Denzel Ward committed to Michigan back in October while visiting for the Michigan State game becoming the 2nd member of Team 135, joining Michael Ferns. At 6'9", Ward has a ton of potential with the possibility of some risk as well. Whether you love or hate the idea of having an offensive tackle that tall, Ward committed and was welcomed by the Maize and Blue faithful. Since then, news surrounding Ward has not been very positive in the eyes of Wolverine fans. About a month and a half after his commitment the Buckeyes decided he was worthy of an offer as well and Ward seemed intrigued by that. Over the next couple of weeks Arizona State and Florida also offered and he seemed really intrigued by that. In fact, he liked the Florida offer so much that he decided to take an unofficial visit to check out Gainesville. That is supposed to be against Brady Hoke's policy, but Ward reportedly discussed the visit prior to going and got the OK from Michigan's head coach. There is still a little bit of confusion surrounding that situation. Ward then went on to the Underclassmen All-American Combine and put up the lowest bench press number for an offensive linemen. (On a good note, Ward did receive praise for his athleticism, quick feet, and lean frame for nearly 300 lbs.) Just over a week ago it was reported that Ward had actually moved to Florida to attend the IMG Academy in Bradenton to hone his skills and prepare for college. Since this move was not very long after his visit to the University of Florida that didn't sit too well with many Michigan fans. Finally, the most recent bit of negative news came just days ago when Ward was left very disappointed after Coach Borges stopped by IMG Academy. Throughout the day leading up to Coach Borges' visit Ward exhibited excitement via Twitter about the offensive coordinator coming by. I talked to Denzel after Borges had left and asked him how the visit went and he said, "It didn't go too well." It turns out that Coach Borges spent the bulk of his time talking about and watching fellow 2014 recruit and IMG classmate QB Michael O'Connor. Ward felt left out and said "Coach didn't talk to me.....at all." Clearly distraught, that was the last text I received from Denzel. Ward has told me several times he is still solid to Michigan but a lot of these things suggest otherwise. Right now he is still listed as a commit, but I think this saga is far from over.
It is just me, or Borges is really not a terrible recruiter. Everybody seems to praise Hoke and Mattison, almost no recruits ever talk about Borges.
ReplyDeleteI've read that Borges only observed O'Connor for about 30 minutes, and didnt even talk to him. Is it possible Borges couldnt talk to Ward/O'Connor because of NCAA rules? If so, the context of the visit was misinterpreted by Ward. Were any messages relayed from his head coach from Borges?
ReplyDeleteO'Connor told me that the recruits have to initiate the conversation like they do with the phone calls. But the head coach had nothing to say to Ward.
ReplyDeleteI have not considered Ward a commit sense he visited Florida. I really don't care if he had permission from the coaches.
ReplyDeleteI really don't get the feeling that Borges is a kid friendly coach. He knows his X's and O's just does not strike me as kid friendly coach. Either that or Hoke and Mattison are so over the top friendly that they make Borges look bad.
I'll say this. The kid has some upside, and may end up being a very good OL someday. That being said I feel like we are in on some very very good OL in 14' again. Combine that with the last two OL hauls Hoke has brought in and I could care less if he stays or goes. That might sound bad, but it's not like this would be a huge loss and if he's gonna be a headache why bother.
ReplyDeleteThere could be two commitments this weekend. One is Green and the second is Tommy Doles if he does visit this weekend.
ReplyDeleteYep. I think it's time for Doles. That could put some pressure on guys like Mason Cole to start thinking long and hard bc they don't wanna wait to long and we already end up with our goal # at the OL
ReplyDeleteI don't believe Mason Cole will end up at UM. I think he is headed to ND. Plus I get the feeling the coaches may start telling recruits to slow there commitments down til the are absolutely sure UM is the right place for them and they take more visits. There was to much drama from kids that committed to early in this class.JMO
DeleteI was just using him as example bc I couldnt remember all the big name OL recruits were after and how to spell their names for sure. So I just took the easy way out. Lol
ReplyDeleteDon't we all?
DeleteDoes anybody know how many OL UM will take next year? I am guessing 5.
Not sure, but hopefully 5 WRs too.
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