It’s not like Michigan State fans needed more reasons to
hate Michigan, but the last month probably hasn’t helped matters.
First the Wolverines make a run to the national championship
game in basketball. Now the Spartans watched Drake Harris, one of their former
verbal commitments for the 2014 season, make a new commitment to Michigan on
Sunday.
The junior receiver from Grand Rapids Christian is
currently rated as a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com and has the potential to move
up to being a 5-star recruit by the time his senior season is over.
Harris was already a highly-touted recruit when he committed
to Michigan State prior to the start of the 2012 season. He grabbed national
attention for his performance in the Division 3 state football championship
game when he caught eight passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, leading Grand
Rapids Christian past Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 40-37.
It was after that game that the heat really picked up on
Harris’ recruiting, despite his commitment to MSU. Talk of Alabama, Ohio State,
Michigan and many others courting Harris seemed to be a reality, and in early March,
Harris decided to walk away from the Spartans.
Harris originally committed to MSU when he was planning
on playing both football and basketball for the Spartans. With his focus
turning to just playing football, he decided to decommit and cited his desire
to play for a national title contender.
It didn’t take Harris too long, just over a month, to
commit to Michigan. He did so on Sunday, a day after the Wolverines’ spring
game.
Harris’ commitment has certainly sparked a lot of
back-and-forth between the fan bases and it is clear that Harris has made
himself one of the biggest enemies in the eyes of the Spartans.
There are really three things to acknowledge with this
whole situation.
First, Harris is allowed to do what he wishes. I can’t
blame a kid for wanting to make the best decision for his future. The big
problem with recruiting is that there is not an early signing period for
football players to help keep the flip-flopping from happening. It’s tough for a
teenager not to be tempted to break a commitment with all these other coaches
and programs coming after him. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing had I
been in Harris’ situation (in terms of breaking the commitment to Michigan
State).
Second, when I look at Drake Harris and his abilities, I
can’t blame him for wanting to play for a national title contender. No offense
to Michigan State, but the Spartans aren’t at that level. If Harris is truly as
good as he is rated, he has the chance to play anywhere in the country.
Michigan State doesn’t register as one of those five programs that a recruit of
his caliber should be targeting if they really want to contend for a national
title and have the chance to be a top draft pick in the NFL. Sorry Spartans
fans, but it’s the truth.
With that said, Harris himself stated that he wanted to
contend for national titles. If that is truly the case, I have to question his
decision to commit to Michigan (the third issue). I know this will upset some
Wolverine fans, but you can’t argue that Michigan is close to winning a
national title right now. The only programs that can say they have consistently
been in the title picture recently are Alabama, LSU and Oregon. You can
probably throw Ohio State in that mix with last year’s unbeaten season and
Urban Meyer’s coaching accomplishments.
I think Brady Hoke is doing a good job in recruiting and
there is potential there for Michigan to get into the national title picture
down the road, but last season’s opener with Alabama proved that the Wolverines
aren’t ready for that discussion yet.
If Harris didn’t want to go to Michigan State and
preferred to go to Michigan, that’s fine. He has the right to make that
decision. But, if he is looking to win a national title, he may not have made
the right choice. Either way, he certainly painted a big target on his back
when he heads to East Lansing while sporting the maize and blue.
Then again, who knows if Harris will stand by this
commitment either.
Ask anyone which school academically is the best among the ones you mentioned..hands down it is the University of Michigan..so maybe Drake wants to get a great education too!!
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with that, but he certainly didn't bring that up when he de-committed from MSU. I am simply going of his own words.
ReplyDeleteHarris said. "Coach Hoke, the whole coaching staff, all the players brought me in and supported me throughout this whole process. They have great academics there, their football program is really coming around, I mean, it's one of the most storied programs in college football.
ReplyDeleteThat's fine. He also said this when he dropped MSU:
ReplyDelete"I want to play at a bigger school, win a national championship."
So now almost eight months later which school is the Big Ten conference champion and playing in a BCS bowl game? It's not the Wolverines. Right now MSU is closer to a national championship than U of M is. Great decision Drake.
ReplyDelete