still come on this board a lot just dont post as often since the season is over. nebraska is my 2nd favorite team. i went to michigan but i have family that went to nebraska. watch or dvr every nebraska football game.
Erik Swenson de-commits from Michigan
- Thread starter GretnaShawn
- Start date
Josh has quickly become one of our favorite posters.
I understand there are two sides to every story, but this is about the best possible spin you can put on it from a Michigan fan perspective. I don't blame you for that at all. Nebraska fans would be doing the EXACT same thing. However, if you put yourself in this kid's shoes, it doesn't take too much reading between the lines to figure out that you're not wanted anymore. Therefore, I don't think it's entirely accurate to make this out to be a decision that this kid made on his own and that Harbaugh did him a solid.
However, I think Harbaugh (for however shitty it is to pull a scholarship after two years) is within his rights and this kind of stuff happens in recruiting for major college football programs. It's just one of the many unfortunate facets of the game.
Coaches lie, and it's expected that they do so to the fans, public, and media. But that's a different issue than honoring a commitment from a player who has been committed to your team for well over a year and then yanking his scholarship less than two weeks before signing day. Put me in the camp of those who don't think coaches owe the fans or media anything. They do owe their players, however.
I don't know all the facts, but on the face of it this looks very bad for Harbaugh and his integrity. If it turns out he never promised to honor the scholarship the previous staff offered and made that known to the player, or at some point previously offered him a grayshirt, or offered to take him only if they didn't fill it with some other position of need, that's a different thing.
Makes sense. As long as the scholarship was offered or he was told within a reasonable time frame that it was a contingent offer, that's fine.
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anon_umk0ifu6vj6zi
Guest
But I don't get why it is OK to tell players who have been on our team (or a coach to tell players on any team) that they need to get packing. We can say that these were guys from a previous staff that don't fit our new coaches but isn't that actually worse than what you what Harbaugh did. It seems like most here want our coaches to send a few kids on their way to free up scholarships.
I could be using selective memory here, but aren't the ones people are saying should move on those who don't really have their heart in it? I'm probably wrong here.
What's interesting to me is the lack of players who are leaving. We were told 10-15 players but it seems like less than 5... So maybe the coaches didn't tell a bunch of players to move on...
I am emphatically not one of those people and have always been against pulling scholarships. Lots of people in the initial weeks of the season wanted to see Drew Brown's scholarship pulled, and in every case I argued no. And my main reason has always been that athletic scholarships mean a lot more than an opportunity to play football (or sport X). You don't offer a kid a chance to play football and get a free education and then deny his access to a free education because he doesn't meet one of the conditions as well as you would have liked. It's one thing to encourage him to play elsewhere, for various reasons, but I don't think it's OK to pull scholarships strictly based on performance.
Two points I'd like to address.
Did him a solid in that he was up against tough competition and might not get the playing time he expected putting Swenson in a better position to evaluate his future prospects.
Perhaps for him starting as a Sophomore at Northwestern was a better option than being buried in the depth charts through his Senior year.
I was not aware that that it has been verified that Harbaugh pulled his scholarship.
Go Blue!
Did him a solid in that he was up against tough competition and might not get the playing time he expected putting Swenson in a better position to evaluate his future prospects.
Perhaps for him starting as a Sophomore at Northwestern was a better option than being buried in the depth charts through his Senior year.
I was not aware that that it has been verified that Harbaugh pulled his scholarship.
Go Blue!
Semantics, dude. The kid was obviously not wanted at Michigan. I'm just saying we should call it like it is.
That could be true. This discussion isn't really about our coaches but the things that get said on a message board. Our coaches have seemed like upstanding guys...I can respect that.
However, a number of people here were hoping scholarships could be freed up by telling people to head on out. I just think that is a double standard with the Michigan situation...and is in fact worse than what Michigan did even if they pulled the offer.
Good. You have proven thoughtful enough to not engage in a double standard.
From what I've read on Michigan boards and heard through the grapevine you should probably expect a few more Michigan commits to suddenly be looking elsewhere. Michigan is already way over the 85 limit and still in on some pretty good prospects so room is going to have to be made somehow.
Not that I necessarily disagree with you, but the way I look at it is;
- A new recruit coming in hasn't even gotten a chance to prove himself. If they have an offer extended to them by a coach, I find it shitty to take that offer away. Unless that player had gotten into some kind of trouble or academic issues.
- While as current player(s) have had their opportunity to put in the effort to show the coaches how they can contribute. If you're on the team and you're putting in the effort, basically there for the free gear and scholarship, then I'm okay with that scholarship not being renewed.
Just my .02
Harbaugh seems to have a ruthless nature and doesn't second guess himself. He is very scary competition and could very well be the guy that helps Michigan actually win something.
Harbaugh is a self-enamored turd and he'll wear out his stay at Michigan with his win at all costs approach in not too many more years. But, if you spend some time looking at Swenson's film, he moves very well and has very good blocking technique. His feet look good. I hope NU makes a run at him. F the turd.
If the team isn't winning, nobody is gonna give the coach extra credit for being nice and not pulling offers from guys when they could have had somebody they thought was better. Bigtime college football is a business, and in big business if you're trying to shelter somebody who is a weak link, what ends up happening is you both get fired.
the kid was offered by the previous staff at Michigan ... the new staff didn't feel he was a good fit and pulled the scholly .. it happens
http://drchighschoolblog.dentonrc.com/2014/12/dillman-has-nebraska-offer-pulled.html/
http://drchighschoolblog.dentonrc.com/2014/12/dillman-has-nebraska-offer-pulled.html/
Ouch....Teddy Greenstein lays into Harbaugh over Swenson
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-colors-and-they-re-ugly-20160121-column.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...-colors-and-they-re-ugly-20160121-column.html
And Harbaugh had an entire year to cut ties. It would be different if this happened right after he was hired.
I think the issue is more of the timing. Harbaugh waiting until the 11th hour. But if true that Harbaugh is helping Swenson find a new home then I'm okay with his decision.
Later news, he was informed last spring he was no longer wanted. He chose to ignore numerous request to attend dif showings. Mi screwed up by not pulling the offer last spring but must have hoped he would come around and show the expected improvements.
I did hear that he has did not progress over his Senior season. The kid sounds like a class act (he could have made a huge stink and he has been polite), his rating is still good (take that for what it is worth), and he seems to have the frame and some talent. Where Nebraska is with its tackles, I think we take the risk on him.
I went back and Googled Shawn Bodtmann and Kevin Dillman. The Swenson deal sounds much like those two Bo recruits who were dumped late in the recruiting process. From the coach's perspective, the kid didn't work hard enough or otherwise develop enough in his senior year. That seems reasonable but why not tell them a couple months sooner?
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finally starting to come out that harbaugh did not wait to the 11th hour http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf...rship-rescission-wasn-t-sudden-172912639.html
I suspected everyone was rushing to judgement on this issue. "USA Today" might want to take down their article crucifying Hargod, but somehow I doubt they will.
It's best practice to wait until all the facts are out there before demonizing a coach or player.
It's recruiting. Stuff happens. Is it crappy? Yes, but the point has been made that these kids can be punks too. It's a lose-lose situation with a win for whatever team gets the signature.
Not sure this article really shows anything except that this kid got Harbaugh'd. The kid had been committed to Michigan for two years. Even if he was notified by the school back in December that's still eleventh hour as far as I'm concerned. If they were using his senior season to evaluate his talent then they certainly would have know months earlier that he didn't fit what they wanted so why wait so long to inform him. My personal opinion is that they've run out of schollys and still have some highly ranked recruits hanging out there. The only reason this kid has been cut loose is because they need cap space and think they can get someone even better.
Kid looks soft as baby shit in the photo from that article. I hope for his sake and NU's that it's a very old pic.
yes...because it's easy to tell who will pan out and who won't. Your solid is soft.
Look, I'm not going to try to tell you that this should make Harbaugh look like some great guy who was doing the kid a favor because I do not believe that to be the case. However, as most of the facts have come out it is becoming more clear this one is on the kid. And when I say facts let me remind you that Harbaugh is not able to comment on this so much of what I've read is actually coming from the kid's HS and community including from his HS coach.
Here is the short version of the story:
1) The kid committed to Brady Hoke
2) The new staff asked him to attend and workout at our summer camp (as they did with another kid who had committed to the old staff) for an evaluation. This was not only told directly to the kid/family but to his HS coach. The kid refused.
3) After doing some digging and basically finding out that the kid had been coasting since he made his verbal...Michigan informed both the kid/family and his HS coaches that they would be using his senior year as an evaluation of if he was dedicated to getting better. This was in the beginning of the fall giving him over a 5 month heads up that he might not have a spot.
4) Apparently the kid/family must of thought it was more a formality and toothless threat because the kid didn't change his effort on the field (This is confirmed by not only coaches who coached against him but by people within his own school). However, the kid/family still believed it would all work itself out (with Michigan) so they don't come up with a contingency plan.
5) After doing a final evaluation of the kid's senior season, Michigan informs him in December that he will not be a part of the class.
6) Two days ago the kid/family set the recruiting world a fire claiming he only just found out. A day later even his HS coach, in a very political way, says that is basically a bunch of BS because even he was informed of this directly by the Michigan staff weeks ago...in fact the kid had (on the hush) been talking to Northwestern (and maybe a couple other schools) for almost a month.
So this story shouldn't give anyone the warm and fuzzies. Nobody wins in this. But, to put this one on Harbaugh is not correct.
Nothing wrong with what Harbaugh did. People are just mad Michigan can throw 4 stars away and we have to beg and plea for one.. Stop hating kids do dumb shit every year during this recruiting season. Plus he wasn't Harbaughs recruit..
