First thing first, we must remember that no de-commitment has actually happened at this point. Dawson has been hanging around with several Florida commits recently and is planning to attend a camp at Florida, but he has not actually said he will de-commit or that Florida is the school for him. Many have speculated about a number of Michigan's recruits de-commiting in the past, such as 2013 commit Chris Fox, who ended up staying with the program, so these types of rumors are not always that accurate. Just because there are rumors and speculation does not mean that a player will actually decide to leave Michigan.
Next, we need to consider the concept that a de-commitment doesn't mean he won't consider or end up signing with the Wolverines. Florida may appear to be courting him at this point, but there's still a long time until signing day. Just because a recruit is with one class or even two classes between now and February guarantees nothing. At this point, Dawson is still planning on attending the Big House BBQ and there is no reason to think Michigan is out of the running for his services.
So we've already established that he has not actually de-committed and that even if he does, Michigan still has a chance to get him. That should calm at least a few people down, or at least I hope it does. Panicking over rumors regarding one recruit just doesn't make sense, especially when nothing has actually happened. At this point, he's still aiming to be a Wolverine and fans need to continue to show him support. Panicking and saying negative things only makes the fanbase look bad to both Dawson and the nation. He's still a Wolverine right now and is onlyone recruit. Don't overreact.
However, we can still discuss some hypothetical situations. What if Dawson does de-commit and Hoke isn't able to get him back? Michigan will still have four offensive line commits and the chance to land more in the future for both 2013 and 2014. If such a situation arises, there are a few recruits to keep an eye on, such as Laremy Tunsil and Tim Gardner. Michigan probably doesn't have a great chance with Tunsil since he's from SEC country and has been heavily recruited by many SEC teams, but I do think that Michigan might have a chance with Gardner.
Gardner is rated as a 3* recruit by Rivals and has been getting a lot of attention from schools in Indiana such as Notre Dame and Purdue. Michigan will obviously be a little behind, but I see no reason to think that they couldn't get in the race, if the need presents itself. But once again, as I said, this is not the situation right now. Hoke has had only two de-commitments during his watch, which averages one player per recruiting class. Hoke has a tremendous record for avoiding these types of situations and fans need to avoid panicking. Michigan will be getting a great class for 2013. It could very well take a hit if Dawson de-commits, but that's the point, if he de-commits. It's a situation that hasn't played out fully yet and fans need to avoid jumping to conclusions too early. Even if something happens, Michigan will be more than fine. Dawson would be a great addition to this class, but he isn't the whole class and fans need to remember that.
Update: David Dawson has since tweeted this, confirming what I was arguing above: "I'm a a #MichigaMan". Along with this, Sarah Hughes, former writer for Hoke's Mad Magicians and now with Maizenbrew tweeted that she spoke with Dawson and that he's still firmly committed to Michigan. He has also even cancelled his trip to Florida. The bottomline is fans can calm down and stop worrying about Dawson once and for all. He's solid with Michigan.
That's highly debatable.
ReplyDeleteSomething is brewing if he wants to visit/camp at Florida.
Think what you want, but this race is far from over.