Michigan recruiting

[hplare]

Heading into the final week of the recruiting process and fresh off an official visit to Nebraska, Daishon Neal was willing to listen as Michigan’s coaching staff stopped through Omaha.

Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison was in the Neal home on Monday night, and things were going fine until a comment he made, turned off the family.

“Michigan was a powerhouse,” Neal’s father said. “They stormed us, but they made one bad statement in the room. He said ‘without football, Daishon wouldn’t be able to go to Michigan.’ Like we couldn’t afford to send him there or get him academically (in).”

The comment didn't sit well with Neal.

“He basically tried to call me stupid in front of my face,” Neal said.

According to both, the visit with Mattison ended a few minutes later.

 

[OrangeTarheel]

Ya gotta give respect to get respect. And that comment shows a pretty deep lack of respect for that family. Hope Neal becomes an NFL legend.

 

[orange79]

Ouch. Wonder how long Coach Mattison will be an off-campus recruiter for Michigan...

 

[SU2NASA]

Heading into the final week of the recruiting process and fresh off an official visit to Nebraska, Daishon Neal was willing to listen as Michigan’s coaching staff stopped through Omaha.

Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison was in the Neal home on Monday night, and things were going fine until a comment he made, turned off the family.

“Michigan was a powerhouse,” Neal’s father said. “They stormed us, but they made one bad statement in the room. He said ‘without football, Daishon wouldn’t be able to go to Michigan.’ Like we couldn’t afford to send him there or get him academically (in).”

The comment didn't sit well with Neal.

“He basically tried to call me stupid in front of my face,” Neal said.

According to both, the visit with Mattison ended a few minutes later.

Greg Mattison is an incredibly seasoned recruiter (and one of the most respected in the business, so much so that he is the only coach that was asked to stay on after Hoke was fired) and this is the first issue like this that I've ever heard about him. What are the odds that Daishon Neal's dad may have taken something that Mattison has probably said a thousand times, to the effect of (from what I've heard) "this scholarship offers your son the chance to get an elite education at the University of Michigan," and completely took it the wrong way?

MGoBlog put it best:

There are a few issues at work here. First of all, Michigan can't comment on an unsigned recruit without breaking NCAA rules, so there's no way for Mattison to tell his side of the story; in all likelihood, this won't ever be addressed specifically.

Second, what Mattison reportedly said, in so many words, is often true—one of Michigan's most reliable recruiting pitches is that being a football player allows prospects the opportunity at a first-rate education that wouldn't necessarily be available otherwise. This isn't meant as an insult; plenty of smart people with strong academic resumes don't get into Michigan. I think it's great that Michigan presents this opportunity to those who may not have a 3.8 and a 30 on their ACT; football players have a huge impact on campus life and come away with well-earned degrees.

Finally, Mattison is a seasoned recruiter. I have a difficult time believing he presented this information in any way close to calling Neal "stupid." That's not a particularly effective way to convince a student-athlete to come to your school. A football scholarship pretty much guarantees admittance as long as the recipient clears NCAA academic requirements, which are far less stringent than Michigan's usual admission standards—coaches almost always check with admissions before offering a scholarship.*

Even if Neal has an excellent academic record, that doesn't offer the same guarantee he'd get in. Perhaps Mattison didn't put this in terms Neal and his family appreciated, but it seems far more likely this was an unfortunate miscommunication than a deliberate slight by Mattison. So it goes.

 

[SU2NASA]

Ouch. Wonder how long Coach Mattison will be an off-campus recruiter for Michigan...

As long as he wants to. Mattison has a track record that speaks for itself. He's recruited for Notre Dame, Texas A&M, and Florida as well. In fact, he's the guy that got Tebow.

http://espn.go.com/colleges/michiga...-competes-hard-recruiting-michigan-wolverines

 

[orange79]

As long as he wants to.

Meant as a joke, but I can see rereading the post that it probably didn't come across that way.