The day I stopped getting emotionlly involved in recruiting -- Bri'onte Dunn
I was a lurker of this forum, mosty, until I started following recruiting more closely. The first 5-star guy I coveted throughout the recruiting process was Bri'onte Dunn. His recruitment was kind of a watershed moment for me since, at the time, it was a position of clear need for Michigan, and it was a head to head battle with ohio state. I became somehow emotionally involved in his recruitment.
So, as you might expect, I was seriously bummed when he chose the bad guys. I remember thinking at the time, I really hope he regrets that decision. I know I know -- why should I take personally the decision of a 17 year old? And while I certainly wish no ill upon the kid, I wanted him to basically admit later that he made a mistake (fat chance, right?). LOL.
So, in looking at ohio state RB stats, I couldn't help but notice his stat line, combined with his inability to hold onto the football. It has produced an ignominous career down there, and I kinda don't feel bad anymore.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/brionte-dunn-1.html
I have since stopped getting emotionally involved in recruiting. And since Harbaugh, I recognize that stars are far less important than scheme and coaching.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 1:15 PM ^
It's true, though--I've legitimately never cared one bit about recruiting. Call me when they've signed on the dotted line. The whole circus, the hat ceremonies, worrying about how much a 17 year old can bench, tracking standardized test scores... It's just not for me.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^
The Ty Cobb of MGoBlog...
October 7th, 2015 at 1:51 PM ^
performance of college teenagers you don't know?
October 7th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
than to never have gotten into recruiting at all. Good luck with your therapy.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
I care more about the NFL talent a team possess which is a better indicator of the overall talent level than recruiting rankings.
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October 7th, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
Like what? Do share.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
But if WVA beats Pitt in '07 the different paths for UM, OSU, LSU and WVA are potentially massive.
WVA: never loses RR
OSU: likely wins another NC and alters JT's image forever
UM: never lands RR....likely lands Miles
LSU: gets a new coach
October 7th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
I knew there was a reason I despised Dave Wannstedt.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:24 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 4:02 PM ^
in 2007.
October 7th, 2015 at 5:42 PM ^
JUB says that Miles or Harbaugh would both jump at the chance to be Michigan's coach. I think that the reason we didn't go after him is concerns about oversigning plus Lloyd not liking him.
October 7th, 2015 at 10:46 PM ^
coach Michigan, but he was never going to get an offer from Bill Martin.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
For me, it was Deshaun (sp?) Hand. Everything I read prior to his commitment indicated he was most attracted to Michigan, and then he went with Alabama citing academics as a factor. Huh? That crystallized for me that it's foolish to care about recruiting 'news' before signing day for all the obvious reasons--ie, kids will be kids and they want what they want, no one really knows what's going on in a recruit's head, everything we read can never tell the whole story, etc. I don't get excited at a verbal commit anymore, nor do I feel too bad about a kid we want verballing elsewhere. It all comes down to the formal commitment. Then, I care. That's not to say I don't follow recruiting news, I just don't get emotionally invested.
Yeah, yeah, CSB. You're welcome.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
Telling the kid he can't major in Civil Engineering and setting him up with a sports management professor was probably really dumb on Michigan's part. Taking him on a tour of north campus and showing him our engineering school would have landed him in heartbeat.
It is hard but Mark Huyge majored in NAME so it isn't impossible for football players to major in engineering.
October 8th, 2015 at 12:20 AM ^
were, in fact, the reason. One school told the kid he could have the academics he wanted, the other didn't.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
Yep, that was the one that made me back away, for all the reasons you cited. Hey, it's a free country and people can go wherever they want for whatever reasons they may have. Just don't insult my intelligence by saying it's all about the academics, then pick a second rate educational institution over Michigan. You want to say you like the intellectual atmosphere at Stanford or Northwestern or Vanderbilt better, well, OK, that's a matter of taste. But Alabama? Please.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
Saying academics are important is different than saying I will attend the school with the most prestigious academic rankings.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:05 PM ^
No it's not
October 7th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
I'm pretty sure UM wanted him to major in Sports Management when he made it clear he wanted to major in Civil Engineering.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:39 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 1:06 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^
Character, not stars and resumes. Smart, humble, talented kids are going to get you more.
This applies in business as well.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^
The humble thing sounds nice but it's not true in either case.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
Ron Johnson (the one from Muskegon that went to USC) really fried me and made me realize that the process of 18 year olds picking a college sometimes just doesn't make any sense.
Also, Myron Rolle and Dashawn Hand come to mind as guys that said they were looking for great academics and then picked FSU and Alabama.
So, yeah, I've learned to just say "whatever".
October 7th, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
was to me one of the most obvious cases of a kid getting paid
October 7th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
I wouldn't use Myron Rolle here.
He became a Rhodes Scholar at FSU, and then took a year off of football to study at Oxford. So apparently academics really did matter to him.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
Yea good thing no one got emotionally involved with that either.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:27 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
those damn leaves they eat are like, downers man. /Cheech & Chong'd
October 7th, 2015 at 12:58 PM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
I stopped getting emotionally evolved in recruiting after the 5th restraining order or at least I am required to say I'm not emotionally involved by my lawyers which warned that I could be made into a hat if I get emotionally involved again.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
Ron_Lippitt - amen, brother. I, too, stopped getting too involved with recruiting because, as you stated, coaching and scheme matter far more than the opinions of these so called "experts" with regard to a bunch of high school players.
Now, is it nice to get the four and five star players? Sure. They are typically better than the three star and less, but look no farther than East Lansing and you will see a coach who has been able to take some less-recruited players and turn them into really good to great players. Obviously some of that development was done by his assistant coaches, but all teams have that. Also, look at Beilein...another great example of a guy who is able to take a player who is allegedly not as good as some other players and make them really good to great (again, with the help of assistant coaches).
Bottom line - don't get too obsessed with recruiting. Follow it? Sure, of course. I barely do, but don't begrudge others who follow recruiting. I do think it's pretty stupid, though, that some people pay Scout, 247, ESPN, and Rivals for recruiting information, but that is another story. It's also extremely stupid to send negative comments to recruits when they choose another school when Michigan was an option. If you're that pissed off about an unproven high school kid who chose a different school, then you need to reprioritize.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:26 AM ^
I haven't really kept up with him, but 6 yards per carry and he can't get on the field? I'm guessing those were garbage stats and he probably has a fumbling issue or something like that?
October 7th, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
Funny you should mention it, because Cracked.com published an article today that had an oblique reference to the undo influence of "experts" in college recruiting.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
October 7th, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
I lost interest the more I taught high school. I won't get up on a soap box or anything, but recruiting just creeps me out.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
I've never understood getting emotionally involved in individual recruits. I do get excited (at times) about Michigan's recruiting classes.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^
when I realized that I forget about most of them less than a month after signing. This came to my realization when I would read Brian's round up of each new guy during the summer, and I'd be all "oh yeah I remember that guy from signing day" only to forget about them for a year or two when they are actually ready to see the field.
Big names like Peppers and Hand still draw me in, but only because I think I will see them in the fall.
October 7th, 2015 at 1:27 PM ^
Storm, all your saying is you're only "emotionally involved" in recruiting 5* and extremely high 4* players that border on getting that 5th*... the rest you vaguely know about until recruiting roundups season preview.
That's kind of exactly the situation most of the prior 400 comments are talking about... RoJo, Brionte, Deshawn, et al. Not one of them said "I lost interest in recruiting when Chris Borland went to Wisconsin..." yet look how he turned out. All-B1G, all NFL-Rookie team, quit while his brain was intact. A player anyone would be proud to have.
This is real simple people - getting a Peppers or Hand to join your team FEELS LIKE a win, a huge win, whether it ever turns out to be one or not. It carries prestige with other players, boosters, other team's fans, the media.
That's why we get "emotionally involved" with that level recruit, whether we want to or not.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^
Reason to recommit emotionally---HARBAUGH
October 7th, 2015 at 11:43 AM ^
I thought this was going to be an article about Dunn and how and when he emotionally disconnected during the recruiting process..
For me it was easy to not be emotionally involved by the recruiting drama by not being emotionally involved in recruiting drama.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
Mine was Da'shawn Hand. Kid was trending blue all the way, making dismissive comments about OSU, bonding with UM professors and looking to study engineering. Saban lurked but most believed he'd ultimately go with Michigan. But the losses under Hoke kept adding up. Decommitments happened. Recruiting momentum was lost. He went to Bama and then nearly stole Jabrill.
Dunn hurt too just because it seemed to be a situation where he was taking one last look and Urban told him to commit or he'd lose his offer if he made the Michigan visit.
I read the posts and know the names but don't get overly excited about recruiting anymore.
October 7th, 2015 at 12:23 PM ^
With the exception of the losses mounting up (which I don't see too many losses piling up this year), I'm reminded of his recruitment with the current situation with the DT from NJ - Gary.
I hope we end up on the winning side of this recruiting battle this time.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
Good thing you never dabbled in following bball recruiting. Makes football look like child's play.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
but I think as you get older you just realize recruiting is a pretty shaddy game and 17 year old kids will make decisions that seem very strange to you.
On top of that, there's the hype machine that winds up around certain recruits and ultimately you get kind of let down by their "talent", because they can never live up to what they've been built as.
October 7th, 2015 at 11:48 AM ^
Frankly, I am getting cynical about the whole thing. Not that getting quality players isn't important, it's critical. But I am starting to believe that a lot of the rankings are mightily influenced by which fan bases buy the most magazines. I used to believe it was more about talent than anything, but I'm now thinking coaching and development is at least as important as recruiting in the college game.