Blue, but you're talking to the wrong people.

DaytonBlue

May 24th, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^

says we talked w/ and offered him back in Jan/Feb.  I know its slanted, but from the comments on the site, he's liked ND for a while and showed no particular love for UM.

Irish

May 24th, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^

it wouldn't have mattered, he was very high on ND from the moment kelly offered.

“I really started talking with my parents last night about how Notre Dame has always been my top school,” Decker told IrishSportsDaily.com. “I almost committed right away and I don’t think I’ll be able to keep it back because that’s the one I’ve been waiting for.”

Why do you think UM would have been a player for him? I don't remember anyone being concerned about UM with him.