Dallas Gant is a Buckeye because Michigan started recruiting him too late. Dad is a Michigan fan
TOLEDO, Ohio -- James Gant stood up on the stage at Toledo (Ohio) St. John's Jesuit's assembly room proudly wearing his new bright red Ohio State hat.
His son, Dallas, had just announced his commitment to Ohio State and the two were posing for pictures and doing the Buckeyes "OH-IO" pose as the hot lights from above the stage beamed down.
James was smiling bigger than he's ever smiled in his life. He was so proud to be a Buckeye.
That's weird because James is a Michigan fan.
"I was a Michigan fan," James said, letting out deep breath while hesitating to admit it. "I was a Michigan fan, no doubt about it. I'll tell you man, this is Toledo. This is a half and half city."
"I'm excited to be a part of the Ann Arbor and Columbus battle," Gant said. "Michigan made their appearance pretty late, but it was cool. I went down to visit ad loved it. I loved Coach Harbaugh. It was a great time down there, but they just kind of game in late. Overall, I just felt more comfortable at Ohio State."
Had Michigan started recruiting Gant a year earlier, maybe this battle would have been different. James, who was admittedly excited (from a fan's perspective) when Michigan brought in Harbaugh, said it may have been a tight race.
But this is just another example of Meyer and his staff identifying an elite Ohio prospect early, recruiting him hard and, like always, closing the deal.
"All you're really concerned about is your kid, right?" James said. "When you get an organization like Ohio State interested in your kid and showing all the things they offer, you just want what's best for your kid. Of course I'm a Michigan fan, shoot, I may be a Michigan fan in four years. Who knows? Right now, I'm a Dallas Gant fan and the best program for him is this. ... I hope he kills Michigan."
"Michigan got me to think a little bit," Gant said. "Coach (Don) Brown is great, we built a great relationship and coach Harbaugh is obviously a unique guy with a great coaching staff.
http://www.cleveland.com/osu/2017/05/dallas_gants_commitment_to_ohi.html
first, people were whining we didn't get enough kids from Michigan - then we ran the table for top Michigan recruits
so now people are bitching "what about Ohio?" after the OP says Michigan would have had Gant had they recruited him sooner
title of this thread:
Dallas Gant is a Buckeye because Michigan started recruiting him too late. Dad is a Michigan fan .
we got 3 Ohio players in 2017
the #1 Punter, whose parents were Buckeyes
Hudson - #9 overall in the state
and Honigford
good lord people look for the sky is falling crap to post
Whatever.
It's an excuse.
You didn't want to go to Michigan, it has nothing to do with recruiting him too late. If he wanted to go to Michigan, this wouldn't be an issue.
He's got half a year to get to know anyone...this has nothing to do with when someone recruits him. He wants to go to OSU...cool, moving on.
being thrown by a Buckeye at UM, nothing more.
In the era of fake news, this is an example of it in the sports world. There was no deadline rapidly approaching for young Mr. Gant, this isn't a case of an offer going out to a senior in the weeks before signing day and therefore there just isn't enough time for the UM staff to overcome longer standing relationships.
If Dallas Gant wasn't sure that OSU was the right place or that UM could be that place, he would have just waited in making up his mind. There are at least 7 months until the next signing day (I assume the early signing period kicks in this December), so I infer from the timing that he knew where he wanted to go, committed there and now is throwing shade at his biggest rival.
There is nothing to see here, this is not an indictment of Harbaugh's staff or their recruiting. I don't know the numbers, but I assume more than 90% of the offers sent out by UM do not end in a commitment.
Chicken dinner
Where exactly is he slamming Michigan?
I do. Dad should have been there in a block M cap saying "I hope my son loses the last game of the regular season for his three years down there."
And if you think I'm wrong, remember Chris Spielman told his old man he wanted to go play for the good guys & his dad told him he would no longer be welcome in his home.
+1 for new term de minimus
My kid attends that school. When she told me she was transfering there I told her I supported her decision & hope she does well & gets a great education, but she better not be offended when I continue to root against her school in anything from football to spelling bees. There will be no me wearing red & grey. I will continue to wear Maize & Blue. You can make your decisions, I can make mine.
She understood.
True - famous story. But do you ever remember hearing Chris being bitter about never having been able to see his mom, dad, or siblings again? Do you really think Chris never stepped foot in dad's house again?
C/mon, man...
He did what his dad wanted. And was somehow happy playing down there. Good for him, I guess. He did get to wear (Honolulu) blue evenutally!
by not knowing how special he was and offering early
He's a Buckeye - I don't expect him to ever say anything nice about Michigan - maybe not at Tate Martell level of douchbaggery but he obviously will be spouting off from time to time based on the OP
He's not slamming Michigan. Quit being so damn sensitive.
Nothing he just gave some excuses, reasons, or bullshit...however you view it. But he didn't slam anyone. He even gave a compliment.
Quit being a Sparty trying to make shit when there isn't shit to make...OSU will give us plenty of reason to hate them. For one, existing. We don't have to making things up.
Cool story, but, as a Michigan fan - not a Dallas Gant fan - I hope he fails miserably (not having to do with potential injury, of course).
Beilein's policy. When will he ever learn
This is just things kids say when they're asked why one school or the other. Wanted to do go to OSU, from Ohio, and that's fine.
As long as we stay close to them. Last year we had two 5 star players while they had five. Not unreasonable although you would have hoped we got Harris and Wilson too. We probably want to start landing some top 100 talent like Ruckert, Muhammad, or Friday.
Michigan is not stacked anywhere yet. In another recrutiing cycle or two I will agree with you, but right now Michigan needs to stockpile as much talent as they can get. Ohio State has signed a better recruiting class than Michigan 8 straight years now and are 7-1 vs Michigan in that time frame. With Harbaugh here that will change but lets not pretend like it doesn't matter.
In the last few draft classes, how many OSU draftees were from Ohio? This year, Conley (who was committed to us first, Lattimore (Glenville, where we rarely get players if OSU wants them) and I think Pat Elfein might have been from Ohio. Fact is, I don't think the top players from OSU are from Ohio. This isn't that big of loss due to our LB haul this year and it's one guy. There are other recruiting loses to fret about, but this isn't one of them.
If you start the clock at the 2013 NFL Draft, Ohio State has had 30 total draft picks, and 18 of them were from Ohio:
- John Simon - Youngstown, OH
- Carlos Hyde - Cincinnati, OH
- Jack Mewhort - Toledo, OH
- Corey Linsley - Youngstown, OH
- Christian Bryant - Cleveland, OH
- Devin Smith - Akron, OH
- Doran Grant - Akron, OH
- Michael Bennett - Dayton, OH
- Taylor Decker - Vandalia, OH
- Darron Lee - Columbus, OH
- Adolphus Washington - Cincinnati, OH
- Braxton Miller - Huber Heights, OH
- Nick Vannett - Westerville, OH
- Joshua Perry - Lewis Center, OH
- Cardale Jones - Cleveland, OH
- Marshon Lattimore - Cleveland, OH
- Gareon Conley - Massillon, OH
- Pat Elflein - Pickerington, OH
The key players are mostly out of state (other than OL). Nobody is saying Ohio doesn't produce players/contributors, just not the top guys... Boss, Samuels, Thomas, Elliott, Roby, McMillan, etc. OSU is winning with out of state players. No one can really argue the importance of out of state players.
I guess I'm confused by what you mean by "top guys."
- Is it players drafted in the top 3 rounds? Then 10 of those 18 players listed above were drafted in the top 3 rounds
- Is it only players drafted in the 1st round? That's only 4 out of the 18 them
- Is it only players drafted in the top 5 overall picks? Then yes that narrows it down to just Bosa (FL) and Elliott (MO)
- Is it impact players during college? That's pretty much all 18 of them
I mean my barometer for a successful recruit is a starter who got noticed enough to get drafted, which is why I listed all 18/30 (60%) who were from Ohio.
But, I think the top three rounds is probably appropriate given the context here (competing for national titles, top 5 program). In that case, your list is cut in half (approximately) based on your math. The point is that OSU isn't winning with Ohio talent. There are good players but the game changers are out of state talent. One can look at Hoke's recruiting as an analogy. Did well in Midwest but couldn't win consistently and definitely didn't win enough. Yes, one could argue he wasn't a good coach, but Meyer is not winning as much with that talent as he is at OSU. It's not a secret that talent in the Midwest is less than South/West.
Ok, thanks for defining, so now we can delve a little deeper. Since 2013, Ohio State has had 23 players drafted in the top-3 rounds, and 10 of them were from Ohio:
- Johnaton Hankins - Detroit, MI
- Ryan Shazier - Lauderdales Lakes, FL
- Bradley Roby - Suwanee, GA
- Carlos Hyde - Cincinnati, OH
- Jack Mewhort - Toledo, OH
- Devin Smith - Akron, OH
- Jeff Heuerman - Naples, FL
- Joey Bosa - Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Ezekiel Elliott - St. Louis, MO
- Eli Apple - Voorhees, NJ
- Taylor Decker - Vanalia, OH
- Darron Lee - Columbus, OH
- Michael Thomas - Woodland Hills, CA
- Vonn Bell - Chattanooga, TN
- Adolphus Washington - Cincinnati, OH
- Braxton Miller - Huber Heights, OH
- Nick Vannett - Westerville, OH
- Marshon Lattimore - Cleveland, OH
- Malik Hooker - New Castle, PA
- Gareon Conley - Massillon, OH
- Curtis Samuel - Brooklyn, NY
- Raekwon McMillan - Hinesville, GA
- Pat Elflein - Pickerington, OH
I'm not disagreeing that the South/West is talent-rich, but to say they are miles better than Midwest talent seems like a stretch. By our agreed definition of "top guys" (approximately) half of OSU's top guys came from Ohio, and over half from the Midwest (+ Hankins & Hooker).
OSU's recruiting success under Meyer still relies HEAVILY on Ohio, and he supplements with national talent. Which I think speaks to OP's point in the post: build the foundation of the class with Ohio/Midwest talent close to home, and then supplement with national guys. Not saying that Harbaugh isn't doing that, but to write-off the Midwest as an inferior talent pool is erroneous.
Disagree. We are stacked at wr and rb and soon both lines will be in reload mode. If we pass osu in recruiting that would meen we are #1 or #2 in the country, but that is on paper. It is no secret meyer pulls in the best class in the big ten and maybe the country, but he can't even win his division and just got shutout 31-0 with those high classes. Of course I realize all his good players will leave early because that is what they are there for and that may always be his downfall. I think he losses both coordinators after this season and i know it is hard to be patient, but the worm will turn eventually. Last year was flat out a choke job period and I am as disappointed as anyone, but we will always have a great team with Harbaugh no matter what. There is more pressure on meyers than Harbaugh so lets see what happens.
You sound like Mick Dantony and the typical Spartan fan...
That Urban Meyer is a real go-getter. Identifying elite Ohiah talent, recruiting hard. Closing deals.
He Always Be Closing.
Or coach is content with Singelton, Ross3, & Anthony. I think those boys will all play and excel at Michigan. I liked Gant but now he dead to me.
ABC
A. Always
B. Be
C. Complaining.
ALWAYS BE COMPLAINING, OP. That's the only way you get the coffee.
Had Michigan started recruiting Gant a year earlier, maybe this battle would have been different.Schools can't legally contact a recruit until September 1st of their junior year.
Michigan didn't offer until January 23rd, 2017. He had an OSU offer in June of 2016.
They simply waited too long on this one.
Maybe. But if he really wanted to come to Michigan, he probably would have. Kid wanted to go to OSU. It happens.
Most kids choose the school who puts in the kost effort with them. Not all but most. I've followed recruiting long enough to know that. Simply saying "if he wanted to come he would have" oversimplifies a very complex process.
Perhaps I'm misreading your posts, but you come across as really upset about this. Maybe you should step away from recruiting for a while.
You're misreading my posts. Perhaps you should step away for a while.
So, you're not upset because Harbaugh wasn't on this one kid fast enough? Ok. My bad.
More upset at the posters who can't handle even the slightest negative thing being said about their favorite football program. I guess some people just don't want their safe space interrupted. Michigan made a mistake not offering Gant sooner. It's ok, life will go and UM will sign a great class, but it's a relevant piece of news and speaks to UM's current problem recruiting Ohio so I brought it to the board. Predictably some people aren't taking it well. I'd rather engage in honest conversation even if it means pointing out UM's flaws occasionally than the alternative. I'm a UM grad and fan but I'm not a cheerleader.
They didn't prioritize him differently. He was the #1 LB target on UM's board. They just waited too long to jump into the mix. Not sure why people are having so much trouble accepting that. You would never know OSU has kicked our ass 14 out of the last 16 years from reading this board sometimes. I personally would like to see us not make these mistakes from kids who come from Michigan families. Just one man's opinion.
"You would never know OSU has kicked our ass 14 out of the last 16 years from reading this board sometimes."
And we'd never know from your posts that Harbaugh is an elite coach and Beilein is pretty damn good himself.