Denzel Ward's Decision

It was announced yesterday that 3* OT Denzel Ward has decommitted from Michigan. "I am no longer a commit to the University of Michigan, I really appreciate the love from there but I just want to make the best decision," Ward, from Chicago Hales Franciscan, tweeted yesterday afternoon. Considering the fact that he was one of two 2014 recruits (along with Michael Ferns) and with the 2013 holding so many OL commits it's not a huge splash in the recruiting pond. At 6-feet-9 and 285 pounds, he was considered a major prize when he committed to U-M on Oct. 20. As my new colleague pointed out a few days ago, Denzel's decision does not come as a surprise. There are pros and cons to every decision but  hear me out as I have two thoughts on this:

1. It's too early. I know some people, especially the Michigan faithful might balk at this but in all honesty, for most recruits it is too early to commit to your future college in the fall of your junior year. I know what you're thinking--Shane Morris. Yes I can use him as an example of an early commit but he is one of those rareities that you know won't waver in their decision. As with the case with Ward...who knows. I tend to think he wants to explore other options, even considering that school down south. We are all aware of Hoke's policy about school visits, but in the end we're not even done with Signing Day 2013. So let's all breathe and relax.

2. Long term effect. This is the part that I'm not worried about. Consider the gluttony of OL players Michigan has coming in the 2013 class, and that doesn't even include what they got in the 2012 class. 2013 has 5 4* offensive linemen and I know now that with the popularity of social media that the recruiting process gets more attention now (part of why I'm writing this) but in the end Michigan will be just fine at that position, if not a bit overloaded. Bottom line--Ward was a good prospect, and he could still come back; but if he doesn't it's fine.