Recruits...get injured in H.S. and Harbaugh won't have your back

[Judge Smails]

http://mgoblog.com/content/considerable-attrition-stanfords-2010-recruiting-class

At Stanford, The Cardinal produced a slew of decommitments during Harbaugh's tenure (18 alone in 2010).
To get a clearer picture of what happened at Stanford and what we can expect from Harbaugh at Michigan, I took a look at the decommitment stories of every one-time 2010 Stanford commit I could find to see what really occurred.
In two documented cases, Stanford stopped contacting recruits after they suffered injuries during their season season.
That's how Kain Colter, a three-star athlete, wound up at Northwestern instead of heading to Palo Alto:
During his first game that fall, Colter heard a "pop" after throwing a post route. An MRI revealed a torn labrum and biceps, but he kept playing as a running back and receiver while rehabbing a shoulder that eventually needed surgery.
Stanford originally stuck by him, but then their correspondences dwindled. They wanted his MRI results and claimed he would have to wait for clearance from the admissions office. Interesting for a kid who carried a 4.2 grade-point average.
Finally, Spencer(Kain's Father) said, "They just stopped calling. It was a bad situation. I wanted them to man up and talk to Kain."
Three-star FL OG Joe McNamara had a similar experience:
The 6-foot-2, 270-pound McNamara, a three-star prospect rated the 28th-best offensive guard in the country by Scout.com, was excited to become a Cardinal. That's when his recruitment started taking a turn for the worse.
Tearing his ACL roughly a week before the season started, forcing McNamara to sit out his entire senior season, McNamara wanted to be sure Stanford was still behind him. After no returned calls or emails, McNamara had to start from scratch.
"The thing that took the longest was finding out if Stanford was in or out," McNamara told Badger Nation Monday. "They never came out and said I was out of the picture but at the same time, there was no communication."

 

[Judge Smails]

Michigan fans, of course, excusing it.

corundum

I said nothing about it being a good excuse. The discussion also said that Harbaugh stopped communicating for the most part, not that he rescinded offers. Coaching football is not a morality contest, in fact it's about as cut-throat as an occupation can be. Harbaugh was competing with USC, Oregon, and many others to be successful in the PAC12, with many strategic disadvantages working against him.

Franklin

I think we would be naive to think Harbaugh won't test the limits after what we've seen from him already, and it's going to cause some cognitive dissonance for many of us. The truth is he is a highly competitive guy who is going to do what it takes to be the best. Unfortunately, there's a real risk that that trait is accompanied by some tactics that don't sit well with most of us. I'm hoping that doesn't end up being the case, but can anyone really claim to be surprised if it does?

kb

Hopefully
The high and mighty moral elite of the fan base won't try to get him on the next bus out of town if he does push the limits.

wahooverine

Exactly. People need to decide if they want to win and build a national power again or do they want be OK and feel good about themselves. let's be happy we have a respectable, stand-up guy in charge who truly cares about the school, the kids and their families, and won't do anything to compromise the integrity of himself or the institution. Don't think for a minute however that Harbaugh won't do what it takes to build a champion, even if it means hurting some kids feelings or potentially reneging on a non-binding verbal agreement when conditions change.

FreddieMercuryHayes

Yeah, but Harbaugh coaches for UM now, so I don't care about the moral or ethical wrong doings as long as UM wins and the NCAA stays of UM's back.

UMgradMSUdad

This sort of thing used to matter quite a bit to me. But I really can't think of many successful programs that don't have something that seems shady going on. Maybe Virginia Tech, but I'm not really sure about that. Penn State used to trumpet "success with honor" or some such bs. Maybe I'm just too cynical, but I'm not sure it's possible in today's world to succeed at a high level and do everything in the most honorable and ethical way. I still don't want Michigan to win at any cost, but I can live with a few yanked scholarships here and there.

East German Judge

In Harbaugh I trust, I am not here to micro-manage and get anxious about these things when he has not even had a full season. Is the NCAA investigating Stanford for recuriting violations - NO - so let it be.

BlueMan80

Recruiting is going to be a messy process...
We have a coach that is committed to winning and excellence. He knows his job depends on beating MSU and OSU. He needs to win Big Ten championships. He wants to win a National Championship. He's going to ask himself if he has the right group of recruits to do that. We are coming off of some down years and he's going to need to balance who he can get vs. betting on waiting for top recruits. Yes, it's going to get messy, but if he's winning, I seriously doubt the fan base will be complaining. Let's face it. We'll be all giddy that the good times are back thanks to Harbaugh. It is what it is. I'd like it to be perfect, but nothing is perfect.

Zerodarkwolverine

You mean Michigan wouldn't honor the "commitment" they made? Like Tyus battle? Please...wake up and smell reality ace. Being PC is fun in Ann Arbor bubble but weak generals don't win wars. Good thing you and others who think they have a say in this aren't making those decisions. Jim can do what he wants for as long as he wants. He saved the program.

 

[Judge Smails]

And an FYI....a Dad for a current player who followed JF to PSU after being committed to Vanderbilt posted a story in a pay forum about how his son was injured his senior year and Franklin stuck by him 100%. Franklin said we gave each other our word, he'd never go back on his.

 

[PrinceIgor]

http://mgoblog.com/content/considerable-attrition-stanfords-2010-recruiting-class

At Stanford, The Cardinal produced a slew of decommitments during Harbaugh's tenure (18 alone in 2010).
To get a clearer picture of what happened at Stanford and what we can expect from Harbaugh at Michigan, I took a look at the decommitment stories of every one-time 2010 Stanford commit I could find to see what really occurred.
In two documented cases, Stanford stopped contacting recruits after they suffered injuries during their season season.
That's how Kain Colter, a three-star athlete, wound up at Northwestern instead of heading to Palo Alto:
During his first game that fall, Colter heard a "pop" after throwing a post route. An MRI revealed a torn labrum and biceps, but he kept playing as a running back and receiver while rehabbing a shoulder that eventually needed surgery.
Stanford originally stuck by him, but then their correspondences dwindled. They wanted his MRI results and claimed he would have to wait for clearance from the admissions office. Interesting for a kid who carried a 4.2 grade-point average.
Finally, Spencer(Kain's Father) said, "They just stopped calling. It was a bad situation. I wanted them to man up and talk to Kain."
Three-star FL OG Joe McNamara had a similar experience:
The 6-foot-2, 270-pound McNamara, a three-star prospect rated the 28th-best offensive guard in the country by Scout.com, was excited to become a Cardinal. That's when his recruitment started taking a turn for the worse.
Tearing his ACL roughly a week before the season started, forcing McNamara to sit out his entire senior season, McNamara wanted to be sure Stanford was still behind him. After no returned calls or emails, McNamara had to start from scratch.
"The thing that took the longest was finding out if Stanford was in or out," McNamara told Badger Nation Monday. "They never came out and said I was out of the picture but at the same time, there was no communication."

I'm not seeing that much unusual here. With few exceptions, this stuff happens everywhere and seems to be up-trending. All through the "commitment" process, schools abandon recruits and recruits abandon schools and vice versa (especially in the face of possible career-ending injuries in the HS senior season). Sometimes it's unfair to the player; sometimes to the school (especially in BB, where one decommit in the 11th hour can cripple a class).

That said, it's pretty apparent that Harbaugh is taking his cue from Meyer, who brought all four pages of the SEC ethics manual with him to OSU. I look for UM to start the oversigning, grayshirting tactics that previous B1G coaches have openly deplored. It's going to be sink or swim soon... for everybody, JF included.

 

[Judge Smails]

I'm not seeing that much unusual here. With few exceptions, this stuff happens everywhere and seems to be up-trending. All through the "commitment" process, schools abandon recruits and recruits abandon schools and vice versa (especially in the face of possible career-ending injuries in the HS senior season). Sometimes it's unfair to the player; sometimes to the school (especially in BB, where one decommit in the 11th hour can cripple a class).

That said, it's pretty apparent that Harbaugh is taking his cue from Meyer, who brought all four pages of the SEC ethics manual with him to OSU. I look for UM to start the oversigning, grayshirting tactics that previous B1G coaches have openly deplored. It's going to be sink or swim soon... for everybody, JF included.

I don't agree with the "with few exceptions, this happens everywhere" take. But even that aside, to not be upfront with the kid and tell him....to just blow him off and let him figure it out for himself....how does that display character? You're a leader of young men. That's the example you set? Nah. It's gutless and cowardly and wrong.

 

[PrinceIgor]

I don't agree with the "everyone does it" take. But even that aside, to not be upfront with the kid and tell him....to just blow him off and let him figure it out for himself....how does that display character? You're a leader of young men. That's the example you set? Nah. It's gutless and cowardly and wrong.

I didn't say "everyone does it." But the exceptions are becoming fewer and farther between. I don't know about the gutless or cowardly part, but I agree that it's wrong. And it's only going to get worse until it's a fact of life, like taking phone calls in a movie theater.

The problem is, this whole concept of "commitment" has lost it's way. The word has become empty of meaning. It's now just a shopping adventure for both sides, wherein the coaching staff wants to lock up players early (to fill positions of need) and players want to lock up a great offer early (for fear of losing it and seeing nothing better come along). Both sides grow mare and more wary, neither side trusting the other... probably for good reasons and bad precedents.

I think a "display of character" is pretty much an extinct concept. It's all about selfishness now. Unless you want to begin affixing penalties to broken commitments or yanked offers, the word commitment has all the depth and nuance of "Hey baby, me love you long time."

 

[Judge Smails]

I didn't say "everyone does it."

"this stuff happens everywhere"

Yes, what you posted was totally the opposite of "everyone does it".

 

[BobPSU92]

And an FYI....a Dad for a current player who followed JF to PSU after being committed to Vanderbilt posted a story in a pay forum about how his son was injured his senior year and Franklin stuck by him 100%. Franklin said we gave each other our word, he'd never go back on his.

Not surprising given how Franklin emphasizes relationships.

 

[BobPSU92]

I remember that Joe honored a scholarship commitment after a recruit got seriously hurt during the summer before his freshman year at Penn State. As I recall, the kid was a quarterback and had a diving accident.

 

[Art]

I remember that Joe honored a scholarship commitment after a recruit got seriously hurt during the summer before his freshman year at Penn State. As I recall, the kid was a quarterback and had a diving accident.

That would be Tim Strachan from DeMatha.

 

[retsio]

Michigan -- the state and the schools -- don't be fooled by the heavy media concentration on UM football and posters on a board that seek a fantasy life of riches and accolades.

Everyone in the state of Michigan, and I do mean everyone, is either 'go blue' or 'green and white' and will never meet and agree on anything. There are so many 'fans' that fill that little stadium with 12" seats that are only one thing -- wannabees, and they show up at the food store or beauty parlor all blue and maize -- every day of the year. The stadium itself is built on a hill so that it overlooks the town with a monstrous M sign that all are supposed to acknowledge. UM has the most wins in NCAA football history.....and is a really good school, especially the business school (on a par with U Chicago, Stanford). Unfortunately, some hiring and firing decisions are made because you went to one school or the other, and some are so enamored by UM that their kids will only apply to UM, period.

But Michigan State has a very good agronomy school for being so far north, and basketball is king with hockey not far behind.

The people in the state of Michigan have a hard time saying other schools are good, even in their own state -- Wayne State Med school, Western Law School, Northern, Ferris and Lake Superior State for hockey -- let alone any other school in the Big Ten or elsewhere. Of course, Michigan has 'run' and ruled the Big Ten for decades and will not give up any semblance of superiority.

The state government of Michigan denies the state has any problem, and does not give basic services to residents -- no recycling program, no car inspections (lose a bumper, headlight or muffler -- no problem, keep driving), no road repair (potholes everywhere) and no fixes for Detroit. Michigan is basically farmland with enough dirt roads that would rival any Western state, and do not think of washing your car -- ever. Corporate America car companies -- lease a new 4 cylinder car for cheap -- I have never seen so many out of production cars still on the road -- Plymouth, Saturn, Olds, Mercury, Pontiac -- wow.

Ann Arbor or East Lansing as a college town will never compare with State College -- experienced them all without any bias. We are....Penn State.

 

[Westcoast24]

Michigan -- the state and the schools -- don't be fooled by the heavy media concentration on UM football and posters on a board that seek a fantasy life of riches and accolades.

Everyone in the state of Michigan, and I do mean everyone, is either 'go blue' or 'green and white' and will never meet and agree on anything. There are so many 'fans' that fill that little stadium with 12" seats that are only one thing -- wannabees, and they show up at the food store or beauty parlor all blue and maize -- every day of the year. The stadium itself is built on a hill so that it overlooks the town with a monstrous M sign that all are supposed to acknowledge. UM has the most wins in NCAA football history.....and is a really good school, especially the business school (on a par with U Chicago, Stanford). Unfortunately, some hiring and firing decisions are made because you went to one school or the other, and some are so enamored by UM that their kids will only apply to UM, period.

But Michigan State has a very good agronomy school for being so far north, and basketball is king with hockey not far behind.

The people in the state of Michigan have a hard time saying other schools are good, even in their own state -- Wayne State Med school, Western Law School, Northern, Ferris and Lake Superior State for hockey -- let alone any other school in the Big Ten or elsewhere. Of course, Michigan has 'run' and ruled the Big Ten for decades and will not give up any semblance of superiority.

The state government of Michigan denies the state has any problem, and does not give basic services to residents -- no recycling program, no car inspections (lose a bumper, headlight or muffler -- no problem, keep driving), no road repair (potholes everywhere) and no fixes for Detroit. Michigan is basically farmland with enough dirt roads that would rival any Western state, and do not think of washing your car -- ever. Corporate America car companies -- lease a new 4 cylinder car for cheap -- I have never seen so many out of production cars still on the road -- Plymouth, Saturn, Olds, Mercury, Pontiac -- wow.

Ann Arbor or East Lansing as a college town will never compare with State College -- experienced them all without any bias. We are....Penn State.

This explains why we are all called fans. Everything you said could be flipped around by a Michigan fan and be said about PA and PSU as well. in your eyes, ( and my wife's I might add as she is a PSU grad) there is no comparison. In my eyes it's really part of the fun of college sports. Unfortunately some take that to extremes and also way to seriously. Looking forward to my first trip to PSU this year for the Michigan game. Only then will I make a comparison on two fine college towns.

 

[PrinceIgor]

"this stuff happens everywhere"

Yes, what you posted was totally the opposite of "everyone does it".

I believe my quote was as follows: "With few exceptions, this stuff happens everywhere...."

What you did here was no different than people leaving off Joe's qualifier: "With the benefit of hindsight...."

Why not make your point honestly?

 

[Judge Smails]

I believe my quote was as follows: "With few exceptions, this stuff happens everywhere...."

What you did here was no different than people leaving off Joe's qualifier: "With the benefit of hindsight...."

Why not make your point honestly?

I will edit my post that grossly mischaracterized your position.

 

[retsio]

This explains why we are all called fans. Everything you said could be flipped around by a Michigan fan and be said about PA and PSU as well. in your eyes, ( and my wife's I might add as she is a PSU grad) there is no comparison. In my eyes it's really part of the fun of college sports. Unfortunately some take that to extremes and also way to seriously. Looking forward to my first trip to PSU this year for the Michigan game. Only then will I make a comparison on two fine college towns.

Westcoast -- I understand that 'fans' of all colleges could be flipped to suit a purpose or evaluation by a poster or alumnus of some other school. My wife is Michigan State and the rest of her large family never went to Michigan, but are die hard Michiganders for every conversation -- wannabees. She thanks me all the time for taking her away from this state, 31 years ago.

Therefore, if you have been to a game at the 'little house', you have experienced the overzealous 'fans' that want to fight any visitor at the end of a game (I have been challenged) or the lack of services for the Detroit bound cars at the end of a game. At the very least, there is no comparison to State College with Ann Arbor (not fine) and even less with East Lansing. In Michigan, there is no fun -- UM is superior and expects to win.

 

[ptomaselli]

I'm not seeing that much unusual here. With few exceptions, this stuff happens everywhere and seems to be up-trending. All through the "commitment" process, schools abandon recruits and recruits abandon schools and vice versa (especially in the face of possible career-ending injuries in the HS senior season). Sometimes it's unfair to the player; sometimes to the school (especially in BB, where one decommit in the 11th hour can cripple a class).

That said, it's pretty apparent that Harbaugh is taking his cue from Meyer, who brought all four pages of the SEC ethics manual with him to OSU. I look for UM to start the oversigning, grayshirting tactics that previous B1G coaches have openly deplored. It's going to be sink or swim soon... for everybody, JF included.

Four pages? That long? Wow. That's like the US tax code to the SEC.

 

[CampbellLION]

And an FYI....a Dad for a current player who followed JF to PSU after being committed to Vanderbilt posted a story in a pay forum about how his son was injured his senior year and Franklin stuck by him 100%. Franklin said we gave each other our word, he'd never go back on his.

I don't know if I'm supposed to do this, but here is the quote from what Chance Sorrell's father wrote on the Premium Board about the conversation Chance had with Franklin when Chance learned the severity of his ankle injury in high school....

Coach Franklin told Chance, “when you committed to me, I committed to you. You have my back and I have yours. If you never play college football again, you will graduate from Vanderbilt University on a football scholarship”.

 

[PrinceIgor]

I will edit my post that grossly mischaracterized your position.

Thank you for your humility and contrition, obviously devoid of all possible petulance.

 

[novaclassof90]

Joe gave a scholar to a guy he assumed would never play football in college. Brian Milne.

 

[ellobo]

What amazes me is that most of you guys in this thread are fans of a program that has been in the spotlight for some pretty serious accusations from the illegal to unethical. And I'm not just talking about the Sandusky situation.

Whether it is in real life (people I know) or what I read on these boards I've heard psu people say things like the media has an agenda, blogs aren't real sources, there are more than one side of a story, let things play out...etc.

I find it amazing...truly amazing...that you guys can say some of things are saying in this thread after what you've been through.

 

[BobPSU92]

What amazes me is that most of you guys in this thread are fans of a program that has been in the spotlight for some pretty serious accusations from the illegal to unethical. And I'm not just talking about the Sandusky situation.

Whether it is in real life (people I know) or what I read on these boards I've heard psu people say things like the media has an agenda, blogs aren't real sources, there are more than one side of a story, let things play out...etc.

I find it amazing...truly amazing...that you guys can say some of things are saying in this thread after what you've been through.

Joined in 2002, but just six posts. That means you were banned before the software switch. Gee, I wonder why you were banned. Duh.

Congratulations for making my Ignore List.

 

[joeparules]

What amazes me is that most of you guys in this thread are fans of a program that has been in the spotlight for some pretty serious accusations from the illegal to unethical. And I'm not just talking about the Sandusky situation.

Whether it is in real life (people I know) or what I read on these boards I've heard psu people say things like the media has an agenda, blogs aren't real sources, there are more than one side of a story, let things play out...etc.

I find it amazing...truly amazing...that you guys can say some of things are saying in this thread after what you've been through.

Please do tell us about all of these other NCAA issues PSU has occurred over the years!? PSU and Stanford are still the only two D1 schools that can say they haven't been sanctioned by the NCAA (thanks to the NCAA rescinded all of the illegal ones against PSU). Lets look at two other facts about PSU and the NCAA:

1. At one point the NCAA told JVP to stop reporting all of the minor infractions that he inadvertently committed, such as watching a player work-out in the "off-season"..
2. The NCAA a little while back wrote procedures on how to handle any sexually inappropriate behavior within an athletic department. Guess what? It is exactly how JVP handled the Sandusky situation.

So what is truly amazing is the ignorance (stupidity, jealousy, flaming, etc) of other posters. No university is perfect, but some clearly do it better than others.

 

[Judge Smails]

What amazes me is that most of you guys in this thread are fans of a program that has been in the spotlight for some pretty serious accusations from the illegal to unethical. And I'm not just talking about the Sandusky situation.

Whether it is in real life (people I know) or what I read on these boards I've heard psu people say things like the media has an agenda, blogs aren't real sources, there are more than one side of a story, let things play out...etc.

I find it amazing...truly amazing...that you guys can say some of things are saying in this thread after what you've been through.

Hey, run down for us the situation with the kicker who raped a woman and then is thrown out of school 3 years later when his eligibility is up.

 

[PrinceIgor]

Hey, run down for us the situation with the kicker who raped a woman and then is thrown out of school 3 years later when his eligibility is up.

It has never been established ANYWHERE that Joe knew about JS. Nor has it been proven in a court of law that C, S & S are guilty of any legal wrongdoing. It's a very complex and complicated case. Still, based on half-assed or sensational media reporting, biased people believe what they choose to believe.

It is also my understanding that the Michigan kicker has not been proven guilty in a court of law (nor was he ever even charged). Still, based on half-assed or sensational media reporting, biased people believe what they choose to believe.

The parallels are endless, and I think the poster makes a valid point. Perhaps there's a bit of irony in your moniker?

 

[Judge Smails]

It is also my understanding that the Michigan kicker has not been proven guilty in a court of law (nor was he ever even charged).
.

So why did Michigan expel him? Library fines?

 

[Steve G]

http://mgoblog.com/content/considerable-attrition-stanfords-2010-recruiting-class

At Stanford, The Cardinal produced a slew of decommitments during Harbaugh's tenure (18 alone in 2010).
To get a clearer picture of what happened at Stanford and what we can expect from Harbaugh at Michigan, I took a look at the decommitment stories of every one-time 2010 Stanford commit I could find to see what really occurred.
In two documented cases, Stanford stopped contacting recruits after they suffered injuries during their season season.
That's how Kain Colter, a three-star athlete, wound up at Northwestern instead of heading to Palo Alto:
During his first game that fall, Colter heard a "pop" after throwing a post route. An MRI revealed a torn labrum and biceps, but he kept playing as a running back and receiver while rehabbing a shoulder that eventually needed surgery.
Stanford originally stuck by him, but then their correspondences dwindled. They wanted his MRI results and claimed he would have to wait for clearance from the admissions office. Interesting for a kid who carried a 4.2 grade-point average.
Finally, Spencer(Kain's Father) said, "They just stopped calling. It was a bad situation. I wanted them to man up and talk to Kain."
Three-star FL OG Joe McNamara had a similar experience:
The 6-foot-2, 270-pound McNamara, a three-star prospect rated the 28th-best offensive guard in the country by Scout.com, was excited to become a Cardinal. That's when his recruitment started taking a turn for the worse.
Tearing his ACL roughly a week before the season started, forcing McNamara to sit out his entire senior season, McNamara wanted to be sure Stanford was still behind him. After no returned calls or emails, McNamara had to start from scratch.
"The thing that took the longest was finding out if Stanford was in or out," McNamara told Badger Nation Monday. "They never came out and said I was out of the picture but at the same time, there was no communication."

an early signing period, say in Aug before senior year, might mitigate some of the commitment/ recommitment stuff from both directions. Kid pledges a school in his junior year and has very long time to go till signing day and vice versa from the school perspective. But binding signed commitment might stabilize some of this. Junior year to early for signing but right before senior year seems reasonable

 

[PrinceIgor]

So why did Michigan expel him? Library fines?

IIRC, he was adjudged guilty of violating school morality codes. There was no charge of rape.

 

[PrinceIgor]

an early signing period, say in Aug before senior year, might mitigate some of the commitment/ recommitment stuff from both directions. Kid pledges a school in his junior year and has very long time to go till signing day and vice versa from the school perspective. But binding signed commitment might stabilize some of this. Junior year to early for signing but right before senior year seems reasonable

I agree, and I said this earlier: more and more, schools and recruits are selfishly working the system; commitment no longer has meaning. Since the LOI is the truly binding agreement, I don't know how you make the pre-LOI commitment binding unless you affix some form of small punishment for not honoring it.

I have a few ideas. It might make a good discussion.

 

[Judge Smails]

IIRC, he was adjudged guilty of violating school morality codes. There was no charge of rape.

And how did he violate the school's morality codes?

 

[PrinceIgor]

And how did he violate the school's morality codes?

I don't recall that "how" was allowed to be part of any public disclosure. The only place the word "rape" occurred was in the media, (and on message boards that parrot media reporting as fact).

It's not unlike the 2001 "rape" in the shower. Rape was never asserted by the witness; the word was never used. Yet rape was reported nonetheless, and subsequently regurgitated by multitudes all across America. It was the word most instrumental in Joe's murder.

 

[shak66_psu]

http://mgoblog.com/content/considerable-attrition-stanfords-2010-recruiting-class

At Stanford, The Cardinal produced a slew of decommitments during Harbaugh's tenure (18 alone in 2010).
To get a clearer picture of what happened at Stanford and what we can expect from Harbaugh at Michigan, I took a look at the decommitment stories of every one-time 2010 Stanford commit I could find to see what really occurred.
In two documented cases, Stanford stopped contacting recruits after they suffered injuries during their season season.
That's how Kain Colter, a three-star athlete, wound up at Northwestern instead of heading to Palo Alto:
During his first game that fall, Colter heard a "pop" after throwing a post route. An MRI revealed a torn labrum and biceps, but he kept playing as a running back and receiver while rehabbing a shoulder that eventually needed surgery.
Stanford originally stuck by him, but then their correspondences dwindled. They wanted his MRI results and claimed he would have to wait for clearance from the admissions office. Interesting for a kid who carried a 4.2 grade-point average.
Finally, Spencer(Kain's Father) said, "They just stopped calling. It was a bad situation. I wanted them to man up and talk to Kain."
Three-star FL OG Joe McNamara had a similar experience:
The 6-foot-2, 270-pound McNamara, a three-star prospect rated the 28th-best offensive guard in the country by Scout.com, was excited to become a Cardinal. That's when his recruitment started taking a turn for the worse.
Tearing his ACL roughly a week before the season started, forcing McNamara to sit out his entire senior season, McNamara wanted to be sure Stanford was still behind him. After no returned calls or emails, McNamara had to start from scratch.
"The thing that took the longest was finding out if Stanford was in or out," McNamara told Badger Nation Monday. "They never came out and said I was out of the picture but at the same time, there was no communication."

maybe eventually kids no longer play their senior year after committing prior (especially to their first choice school) why bother? what's the upside?

 

[Art]

Michigan -- the state and the schools -- don't be fooled by the heavy media concentration on UM football and posters on a board that seek a fantasy life of riches and accolades.

Everyone in the state of Michigan, and I do mean everyone, is either 'go blue' or 'green and white' and will never meet and agree on anything. There are so many 'fans' that fill that little stadium with 12" seats that are only one thing -- wannabees, and they show up at the food store or beauty parlor all blue and maize -- every day of the year. The stadium itself is built on a hill so that it overlooks the town with a monstrous M sign that all are supposed to acknowledge. UM has the most wins in NCAA football history.....and is a really good school, especially the business school (on a par with U Chicago, Stanford). Unfortunately, some hiring and firing decisions are made because you went to one school or the other, and some are so enamored by UM that their kids will only apply to UM, period.

But Michigan State has a very good agronomy school for being so far north, and basketball is king with hockey not far behind.

The people in the state of Michigan have a hard time saying other schools are good, even in their own state -- Wayne State Med school, Western Law School, Northern, Ferris and Lake Superior State for hockey -- let alone any other school in the Big Ten or elsewhere. Of course, Michigan has 'run' and ruled the Big Ten for decades and will not give up any semblance of superiority.

The state government of Michigan denies the state has any problem, and does not give basic services to residents -- no recycling program, no car inspections (lose a bumper, headlight or muffler -- no problem, keep driving), no road repair (potholes everywhere) and no fixes for Detroit. Michigan is basically farmland with enough dirt roads that would rival any Western state, and do not think of washing your car -- ever. Corporate America car companies -- lease a new 4 cylinder car for cheap -- I have never seen so many out of production cars still on the road -- Plymouth, Saturn, Olds, Mercury, Pontiac -- wow.

Ann Arbor or East Lansing as a college town will never compare with State College -- experienced them all without any bias. We are....Penn State.

Uh, no. Neither Chicago or Stanford have undergraduate business schools. Michigan's is, as you say, very good, but it's graduate school, also very good, isn't in the same league as Booth and Stanford.

 

[bjf1984]

What amazes me is that most of you guys in this thread are fans of a program that has been in the spotlight for some pretty serious accusations from the illegal to unethical. And I'm not just talking about the Sandusky situation.

Whether it is in real life (people I know) or what I read on these boards I've heard psu people say things like the media has an agenda, blogs aren't real sources, there are more than one side of a story, let things play out...etc.

I find it amazing...truly amazing...that you guys can say some of things are saying in this thread after what you've been through.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

[ellobo]

Please do tell us about all of these other NCAA issues PSU has occurred over the years!? PSU and Stanford are still the only two D1 schools that can say they haven't been sanctioned by the NCAA (thanks to the NCAA rescinded all of the illegal ones against PSU). Lets look at two other facts about PSU and the NCAA:

1. At one point the NCAA told JVP to stop reporting all of the minor infractions that he inadvertently committed, such as watching a player work-out in the "off-season"..
2. The NCAA a little while back wrote procedures on how to handle any sexually inappropriate behavior within an athletic department. Guess what? It is exactly how JVP handled the Sandusky situation.

So what is truly amazing is the ignorance (stupidity, jealousy, flaming, etc) of other posters. No university is perfect, but some clearly do it better than others.

Some of the other things I'm talking about are not NCAA allegations but things from the string of arrests you had that led to an outside the lines special on ESPN to some of the more recent rumored recruiting tactics of Franklin's that has led some to call him a used car salesman. But I am not here to discussion any of those accusions in the context of what that means about your program...as you said no program is perfect.

My basic point was that I am surprised you guys are doing the whole throwing stones thing when you guys are certainly living in a alleged glass house. I spend part of my summer on the NJ Shore and quite frankly listening to Rutgers fans never let a damn thing go about your past has become annoying...it's almost as if they get more pleasure seeing you guys fail than they do seeing their program suceed.

Being on the shore I also talk to PSU fans as well (even friendly with a parent of one of your current players) and a couple times have seen fans of other schools say stuff to them about the off field stuff like it was the psu fan himself that is being accused...I find it stupid and feel bad that psu fans have to deal with it. However, if I ever saw one of those psu fans do the same to another school's fans I would shake my head even more because of the media frenzy that has been focussed on your program...and I call it media frenzy because I'm not here to judge what is true or not...and I'm certainly not going to read a blog and start pointing fingures especially when it is trying to say what might happen in the future but yet hasn't yet happened.

 

[bjf1984]

Some of the other things I'm talking about are not NCAA allegations but things from the string of arrests you had that led to an outside the lines special on ESPN to some of the more recent rumored recruiting tactics of Franklin's that has led some to call him a used car salesman. But I am not here to discussion any of those accusions in the context of what that means about your program...as you said no program is perfect.

My basic point was that I am surprised you guys are doing the whole throwing stones thing when you guys are certainly living in a alleged glass house. I spend part of my summer on the NJ Shore and quite frankly listening to Rutgers fans never let a damn thing go about your past has become annoying...it's almost as if they get more pleasure seeing you guys fail than they do seeing their program suceed.

Being on the shore I also talk to PSU fans as well (even friendly with a parent of one of your current players) and a couple times have seen fans of other schools say stuff to them about the off field stuff like it was the psu fan himself that is being accused...I find it stupid and feel bad that psu fans have to deal with it. However, if I ever saw one of those psu fans do the same to another school's fans I would shake my head even more because of the media frenzy that has been focussed on your program...and I call it media frenzy because I'm not here to judge what is true or not...and I'm certainly not going to read a blog and start pointing fingures especially when it is trying to say what might happen in the future but yet hasn't yet happened.