Joshua Garnett Picks Stanford

It had been a while since a recruit's college decision entranced Michigan fans like Joshua Garnett's has done over the past weeks and months.  Garnett is an offensive lineman out of Washington who has been rated as one of the elite players in the 2012 class.  Most scouting agencies have not only listed him as a 4* recruit, but also as one of the top five players at his position in the nation.

The hype had been building up all week as Garnett announced he would make his decision on Thursday, January 27th @ 6pm.  In fact, one Michigan recruiting site launched a live-blog that had over 4000 viewers at the time of the decision (pretty impressive for a high school kid's recruiting decision).  The last recruit I can remember getting this type of hype from Michigan fans was Mitch McGary, Michigan's 2012 basketball commit who was rated #2 in the nation.

However, as time got closer, Michigan's chances with Garnett seemed to fade and ultimately he decided to attend Stanford instead of Michigan.  Obviously, Stanford is one of the nation's finest schools and has assembled a respectable football program, at least as of late, so nobody can fault his decision.  I think he will do good things at Stanford and wish him the best.  The obvious factors appeared to be location (Garnett's from Washington) and academics. The University of Michigan has some great academics, but Stanford is...well...Stanford.

So, why am I writing a story about a kid who decided to attend Stanford?  Well, the obvious reason is that a lot of Michigan fans cared about this decision, but also because this is a significant development for Michigan's recruiting this year.  As most people know, most recruits have decided or will be deciding in the short future about their college destinations.  With only a few weeks remaining until virtually every major recruit is committed, this development is pretty substantial.

The biggest implication falls with the recruitment of Jordan Diamond, a 4* offensive lineman from Chicago, who will be announcing his decision on February 3rd.  Michigan is in good position to gain a commitment from Diamond, but with Caleb Stacey's de-commitment and Garnett's decision to attend Stanford, this announcement will be crucial.  If Diamond decides to attend Michigan, the team should have some outstanding offensive lineman and depth in a few years.  However, if he chooses to attend somewhere else (likely Arkansas), Michigan's "epic" class could start to fade into just a good class.

Now, I'm personally not one that gets into predicting where a recruit will choose, but I don't think there's anybody out there who doesn't think Michigan has at least a chance with him.  However, with Stacey and Garnett's moves, I believe Diamond has become the most important remaining recruit to this 2012 class.  Certainly, there are players who are probably more talented than Diamond, but if Michigan loses out on another "big time" offensive lineman, it could spell trouble in a few seasons.  Michigan's 2012 recruiting class will be solid, whether Diamond commits or not, but if this team truly wants to stay in that elite status, getting top talent from guys like these will be crucial.

Let's hope he goes Blue.


Photo Credit: CBSSports

Caleb Stacey De-commits From Michigan

Since Brady Hoke has taken over the helm at the University of Michigan, fans haven't had to experience many recruiting problems in the last year.  Not only did Hoke and staff add several significant players to the 2011 recruiting class, but they have done a tremendous job in assembling a 2012 class that may be one of Michigan's best, ever.  However, less than 3 hours ago, offensive lineman recruit Caleb Stacey announced his decision to de-commit from Michigan and take his talents to the University of Cincinnati.

Now, obviously this is a hit for Michigan's class.  Stacey was listed as a three star prospect by Rivals and 17th in his position group.  He would have almost certainly been a "development" player for Michigan, most likely playing as an upperclassman, but there is no doubt he brought a lot of potential to Michigan's football team.  As of late, Michigan has lacked significant depth on offensive line and every recruit like Stacey can help to alleviate that problem.

Are Michigan's chances at having solid offensive line depth ruined by Stacey's de-commitment?  No way.  In fact, Michigan's 2012 class currently has four offensive line recruits  already committed (excluding Stacey) including a five star, two four stars, and a three star commit.  Basically, if one simply looks at these rankings, Stacey would have been the fourth best lineman recruited in this class alone.  Obviously, recruiting rankings don't guarantee success, but these types of rankings do play a role in recruiting.

These rankings show that Stacey's departure may not have a profound impact on Michigan.  With four offensive line commitments already and other potential five star recruits, I highly doubt this will be something that haunts Michigan in the future.  In fact, I've seen speculation from some that this de-commitment could actually be a positive for both Stacey and Michigan.  Stacey will have a much better chance at playing at Cincinnati (no other Cincinnati offensive lineman is rated above Stacey) and Michigan will have more room in this year's class to go after a players like Jordan Diamond who are more highly touted.

So, this decision may be a tad disappointing right now, but I truly believe that in the long run, both sides will be happy.  Stacey has a pretty respectable reason for playing there, he wants to stay closer to home, and Michigan is trying to secure a class that could not only vault Michigan to Big Ten championships, but maybe national aspirations as well.  Basically, nobody should be massively disappointed about this recruiting development.

Is it something Michigan fans should be happy about?  Obviously not.  Stacey was recruited by Michigan for a reason.  If Hoke and the staff really thought he couldn't play, he wouldn't have been offered a scholarship to begin with.  Having said that, I don't think it's a horrible development for Michigan either.  Michigan already has some great offensive line recruits and has potential for more.  Michigan fans should respect Stacey's decision and be satisfied that this has been one of the first negative recruiting developments under Hoke's leadership.


Photo Credit: MLive