Michigan commit says ’50/50 chance’ UM would have room, decommits
Another longtime Michigan commitment has parted ways with the program.
Rashad Weaver, a two-star defensive end from Cooper City, Florida, announced on Monday that he was informed by Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh that there would be a “50/50 chance” the program would have room for him in its 2016 recruiting class.
As a result, Weaver announced his decommitment on Twitter. According to The Wolverine, Weaver had been committed to Michigan since June after he received a scholarship offer following his performance in a South Florida satellite camp.
Weaver wrote that he was offered a spot at Michigan as a preferred walk-on, but has decided to pursue other options due to his other FBS scholarship offers. Weaver took official visits to South Florida and Temple earlier this month and tweeted about new offers from UCF, Hawaii, Iowa State, East Carolina, Kansas and Toledo on Tuesday morning.
Michigan has had a number of decommitments in recent weeks, including one from four-star offensive lineman Erik Swenson. Swenson had been verbally committed to the program since November 2013 (when Brady Hoke was still head coach), but said last week that Harbaugh pulled his offer. However, various reports indicated that the decision to pull Swenson’s offer was not a sudden one.
The circumstances surrounding Weaver’s decision prompted plenty of outrage on social media – toward Harbaugh especially. Weaver did his best to tone down some of the vitriol.
Unfortunately, as Weaver alluded to, this is a part of the game and is not uncommon in big time recruiting. That doesn’t make casting kids aside the right or ethical thing to do, but to win games you have to bring in the best players – even if it sometimes comes at the expense of other kids. The Wolverines currently have the fourth-best class in the country according to Rivals and are the favorites to bring in a few other top prospects, including five-star defensive lineman Rashan Gary (the No. 1 prospect in the country), before national signing day on Feb. 3.
Hours before Weaver’s decommitment, the Wolverines picked up a commitment from New Jersey three-star defensive end Michael Dwumfour. Dwumfour is a close friend of Gary.
The Wolverines currently have 24 verbal commitments.
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
